V2 word order

In syntax, verb-second (V2) word order is the rule in some languages that the second constituent of declarative main clauses is always a verb, while this is not necessarily the case in other types of clauses.

V2 effect

The V2 effect is clearly demonstrated in the following Dutch sentences:

Ik	las	dit boek	gisteren.
I	read	this book	yesterday
"I read this book yesterday."

Gisteren	las	ik	dit boek.
yesterday	read	I	this book
"Yesterday I read this book."

Dit boek	las	ik	gisteren.
this book	read	I	yesterday
"This book I read yesterday."

It may seem that the verb is in the third position in the last sentence, but it is the second constituent; the first constituent is "dit boek" (this book). The word "dit" is a proclitic in this phrase and lacks prosodic independence.

Note the contrast with the following embedded clauses:

Het boek,	dat	ik	gisteren	las
the book,	that	I	yesterday	read
"The book I read yesterday"

Ik	zei	dat	ik	gisteren	dit boek	las
I	said	that	I	yesterday	this book	read
"I said I read this book yesterday."

Similar examples can be given for German.

The usual analysis of the Dutch (and German) V2 phenomenon is that the "normal" position of the verb is at the end of the clause (SOV) and that in main clauses, the inflected verb moves to the second position. This is supported by the fact that in sentences with verb clusters, only the auxiliary appears in the second position:

Ik	heb	dit boek	gelezen.
I	have	this book	read
"I've read this book."

Ik	heb	dit boek	willen lezen.
I	have	this book	want read
"I've wanted to read this book."

Ik	wilde	dit boek	kunnen lezen.
I	wanted	this book	can read
"I wanted to be able to read this book."

In German these phrases have different word orders for the auxiliaries, that closely resemble the SOV word order (auxiliaries following the main verb). Presented below for contrast with the Dutch above.

Ich	habe	dieses Buch	gelesen.
I	have	this book	read
"I've read this book."

Ich	habe	dieses Buch	lesen wollen.
I	have	this book	read want
"I've wanted to read this book."

Ich	habe	dieses Buch	lesen können	wollen.
I	have	this book	read can	wanted
"I've wanted to be able to read this book."

Note that the last example would normally be perceived as too awkward and be replaced with the straightforward "Ich wollte dieses Buch lesen können", unless the speaker wants to emphasize tense.

Classification

V2 word order is primarily associated with Germanic languages. (Modern English is a notable exception, but Old English had V2 word order.) However, it is also present in some languages that may have been influenced by the Germanic languages, such as some Rhaeto-Romance languages and Old French, as well as in certain other languages, for example Kashmiri and O'Odham. Other verbs are placed in the position dictated by the prevailing word order of the language: in otherwise SVO languages, such as Swedish and Icelandic, the verb is placed after the subject but before the object; in otherwise SOV languages, such as German and Dutch, the verb is placed after the object.

In addition, there are two prime distinctions of V2 languages. The CP-V2 languages such as Swedish and German only allow the movement in main clauses. The term asymmetric V2 may also be applied to these languages, as V2 effects are only found in matrix clauses. On the other hand, the IP-V2 languages such as Icelandic and Yiddish require movement in subclauses too. The term symmetric V2 may also be used, as V2 effects occur in both matrix and subordinate clauses. Kashmiri constitutes a third, intermediate type in which there is "movement" in main clauses and sentential-object clauses but not in relative clauses. The CP and IP refer to a particular theory of grammar in which there is a position known as the complementiser, to which the verb moves in CP-V2 languages. Finding it already occupied by the complementiser pronoun 'that' in subclauses, movement is prohibited. On the other hand, in IP languages, a position known as I is found directly after the C position, which is never occupied (except after V2 movement) and thus movement is allowed in subclauses. Although this theory is explained with reference to a particular theory, the difference between Swedish and German grammar on the one hand and Icelandic and Yiddish grammar on the other is real, and the terms 'CP-V2' and 'IP-V2' are used even by those who do not subscribe to the theory.

An earlier stage of English was V2, and some vestiges of its former structure have remained in fixed phrases such as 'so am I', adverbial time phrases such as 'not once has he bothered to phone', and productive structures like 'I didn't go and neither did he', with the verb before the subject ('I' and 'he', respectively). It has been argued that older English word order was of the SVO, IP-V2 sort, and it is easy to see how such an order can with little change develop into a simple SVO language as is Modern English today.

Examples

CP-V2, SOV

German, and Dutch examples, Dutch being the first example given. Note that Dutch and German word order differ when several verbs are placed together at the end of the clause; German places the inflected verb last in the sequence, while Dutch places it first (and the remainder in the order opposite to German). German word order is therefore somewhat more true to SOV than Dutch.

• Basic sentence

  Ik las dit boek gisteren.

  Ich las dieses Buch gestern.

  I read this book yesterday.

• With auxiliary verb

  Ik wou dit boek gisteren lezen.

  Ich wollte dieses Buch gestern lesen.

  I wanted this book yesterday (to) read.

• With fronted adverb

  Gisteren las ik dit boek.

  Gestern las ich dieses Buch.

  Yesterday read I this book.

• With auxiliary and fronted adverb

  Gisteren wou ik dit boek lezen.

  Gestern wollte ich dieses Buch lesen.

  Yesterday wanted I this book (to) read.

• Subordinate clause

  Ik zei dat ik dit boek gisteren las.

  Ich sagte, dass ich dieses Buch gestern las.

  I said that I this book yesterday read.

• Subordinate clause with auxiliary verb

  Ik zei dat ik dit boek gisteren wou lezen.

  Ich sagte, dass ich dieses Buch gestern lesen wollte.

  (Dutch) I said that I this book yesterday wanted (to) read. / (German) I said that I this book yesterday (to) read wanted.

• Subordinate clause with fronted adverb

  Ik zei dat ik gisteren dit boek las.

  Ich sagte, dass ich gestern dieses Buch las.

  I said that I yesterday this book read.

• Subordinate clause with auxiliary verb and fronted adverb

  Ik zei dat ik gisteren dit boek wou lezen.

  Ich sagte, dass ich gestern dieses Buch lesen wollte.

  (Dutch) I said that I yesterday this book wanted (to) read. / (German) I said that I yesterday this book (to) read wanted.

CP-V2, SVO

ex. Swedish:

• Basic sentence

  Jag läste denna bok i går.

  I read this book yesterday.

• With fronted adverb

  I går läste jag denna bok.

  Yesterday read I this book.

• Subordinate clause

  Jag sade att jag läste denna bok i går.

  I said that I read this book yesterday.

• Subordinate clause with fronted adverb

  Jag sade ju att jag läste denna bok i går.

  I said certainly that I read this book yesterday.

IP-V2, SVO

ex. Yiddish, Icelandic:

• Basic sentence

  Ikh leyen dos bukh haynt.

  Ég las bókina í dag.

  I read the book today.

• With fronted adverb

  Haynt leyen ikh dos bukh.

  Í dag las ég bókina.

  Today read I the book.

• Subordinate clause

  Du veyst, az ikh leyen dos bukh haynt.

  Þú veist að ég las bókina í dag.

  You know that I read the book today.

• Subordinate clause with fronted adverb

  Du veyst, az haynt leyen ikh dos bukh.

  Þu veist að í dag las ég bókina.

  You know that today read I the book.

IP/CP-V2, SOV

ex. Kashmiri

• Basic sentence

  mye per yi kyitaab az.

  I read this book today.

• With fronted adverb

  az per mye yi kyitaab.

  Today read I this book.

• Subordinate clause

  mye von zyi mye per yi kyitaab az.

  I said that I read this book today.

• Subordinate clause with fronted adverb

  mye von zyi az per mye yi kyitaab.

I said that today read I this book.

• Relative clause

  yi chi swa kyitaab ywas mye az per.

  This is the book which I today read.

• Relative clause with embedded subordinate clause

  yi chi swa kyitaab ywas mye veny zyi mye per az.

  This is the book which I said that I read today.