Abstract
<jats:p>This chapter deals with the diachronic changes that have been found in complex predicate formation, where the term ‘complex predicate’ is used for monoclausal constructs of two (or more) predicational elements that predicate as a single unit. The main empirical focus is on two types of light verb constructions in Section 3, namely English V+NP light verb constructions and Indo‐Aryan V+V light verb constructions, as well as on cases where the verb forms a complex predicate with an adpositional element, that is, particles or prefixed verbs in Dutch and Hungarian, in Section 4. These instantiate the two main types of complex predicates, both of them involve a verb and either another verb or a constituent of a different category, but according to at least some analyses the change leading to complex predicate formation is to be attributed to the verb in one main type (these will all be discussed under light verb constructions) and to an adpositional constituent in the other main types (these are particle verbs and prefixed verbs).</jats:p>