Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Whitehead  I have a strong feeling that in an action verb/state verb compound, the action is always the head. Can you confirm that, Cassy? |
Nope, sorry. But what I can tell you is that
pushed is the main verb (speakers know that not because
pushed is inflected, but because
open isn't inflected; i.e., *he pushed open
s the door, which is a common error among language learners, even children).
Open, functions as the verb's object; it's a bare infinitive.
[1] He pushed (to) open the door.
[2] He pushed the door (to get it to) open.
In other words, the solution is in ellipsis.
__________________________
What did you mean by
one unit, one phoneme?