Home Linguistics & Semiotics Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English

  • Günter Rohdenburg
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Corpus Interrogation and Grammatical Patterns
This chapter is in the book Corpus Interrogation and Grammatical Patterns

Abstract

Recent work on comparative variation has highlighted two major syntactic environments encouraging the choice of the more explicit more-variant, a) the use of non-attributive rather than attributive adjectives and b) the use of complemented rather than uncomplemented (non-attributive) adjectives (cf., e.g., Mondorf 2009). The present article shows that throughout the Modern English period these environments have also favoured the choice of the more explicit suffixed variant in dual form intensifiers. In addition, the paper briefly assesses some important theories that have been or could be invoked to account for these findings. Specifically, it is shown that the prosodic (sub)type of the intensifier itself does not play a decisive role in selecting the suffixed or suffixless variant.

Abstract

Recent work on comparative variation has highlighted two major syntactic environments encouraging the choice of the more explicit more-variant, a) the use of non-attributive rather than attributive adjectives and b) the use of complemented rather than uncomplemented (non-attributive) adjectives (cf., e.g., Mondorf 2009). The present article shows that throughout the Modern English period these environments have also favoured the choice of the more explicit suffixed variant in dual form intensifiers. In addition, the paper briefly assesses some important theories that have been or could be invoked to account for these findings. Specifically, it is shown that the prosodic (sub)type of the intensifier itself does not play a decisive role in selecting the suffixed or suffixless variant.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Interrogating corpora to describe grammatical patterns 1
  6. Part 1. Patterns in the verb phrase
  7. Light verb constructions in the history of English 15
  8. What happened to the English prefix, and could it stage a comeback? 35
  9. The pattern to be a-hunting from Middle to Late Modern English 57
  10. The present perfect and the preterite in Late Modern and Contemporary English 81
  11. can and be able to in nineteenth-century Irish English 105
  12. Part 2. Patterns in the noun phrase
  13. Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English 131
  14. Ma daddy wis dead chuffed 151
  15. The case of focus 173
  16. Part 3. Patterns in complementation structures
  17. Null objects and sentential complements, with evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English 209
  18. A new angle on infinitival and of - ing complements of afraid , with evidence from the TIME Corpus 223
  19. Active and passive infinitive, ambiguity and non-canonical subject with ready 239
  20. Part 4. Patterns of clause combining
  21. The diffusion of English absolutes 265
  22. It-clefts in English L1 and L2 academic writing 295
  23. The speech functions of tag questions and their properties. A comparison of their distribution in COLT and LLC 321
  24. Author index 351
  25. Subject index 355
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.63.11roh

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. List of contributors ix
  5. Interrogating corpora to describe grammatical patterns 1
  6. Part 1. Patterns in the verb phrase
  7. Light verb constructions in the history of English 15
  8. What happened to the English prefix, and could it stage a comeback? 35
  9. The pattern to be a-hunting from Middle to Late Modern English 57
  10. The present perfect and the preterite in Late Modern and Contemporary English 81
  11. can and be able to in nineteenth-century Irish English 105
  12. Part 2. Patterns in the noun phrase
  13. Syntactic constraints on the use of dual form intensifiers in Modern English 131
  14. Ma daddy wis dead chuffed 151
  15. The case of focus 173
  16. Part 3. Patterns in complementation structures
  17. Null objects and sentential complements, with evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English 209
  18. A new angle on infinitival and of - ing complements of afraid , with evidence from the TIME Corpus 223
  19. Active and passive infinitive, ambiguity and non-canonical subject with ready 239
  20. Part 4. Patterns of clause combining
  21. The diffusion of English absolutes 265
  22. It-clefts in English L1 and L2 academic writing 295
  23. The speech functions of tag questions and their properties. A comparison of their distribution in COLT and LLC 321
  24. Author index 351
  25. Subject index 355
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 17.2.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/scl.63.11roh/html
Scroll to top button