Predicates may be simple or complex. A broad view of complex predicates is taken here, including the expression of tense, aspect, modality and polarity (TAMP) as well as stative concepts combined with event concepts (see chapter 14). Complex predicates are not as syntactically cohesive as referring phrases. Complex predicates have a variety of diachronic sources, although they tend to converge on a common set of complex predicate strategies. Eventive complex predicates involve the packaging together of two eventive concepts as a single predicate, although one concept may also grammaticalize into the TAMP category(ies) for the other event concept (= auxiliary construction), or into a form expressing a participant role (= flag). Strategies include one in which both concepts are expressed in a verblike form (serial verb constructions) or where one concept is in a nonverbal form (deranked; see chapters 14-15) including a nounlike construction (support verb constructions). Finally, a related type to the latter strategy is the semantic development of a verb-argument complex predicate, where the argument originally expressed an object concept.
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