Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PhD in Linguistics, Payam-e-Nour University. Tehran. Iran
2 English department, Islamic Azad University,Rasht branch
Abstract
This research examines the passivization of sentences with ditransitive verbs in Persian, based on Citko's (2011a) notion of symmetric move. The two objects of these sentences can move to the specifier of the tense head in the passive sentence. However, according to the Economic Principle and the Shortest Move in the Minimalism Programme, only the nearest constituent to the probe head should be allowed to move. The study results, based on Persian language samples, indicate that the direct and indirect object can move to the specifier of the tense head in passive sentences with ditransitive verbs but moving of the indirect object to this position produces semantically marked sentence. Furthermore, making the passive voice of these sentences is free from the specificity and definiteness feature of the direct object, which is determined by the presence or absence of the accusative case form ‘ra’. This study also found that the linear order of objects and the semantic roles of the indirect object in the active sentence do not affect the feasibility of transforming sentences with ditransitive verbs into the passive form in Persian language.
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