Abstract
The paper claims that a marriage of the Dependency Grammar (DG) understanding of word and sentence structure with the axioms of Construction Grammar is possible and desirable. The catena unit – the validity of which has been established in syntax – is extended to morphosyntax. In syntax, a word catena is defined as a word or a combination of words that is continuous with respect to dominance. This definition is extended to morphosyntax, where a morph catena is defined analogously as a morph or a combination of morphs that is continuous with respect to dominance. The validity and utility of the catena concept for construction grammars is demonstrated in a particular area, namely regarding the functional meanings expressed by periphrastic verb chains (e.g. modality, aspect, and voice). The morph combinations (= the constructs) that express these functional meanings form morph catenae.
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