ABSTRACT
This paper presents an analysis of Portuguese vel-adjectives based on Distributed Morphology (HALLE and MARANTZ 1993HALLE , M. ; MARANTZ , A. Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection. In: HALE , K. ; KEYSER , J. ( ed.). View from the word building 20. Cambridge : MIT , 1993. p. 111 - 176.). This proposal, developed on Oltra-Massuet’s (2014)OLTRA-MASSUET. Deverbal adjectives at the interface: a cross-linguistic investigation into the morphology, syntax and semantics of ‘-ble’. Mouton : De Gruyter , 2014. paper, argues that the modal (possibility, probability and obligation) and the non-modal (trigger) readings associated to vel-adjectives result from the presence of different functional heads composing their structure (vP, Asp and Mod). Considering of that point of view, this paper claims that /vel/ corresponds to a single Vocabulary item spelling out the adjectival head (ao) in the environment of both ModP morpheme and [cause] feature. This explains the different readings, which Brazilian Portuguese speakers relate to these adjectives. Adjectives licensing a modal interpretation have a ModP morpheme in their structure, whereas the ones with a nonmodal reading do not project it. This study proposes an important structural distinction among vel-adjectives licensing a modal reading, namely, only the ones presenting a possibility-reading project VoiceP, the other ones project only vP, which inserts the event-reading, but does not license the extern-argument projection (see KRATZER 1996KRATZER , A. Severing the external argument from its verb. In: ROORYCK , J. ; ZARING , L. ( ed.). Phrase strcuture and the lexicon. Dordrecht : Springer , 1996. p. 109 - 137.; ALEXIADOU 2001ALEXIADOU , A. Functional structure in nominals: nominalization and ergativity. Amsterdam : John Benjamins , 2001.). Finally, the present analysis suggests the occurrence of a [cause] feature at adjectival head, which assigns the trigger reading to vel-adjectives with a non-modal reading.
Distributed morphology; vel-Adjectives; Modality