Complex verbs in Japanese and English: focus on V-V clusters

The aim of this study is to explore the special features of verb clusters (V-V clusters) in English in comparison with those in Japanese. Taking a macro approach, this study will point out that the identical form of many verbs is also used as nouns in English, thereby the grammatical status of the first element in V-V clusters is controversial in many cases, i.e. whether it is a verb or a noun is not clear. It is not the case in Japanese, in which V-V clusters are firmly identified as an independent grammatical item, i.e. compound verbs. Further, Japanese V-V clusters are known to have a variety of functions such as �means, cause, simultaneous, listing and supplementary� in terms of the semantic relation between the first and the second verbs. The study will also discuss the difference in the two languages by highlighting V-V clusters that are created through the back-formation or the omission of coordinating conjunctions, i.e. serial verbs.