Innovation in Language Learning

This paper addresses the interaction between the Active Participles (AP) and (in)definite markers in Arabic. APs inflect like nouns, can be arguments for other predicates, take case markings, and take (in)definite markers (i.e. they function as simple event nominal). However, when they appear with the absolute indefinite markers -un,-an,-in, they can take a subject and an object, assign case to them, and refer to present or future, i.e they function as complex event nominals. Since they denote events, I argue that in(definite) markers that appear on them are, in fact, marked (aspectual) verbal markers. Thus, the root of these nominals raise to v⁰. Since they accept aspectual modification, they project an AspP which is also responsible for case checking. In addition, because APs refer to future, I contend that these nominals also project a mood head. By contrast, when in a construct state, APs are inflected with a non-absolute indefinite markers -u,-a,-i, and assign genitive case to N2. I contend that in such cases these nominals denote the person rather than the event and thus lack argument structure. I also argue that construct APs have prosodic case checking which mean that they are formed at PF before entering syntax.