In chapter 11, I dealt with, among other things, the structure of simple clauses. My primary diagnostic for defining a ‘simple clause’ was that it contained but a single verb. Included were constructions like morphological causatives, structures which in some linguistic models require the recognition of two underlying verbs. Indeed, certain morphological causatives in Kham too (namely causativized agentive-type verbs) are suggestive of embedded structures; causative morphology requires a syntactic reorganization of some of the verb's arguments. Also included in that chapter were benefactive constructions, not so obviously single verb constructions. Where multiple predicates are involved, the difference between simple clauses and more complex structures lies somewhere on a continuum, and we find ourselves dealing with what Givón has referred to as an isomorphism between ‘semantic bond’ and ‘syntactic integration’ (1990a:516).

In this chapter, then, I will deal with those structures in which the tightness of bond (both semantic and syntactic) is loose enough to require two separate verbs. This will include paratactic structures like coordination (especially where the coordination is morphologically marked), as well as all manner of dependent structures like adverbial clauses, sentential complements, clause chains, conditionals, counterfactuals, concessives, and so on.

Adverbial clauses

I dealt with single word (or phrasal) adverbials in chapter 8 – adverbs of manner, time, intensity, etc. Here I will deal with adverbial expressions structured around dependent verbs.