GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

This work is a descriptive study of the structure of verb phrase in Ómùànwà Ìkwéré. Ómùànwà is one of the twenty-four dialects of Ìkwéré language spoken in Rivers State. The study examines the verb phrase in Ómùànwà; describing structurally the possible projections of the verb phrase in Ómùànwà and analysing the verb phrase structures with X-bar paradigm. The study adopts descriptive survey design using structured interview to elicit data from the respondents. The research reveals among other things that Ómùànwà Ìkwéré verbs usually do not exhibit –rV skeletal past tense marker just like some other Igboid languages. The past tense form of a verb in this case is understood contextually. The findings also identify V alone as well as the verb with NP, double objects (NP²), PP, S¹, A and Adv as the possible constituents of verb phrase structure in the dialect. Some inherent verb complements found are not cognate with their verbs but still form an inseparable semantic unit. The researcher recommends for more extensive research on types and behaviours of Ómùànwà Ìkwéré verbs generally.

KEYWORDS: Structure, Ómùànwà Ìkwéré Verb Phrase