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0. Introduction Serial verb constructions are a long-standing problem for most syntactic theories, which assume that verbs are unique within their clauses. Contrary to this assumption, a serial verb construction is often portrayed as a construction in which two or more verbs act together (as a single predicate) in a monoclausal structure, with only one specification for tense, aspect, modality, and negation (cf. Foley and Olson 1985, Bisang 1995, Durie 1997, Crowley 2002, Bril 2004, to name a few). The present paper analyzes three serial verb constructions (henceforth SVCs) in Tsou. Using evidence from focus-marking and nominal morphology, I argue that arguments of individual verbs in the Tsou SVCs are not fused into a fully unified argument structure governed by the entire verb series, although the individual verbs are encompassed in a monoclausal structure sharing one specification of mood, person, and polarity values. In what follows, I discuss the morphosyntactic properties of these Tsou SVCs focusing on their implications to the configuration of argument structure in this Austronesian language. I will contrast the features of Tsou SVCs with the two properties of SVCs that linguists most often talk about: (i) that serial verbs do not display any sort of syntactic dependency, and (ii) that verb serialization involves argument fusion.

Verb Serialization and Argument Unification? A Case Study of Three Serial Verb Constructions in Tsou