Embedded imperatives
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Christer Platzack
Abstract
Embedded imperatives are found in Old Scandinavian, but not in any of its modern descendants, i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish. This paper aims to uncover the structural prerequisites for embedded imperatives to be possible in a language. Assuming a feature-driven version of the minimalist program, it is shown that embedded imperatives are possible under the specific structural requirement that the non-finite verb is in a position lower than the object, i.e. in a kind of partial OV-structure that I will call pseudo-OV, differing from ordinary OV in having the tensed verb before the object, both in main and embedded clauses. A number of predictions follow which are indeed fulfilled, such as the obligatory presence of the second person subject, the position of the imperative verb in front of the object, and the fact that the kinds of objects found in embedded imperatives are the ones that also turn up in clauses with pseudo-OV in Old Scandinavian.
Abstract
Embedded imperatives are found in Old Scandinavian, but not in any of its modern descendants, i.e. Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish. This paper aims to uncover the structural prerequisites for embedded imperatives to be possible in a language. Assuming a feature-driven version of the minimalist program, it is shown that embedded imperatives are possible under the specific structural requirement that the non-finite verb is in a position lower than the object, i.e. in a kind of partial OV-structure that I will call pseudo-OV, differing from ordinary OV in having the tensed verb before the object, both in main and embedded clauses. A number of predictions follow which are indeed fulfilled, such as the obligatory presence of the second person subject, the position of the imperative verb in front of the object, and the fact that the kinds of objects found in embedded imperatives are the ones that also turn up in clauses with pseudo-OV in Old Scandinavian.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Imperative clauses in generative grammar 1
- On the periphery of imperative and declarative clauses in Dutch and German 95
- Featuring the subject in Dutch imperatives 113
- Clitic climbing in Spanish imperatives 135
- Topics in imperatives 153
- Embedded imperatives 181
- How to say no and don’t 205
- Analysing word order in the English imperative 251
- On participial imperatives 273
- ‘Inverted’ imperatives 297
- Pronominal clitics and imperatives in South Slavic 323
- Index of languages 341
- Index of names 343
- Index of subjects 347
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Imperative clauses in generative grammar 1
- On the periphery of imperative and declarative clauses in Dutch and German 95
- Featuring the subject in Dutch imperatives 113
- Clitic climbing in Spanish imperatives 135
- Topics in imperatives 153
- Embedded imperatives 181
- How to say no and don’t 205
- Analysing word order in the English imperative 251
- On participial imperatives 273
- ‘Inverted’ imperatives 297
- Pronominal clitics and imperatives in South Slavic 323
- Index of languages 341
- Index of names 343
- Index of subjects 347
