In this paper, we propose a lexical representation of some verb classes in Brazilian Portuguese, consisting of two related levels: the lexical-semantic level, which is the argument structure of the verbs, and the lexical-syntactic level, which links lexical semantics and sentential syntax. On the lexical-semantic level, verb meanings are represented by a structure composed of primitive predicates, arguments, and a root, following Levin and Hovav's proposal (1998, 2005). Predicate structure is what is shared by verbs within a class and the root is the idiosyncratic part of each individual verb meaning. The lexical-syntactic level, represented by Hale and Keyser's structures (1993, 2002), operates as a mapping principle between the semantic level and sentential syntax, predicting the argument realization options of verbs; e.g. it predicts whether a verb participates in the causative-inchoative alternation. The two levels are related by the root, which pertains to a certain ontological type in the semantic structure and is mapped into a grammatical category in the lexical syntax. The relation between the two levels is a "many-to-one" relation, since there are more ontological types than grammatical categories.
Argument structure; Predicate decomposition; Lexical-syntactic structure; Syntax-Semantics linking
