An Analysis of Verbal Case Markers in Modern Standard Arabic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes1207Keywords:
accusative, Arabic, jussive, nominative, syntax, verbal caseAbstract
This paper examines the phenomenon of Verbal Case and how its assignment interacts with syntactic and morphological processes, particularly in languages that exhibit rich case-marking systems. Through a detailed Minimalist Program analysis of verbal predicates, this study argues that the markers appearing at the ends of verbs in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are not mood, agreement, nor tense markers, but rather Verbal Case markers. It proposes that finiteness on the Inflectional head (Infl) licenses the structural Verbal Case feature on verbs via an Agree relation, and that certain complementizers, such as lan, function as case-assigning particles. The findings aim to contribute to a broader understanding of Verbal Case within syntactic theory and linguistic typology, with implications for our understanding of language variation and universals.
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