Abstract
This paper deals with verb-te clauses which express attendant circumstances, successive events, causes and reasons, and concurrent events. Examining these verb-te clauses syntactically, I suggest the following two points: 1) The syntactic structure of verb-te clauses can be divided into two categories on the grounds of tests for 'shika-nai,' '-sae,' and pseudo-cleft sentences. The verb-te clauses which express attendant circumstances form an adjunct structure which adjoins to the verb phrase, while the other verb-te clauses form a coordinate structure in which tense phrases are conjoined. 2) On the basis of these syntactic structures, -te forms can be divided into two categories. The -te form which constitutes an adjunct structure functions as an aspect marker, while the -te form which constitutes a coordinate structure functions as a conjoining form. Clarification of the syntactic structures of verb-te clauses is sure to help account for their morphological restrictions. This paper presents a framework that captures the correlation between the form and syntactic structure of verb-te clauses.
