V2 word order

In syntax, verb-second (V2) word order is a sentence structure in which the finite verb of a sentence or a clause is placed in the clause's second position, so that the verb is preceded by a single word or group of words (a single constituent).

Examples of V2 in English include (brackets indicating a single constituent):

• "Neither do I", "[Never in my life] have I seen such things"

If English used V2 in all situations, the following would be correct:

• "*[In school] learned I about animals", "*[When she comes home from work] takes she a nap"

V2 word order is common in the Germanic languages and is also found in Northeast Caucasian Ingush, Uto-Aztecan O'odham, and fragmentarily in Romance Sursilvan (a Rhaeto-Romansh variety) and Finno-Ugric Estonian. Of the Germanic family, English is exceptional in having predominantly SVO order instead of V2, although there are vestiges of the V2 phenomenon.

Most Germanic languages do not normally use V2 order in embedded clauses, with a few exceptions. In particular, German, Dutch, and Afrikaans revert to VF (verb final) word order after a complementizer; Yiddish and Icelandic do, however, allow V2 in all declarative clauses: main, embedded, and subordinate. Kashmiri (an Indo-Aryan language) has V2 in 'declarative content clauses' but VF order in relative clauses.

Examples of verb second (V2)

The example sentences in (1) from German illustrate the V2 principle, which allows any constituent to occupy the first position as long as the second position is occupied by the finite verb. Sentences (1a) through to (1d) have the finite verb spielten 'played' in second position, with various constituents occupying the first position: in (1a) the subject is in first position; in (1b) the object is; in (1c) the temporal modifier is in first position; and in (1d) the locative modifier is in first position. Sentences (1e) and (1f) are ungrammatical because the finite verb no longer appears in the second position. (An asterisk (*) indicates that an example is grammatically unacceptable.)

  (1)     (a) Die Kinder       spielten      vor der Schule   im Park          Fußball.
              The children     played        before  school   in the park      Soccer

          (b) Fußball          spielten      die Kinder       vor der Schule   im Park.
              Soccer           played        the children     before school    in the park

          (c) Vor der Schule   spielten      die Kinder       im Park          Fußball.
              Before school    played        the children     in the park      soccer.

          (d) Im Park          spielten      die Kinder       vor der Schule   Fußball.
              In the park      played        the children     before school    soccer.

          (e) *Vor der Schule  Fußball       spielten         die Kinder       im Park.
               Before school   soccer        played           the children     in the park

          (f) *Fußball         die Kinder    spielten         vor der Schule   im Park.
               Soccer          the children  played           before school    in the park.

Classical accounts of verb second (V2)

In major theoretical research on V2 properties, researchers discussed that verb-final orders found in German and Dutch embedded clauses suggest that there is an underlying SOV order with specific syntactic movements rules that changes the underlying SOV order to derive a surface form where the finite verb is in the second position of the clause.

We first see a "verb preposing" rule which moves the finite verb to the left most position in sentence, then a "constituent preposing" rule which moves a constituent in front of the finite verb. Following these two rules will always result with the finite verb in second position.

"I like the man"

          (a) Ich  den  Mann  mag          --> Underlying form in Modern German
              I    the  man   like

          (b) mag   ich  den  Mann         --> Verb movement to left edge
              like  I    the  man

          (c) den  Mann  mag   ich         --> Constituent moved to left edge
              the  man   like  I

Non-finite verbs and embedded clauses

Non-finite verbs

The V2 principle regulates the position of finite verbs only; its influence on non-finite verbs (infinitives, participles, etc.) is indirect. Non-finite verbs in V2 languages appear in varying positions depending on the language. In German and Dutch, for instance, non-finite verbs appear after the object (if one is present) in clause final position in main clauses (OV order). Swedish and Icelandic, in contrast, position non-finite verbs after the finite verb but before the object (if one is present) (VO order). That is, V2 operates on only the finite verb.

V2 in embedded clauses

(In the following examples, finite verb forms are in bold, non-finite verb forms are in italics and subjects are underlined.)

Germanic languages vary in the application of V2 order in embedded clauses. They fall into three groups.

V2 in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Faroese

In these languages, the word order of clauses is generally fixed in two patterns of conventionally numbered positions. Both end with positions for (5) non-finite verb forms, (6) objects, and (7), adverbials.

In main clauses, the V2 constraint holds. The finite verb must be in position (2) and sentence adverbs in position (4). The latter include words with meanings such as 'not' and 'always'. The subject may be position (1), but when a topical expression occupies the position, the subject is in position (3).

In embedded clauses, the V2 constraint is absent. After the conjunction, the subject must immediately follow; it cannot be replaced by a topical expression. Thus, the first four positions are in the fixed order (1) conjunction, (2) subject, (3) sentence adverb, (4) finite verb

The position of the sentence adverbs is important to those theorists who see them as marking the start of a large constituent within the clause. Thus the finite verb is seen as inside that constituent in embedded clauses, but outside that constituent in V2 main clauses.

Swedish

main clause embedded clause		Front —	Finite verb Conjunction	Subject Subject	Sentence adverb Sentence adverb	— Finite verb	Non-finite verb Non-finite verb	Object Object	Adverbial Adverbial
main clause	a.	I dag	ville	Lotte	inte		läsa	tidningen
		1	2	3	4		5	6
		today	wanted	Lotte	not		read	the newspaper		...
		'Lotte didn't want to read the paper today.'
embedded clause	b.		att	Lotte	inte	ville	koka	kaffe	i dag
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7
			that	Lotte	not	wanted	brew	coffee	today	...
		'that Lotte didn't want to make coffee today'

Main clause           Front    Finite verb    Subject    Sentence adverb    __            Non-finite verb     Object           Adverbial
Embedded clause       __       Conjunction    Subject    Sentence adverb    Finite verb   Non-finite verb     Object           Adverbial

Main clause      (a)  I dag    ville          Lotte      inte                             läsa                tidningen
                      today    wanted         Lotte      not                              read                the newspaper
                      "Lotte didn't want to read the paper today."


Embedded clause  (b)           att            Lotte      inte               ville         koka                kaffe             i dag
                               that           Lotte      not                wanted        brew                coffee            today
                      "that Lotte didn't want to make coffee today."

Danish

main clause embedded clause		Front —	Finite verb Conjunction	Subject Subject	Sentence adverb Sentence adverb	— Finite verb	Non-finite verb Non-finite verb	Object Object	Adverbial Adverbial
main clause	a.	Klaus	er		ikke		kommet
		1	2		4		5
		Klaus	is		not		come
		...'Klaus hasn't come.'
embedded clause	b.		når	Klaus	ikke	er	kommet
			1	2	3	4	5
			when	Klaus	not	is	come
		...'when Klaus hasn't come'

So-called Perkerdansk is an example of a variety that does not follow the above.

Norwegian
(with multiple adverbials and multiple non-finite forms, in two varieties of the language)

main embedded		Front —	Finite verb Conjunction	Subject Subject	Sentence adverb Sentence adverb	— Finite verb	Non-finite verb Non-finite verb	Object Object	Adverbial Adverbial
main clause	a.	Den gangen	hadde	han	dessverre ikke		villet sende	sakspapirene	før møtet.		(Bokmål variety)
		1	2	3	4		5	6	7
		that time	had	he	unfortunately not		wanted to send	the documents	before the meeting	...
		'This time he had unfortunately not wanted to send the documents before the meeting.'
embedded clause	b.		av di	han	denne gongen diverre ikkje	hadde	vilja senda	sakspapira	føre møtet.		(Nynorsk variety)
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7
			because	he	this time unfortunately not	had	wanted to send	the documents	before the meeting	...
		'because this time he had unfortunately not wanted to send the documents before the meeting.'

Faroese
Unlike continental Scandinavian languages, the sentence adverb may either precede or follow the finite verb in embedded clauses. A (3a) slot is inserted here for the following sentence adverb alternative.

main clause embedded clause		Front —	Finite verb Conjunction	Subject Subject	Sentence adverb Sentence adverb	— Finite verb	— Sentence adverb	Non-finite verb Non-finite verb	Object Object	Adverbial Adverbial
main clause	a.	Her	man	fólk	ongantíð			hava fingið	fisk	fyrr
		1	2	3	4			5	6	7
		here	must	people	never			have caught	fish	before	...
		'People have surely never caught fish here before.'
embedded clause	b.		hóast	fólk	ongantíð	hevur		fingið	fisk	her
			1	2	3	4		5	6	7
			although	people	never	have		caught	fish	here
	c.		hóast	fólk		hevur	ongantíð	fingið	fisk	her
			1	2		4	(3a)	5	6	7
			although	people		have	never	caught	fish	here	...
		'although people have never caught fish here'

V2 in German

In main clauses, the V2 constraint holds. As with other Germanic languages, the finite verb must be in the second position. However, any non-finite forms must be in final position. The subject may be in the first position, but when a topical expression occupies the position, the subject follows the finite verb.

In embedded clauses, the V2 constraint does not hold. The finite verb form must be adjacent to any non-finite at the end of the clause.

German grammarians traditionally divide sentences into fields. Subordinate clauses preceding the main clause are said to be in the first field (Vorfeld), clauses following the main clause in the final field (Nachfeld).
The central field (Mittelfeld) contains most or all of a clause, and is bounded by left bracket (Linke Satzklammer) and right bracket (Rechte Satzklammer) positions.

In main clauses, the initial element (subject or topical expression) is said to be located in the first field, the V2 finite verb form in the left bracket, and any non-finite verb forms in the right bracket.
In embedded clauses, the conjunction is said to be located in the left bracket, and the verb forms in the right bracket. In German embedded clauses, a finite verb form follows any non-finite forms.

German

		First field	Left bracket	Central field				Right bracket			Final field
Main clause	a.	Er	hat	dich	gestern	nicht		angerufen			weil er dich nicht stören wollte.
		he	has	you	yesterday	not		rung
		... 'He didn't ring you yesterday because he didn't want to disturb you.'
	b.	Sobald er Zeit hat	wird	er	dich			anrufen
		As soon as he has time	will	he	you			ring
		...'When he has time he will ring you.'
Embedded clause	c.		dass	er	dich	gestern	nicht	angerufen hat
			that	he	you	yesterday	not	rung has
		...'that he didn't ring you yesterday'

V2 in Dutch and Afrikaans

V2 word order is used in main clauses, the finite verb must be in the second position. However, in subordinate clauses two word orders are possible for the verb clusters.

Main clauses:

Dutch

		First field	Left bracket	Central field				Right bracket		Final field
Main clause	a.	De Māori	hebben	Nieuw-Zeeland				ontdekt
		The Māori	have	New Zealand				discovered
		...'The Māori discovered New Zealand.'
	b.	Tussen ongeveer 1250 en 1300	ontdekten	de Māori	Nieuw-Zeeland
		Between approximately 1250 and 1300	discovered	the Māori	New Zealand
		...'Between about 1250 and 1300, the Māori discovered New Zealand.'
	c.	Niemand	had					gedacht		dat ook maar iets zou gebeuren.
		Nobody	had					thought
		...'Nobody figured that anything would happen.'
Embedded clause	d.		dat	de Māori	Nieuw-Zeeland			hebben ontdekt
			that	the Māori	New Zealand			have discovered
		...'that the Māori discovered New Zealand'

This analysis suggests a close parallel between the V2 finite form in main clauses and the conjunctions in embedded clauses. Each is seen as an introduction to its clause-type, a function which some modern scholars have equated with the notion of specifier. The analysis is supported in spoken Dutch by the placement of clitic pronoun subjects. Forms such as ze cannot stand alone, unlike the full-form equivalent zij. The words to which they may be attached are those same introduction words: the V2 form in a main clause, or the conjunction in an embedded clause.

		First field	Left bracket	Central field					Right bracket		Final field
Main clause	e.	Tussen ongeveer 1250 en 1300	ontdekten-ze	Nieuw-Zeeland
		between approximately 1250 and 1300	discovered-they	New Zealand
		...'Between about 1250 and 1300, they discovered New Zealand.'
Embedded clause	f.		dat-ze	tussen ongeveer 1250 en 1300	Nieuw-Zeeland				hebben ontdekt
			that-they	between approximately 1250 and 1300	New Zealand				have discovered
		...'that they discovered New Zealand between about 1250 and 1300'

Subordinate clauses:

In Dutch subordinate clauses two word orders are possible for the verb clusters and are referred to as the "red": omdat ik heb gewerkt, "because I have worked": like in English, where the auxiliary verb precedes the past particle, and the "green": omdat ik gewerkt heb, where the past particle precedes the auxiliary verb, "because I worked have": like in German. In Dutch, the green word order is the most used in speech, and the red is the most used in writing, particularly in journalistic texts, but the green is also used in writing as is the red in speech. Unlike in English however adjectives and adverbs must precede the verb: ''dat het boek groen is'', "that the book green is".

		First field	Left bracket	Central field				Right bracket		Final field
Embedded clause	g.		omdat	ik	het	dan		gezien zou hebben		most common in the Netherlands
			because	I	it	then		seen would have
	h.		omdat	ik	het	dan		zou gezien hebben		most common in Belgium
			because	I	it	then		would seen have
	i.		omdat	ik	het	dan		zou hebben gezien		often used in writing in both countries, but common in speech as well, most common in Limburg
			because	I	it	then		would have seen
	j.		omdat	ik	het	dan		gezien hebben zou		used in Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe, least common but used as well
			because	I	it	then		seen have would
		...'because then I would have seen it'

V2 in Icelandic and Yiddish

These languages freely allow V2 order in embedded clauses.

Icelandic
Two word-order patterns are largely similar to continental Scandinavian. However, in main clauses an extra slot is needed for when the front position is occupied by Það. In these clauses the subject follows any sentence adverbs. In embedded clauses, sentence adverbs follow the finite verb (an optional order in Faroese).

main clause embedded clause

Front —

Finite verb Conjunction

Subject Subject

— Finite verb

Sentence adverb Sentence adverb

Subject —

Non-finite verb Non-finite verb

Object Object

Adverbial Adverbial

main clause

a.

Margir

höfðu

aldrei

lokið

verkefninu.

Many

had

never

finished

the assignment

...

'Many had never finished the assignment.'

b.

Það

höfðu

aldrei

margir

lokið

verkefninu.

there

have

never

many

finished

the assignment

...

'There were never many people who had finished the assignment.'

c.

Bókina

hefur

María

ekki

lesið.

the book

has

Mary

not

read

...

'Mary hasn't read the book.'

embedded clause

d.

hvort

María

hefur

ekki

lesið

bokina.

whether

Mary

has

not

read

the book

...

'whether Mary hasn't read the book'

In more radical contrast with other Germanic languages, a third pattern exists for embedded clauses with the conjunction followed by the V2 order: front-finite verb-subject.

			Conjunction	Front (Topic adverbial)	Finite verb	Subject
e.	Jón	efast	um að	á morgun	fari	María	snemma	á fætur.
	John	doubts	that	tomorrow	get	Mary	early	up	...	'John doubts that Mary will get up early tomorrow.'
			Conjunction	Front (Object)	Finite verb	Subject
f.	Jón	harmar	að	þessa bók	skuli	ég	hafa	lesið.
	John	regrets	that	this book	shall	I	have	read	...	'John regrets that I have read this book.'

Yiddish
Unlike Standard German, Yiddish normally has verb forms before Objects (SVO order), and in embedded clauses has conjunction followed by V2 order.

Front (Subject)

Finite verb

Conjunction

Front (Subject)

Finite verb

a.

ikh

hob

gezen

mitvokh,

az

ikh

vel

nit

kenen

kumen

donershtik

I

have

seen

Wednesday

that

I

will

not

can

come

Thursday

...

'I saw on Wednesday that I wouldn't be able to come on Thursday.'

Front (Adverbial)

Finite verb

Subject

Conjunction

Front (Adverbial)

Finite verb

Subject

b.

mitvokh

hob

ikh

gezen,

az

donershtik

vel

ikh

nit

kenen

kumen

Wednesday

have

I

seen

that

Thursday

will

I

not

can

come

...

On Wednesday I saw that on Thursday I wouldn't be able to come.'

V2 in root clauses

One type of embedded clause with V2 following the conjunction is found throughout the Germanic languages, although it is more common in some than it is others. These are termed root clauses. They are declarative content clauses, the direct objects of so-called bridge verbs, which are understood to quote a statement. For that reason, they exhibit the V2 word order of the equivalent direct quotation.

Danish
Items other than the subject are allowed to appear in front position.

			Conjunction	Front (Subject)		Finite verb
a.	Vi	ved	at	Bo	ikke	har	læst	denne bog
	We	know	that	Bo	not	has	read	this book	...	'We know that Bo has not read this book.'
			Conjunction	Front (Object)	Finite verb	Subject
b.	Vi	ved	at	denne bog	har	Bo	ikke	læst
	We	know	that	this book	has	Bo	not	read	...	'We know that Bo has not read this book.'

Swedish
Items other than the subject are occasionally allowed to appear in front position. Generally, the statement must be one with which the speaker agrees.

			Conjunction	Front (Adverbial)	Finite verb	Subject
d.	Jag	tror	att	i det fallet	har	du	rätt
	I	think	that	in that respect	have	you	right	...	'I think that in that respect you are right.'

This order is not possible with a statement with which the speaker does not agree.

				Conjunction	Front (Adverbial)	Finite verb	Subject
e.	*Jag	tror	inte	att	i det fallet	har	du	rätt			(The asterisk signals that the sentence is not grammatically acceptable.)
	I	think	not	that	in that respect	have	you	right	...	'I don't think that in that respect you are right.'

Norwegian

			Conjunction	Front (Adverbial)	Finite verb	Subject
f.	hun	fortalte	at	til fødselsdagen	hadde	hun	fått	kunstbok			(Bokmål variety)
	she	told	that	for her birthday	had'	she	received	art-book	...	'She said that for her birthday she had been given a book on art.'

German
Root clause V2 order is possible only when the conjunction dass is omitted. In such cases, formal usage also places the finite verb form into the present subjunctive (German Konjunktiv I) if the verb form is clearly distinguishable from the indicative; if not, the past subjunctive (German Konjunktiv II) is used.

			Conjunction	Front (Subject)	Finite verb
g.	*Er	behauptet,	dass	er	hat	es	zur Post	gebracht			(The asterisk signals that the sentence is not grammatically acceptable.)
h.	Er	behauptet,		er	habe	es	zur Post	gebracht
	he	claims	(that)	he	has	it	to the post office	taken	...	'He claims that he took it to the post office.'

By contrast, a form with an embedded first-person subject would usually use the past subjunctive here, since the present indicative and subjunctive appear identical: Er behauptet, ich hätte (instead of habe) es zur Post gebracht.

Compare the normal embed-clause order after dass

			Left bracket (Conjunction)	Central field	Right bracket (Verb forms)
i.	Er	behauptet,	dass	er es zur Post	gebracht hat
	he	claims	that	he it to the post office	taken has

Perspective effects on embedded V2

There are a limited number of V2 languages that can allow for embedded verb movement for a specific pragmatic effect similar to that of English. This is due to the perspective of the speaker. Languages such as German and Swedish have embedded verb second. The embedded verb second in these kinds of languages usually occur after 'bridge verbs'.

(Bridge verbs are common verbs of speech and thoughts such as "say", "think", and "know", and the word "that" is not needed after these verbs. For example: I think he is coming.)

(a)

Jag

I

ska

will

säga

say

dig

you

att

that

jag

I

är

am

inte

not

ett

a

dugg

dew

intresserad.

interested.

(Swedish)

 

Jag ska säga dig att jag är inte ett dugg intresserad.

I will say you that I am not a dew interested.

"I tell you that I am not the least bit interested."
→ In this sentence, "tell" is the bridge verb and "am" is an embedded verb second.

Based on an assertion theory, the perspective of a speaker is reaffirmed in embedded V2 clauses. A speaker's sense of commitment to or responsibility for V2 in embedded clauses is greater than a non-V2 in embedded clause. This is the result of V2 characteristics. As shown in the examples below, there is a greater commitment to the truth in the embedded clause when V2 is in place.

(a)

Maria

Maria

denkt,

thinks

dass

that

Peter

Peter

glücklich

happy

ist.

is

Maria denkt, dass Peter glücklich ist.

Maria thinks that Peter happy is

→ In a non-V2 embedded clause, the speaker is only committed to the truth of the statement "Maria thinks ..."

(b)

Maria

Maria

denkt,

thinks

Peter

Peter

ist

is

glücklich.

happy.

Maria denkt, Peter ist glücklich.

Maria thinks Peter is happy.

→ In a V2 embedded clause, the speaker is committed to the truth of the statement "Maria thinks ..." and also the proposition "Peter is happy".

Variations of V2

Variations of V2 order such as V1 (verb-initial word order), V3 and V4 orders are widely attested in many Early Germanic and Medieval Romance languages. These variations are possible in the languages however it is severely restricted to specific contexts.

V1 word order

V1 (verb-initial word order) is a type of structure that contains the finite verb as the initial clause element. In other words the verb appears before the subject and the object of the sentence.

          (a) Max y-il    [s no' tx;i;] [o naq Lwin].    (Mayan) 
              PFV A3-see  CLF dog       CLF Pedro 
              'The dog saw Pedro.' 

V3 word order

V3 (verb-third word order) is a variation of V2 in which the finite verb is in third position with two constituents preceding it. In V3, like in V2 word order, the constituents preceding the finite verb are not categorically restricted, as the constituents can be a DP, a PP, a CP and so on.

(a)

[_DP

 

Jedes

every

jahr]

year

[_Pn

 

ich]

I

kauf

buy

mir

me

bei

at

Deichmann

Deichmann

(German)

 

[_DP Jedes jahr] [_Pn ich] kauf mir bei Deichmann

{} every year {} I buy me at Deichmann

"Every year I buy (shoes) at Deichmann's"

(b)

[_PP

 

ab

from

jetzt]

now

[_Pn

 

ich]

I

krieg

get

immer

always

zwanzig

twenty

Euro

euros

(German)

 

[_PP ab jetzt] [_Pn ich] krieg immer zwanzig Euro

{} from now {} I get always twenty euros

"From now on, I always get twenty euros"

V2 and left edge filling trigger (LEFT)

V2 is fundamentally derived from a morphological obligatory exponence effect at sentence level. The left edge filling trigger (LEFT) effects are usually seen in classical V2 languages such as Germanic languages and Old Romance languages. The left edge filling trigger is independently active in morphology as EPP effects are found in word-internal levels. The obligatory exponence derives from absolute displacement, ergative displacement and ergative doubling in inflectional morphology. In addition, second position rules in clitic second languages demonstrate post-syntactic rules of LEFT movement. Using the language Breton as an example, absence of a pre-tense expletive will allow for the LEFT to occur to avoid tense-first. The LEFT movement is free from syntactic rules which is evidence for a post-syntactic phenomenon. With the LEFT movement, V2 word order can be obtained as seen in the example below.

(a)

Bez

EXPL

'nevo 

Fin.[will.have]

hennex

he

traou

things

(in Breton)

 

Bez 'nevo  hennex traou

EXPL Fin.[will.have] he things

"He will have goods"

In this Breton example, the finite head is phonetically realized and agrees with the category of the preceding element. The pre-tense "Bez" is used in front of the finite verb to obtain the V2 word order. (finite verb "nevo" is bolded).

Syntactic verb second

It is said that V2 patterns are a syntactic phenomenon and therefore have certain environments where it can and cannot be tolerated. Syntactically, V2 requires a left-peripheral head (usually C) with an occupied specifier and paired with raising the highest verb-auxiliary to that head. V2 is usually analyzed as the co-occurrence of these requirements, which can also be referred to as "triggers". The left-peripheral head, which is a requirement that causes the effect of V2, sets further requirements on a phrase XP that occupies the initial position, so that this phrase XP may always have specific featural characteristics.

V2 in English

Modern English differs greatly in word order from other modern Germanic languages, but earlier English shared many similarities. For this reason, some scholars propose a description of Old English with V2 constraint as the norm. The history of English syntax is thus seen as a process of losing the constraint.

Old English

In these examples, finite verb forms are in green, non-finite verb forms are in orange and subjects are blue.

Main clauses

a.

Subject first

Se

the

mæssepreost

masspriest

sceal

shall

manum

people

bodian

preach

þone

the

soþan

true

geleafan

faith

Se mæssepreost sceal manum bodian þone soþan geleafan

the masspriest shall people preach the true faith

'The mass priest shall preach the true faith to the people.'

b.

Question word first

Hwi

Why

wolde

would

God

God

swa

so

lytles

small

þinges

thing

him

him

forwyrman

deny

Hwi wolde God swa lytles þinges him forwyrman

Why would God so small thing him deny

'Why would God deny him such a small thing?'

c.

Topic phrase first

on

in

twam

two

þingum

things

hæfde

has

God

God

þæs

the

mannes

man's

sawle

soul

geododod

endowed

on twam þingum hæfde God þæs mannes sawle geododod

in two things has God the man's soul endowed

'With two things God had endowed man's soul.'

d.

þa first

þa

then

wæs

was

þæt

the

folc

people

þæs

of-the

micclan

great

welan

prosperity

ungemetlice

excessively

brucende

partaking

þa wæs þæt folc þæs micclan welan ungemetlice brucende

then was the people of-the great prosperity excessively partaking

'Then the people were partaking excessively of the great prosperity.'

e.

Negative word first

Ne

not

sceal

shall

he

he

naht

nothing

unaliefedes

unlawful

don

do

Ne sceal he naht unaliefedes don

not shall he nothing unlawful do

'He shall not do anything unlawful.'

f.

Object first

Ðas

these

ðreo

three

ðing

things

forgifð

gives

God

God

he

his

gecorenum

chosen

Ðas ðreo ðing forgifð God he gecorenum

these three things gives God his chosen

'These three things God gives to his chosen

Position of object

In examples b, c and d, the object of the clause precedes a non-finite verb form. Superficially, the structure is verb-subject-object- verb. To capture generalities, scholars of syntax and linguistic typology treat them as basically subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, modified by the V2 constraint. Thus Old English is classified, to some extent, as an SOV language. However, example a represents a number of Old English clauses with object following a non-finite verb form, with the superficial structure verb-subject-verb object. A more substantial number of clauses contain a single finite verb form followed by an object, superficially verb-subject-object. Again, a generalisation is captured by describing these as subject–verb–object (SVO) modified by V2. Thus Old English can be described as intermediate between SOV languages (like German and Dutch) and SVO languages (like Swedish and Icelandic).

Effect of subject pronouns

When the subject of a clause was a personal pronoun, V2 did not always operate.

g.

forðon

therefore

we

we

sceolan

must

mid

with

ealle

all

mod

mind

&

and

mægene

power

to

to

Gode

God

gecyrran

turn

forðon we sceolan mid ealle mod & mægene to Gode gecyrran

therefore we must with all mind and power to God turn

'Therefore, we must turn to God with all our mind and power

However, V2 verb-subject inversion occurred without exception after a question word or the negative ne, and with few exceptions after þa even with pronominal subjects.

h.

for

for

hwam

what

noldest

not-wanted

þu

you

ðe sylfe

yourself

me

me

gecgyðan

make-down

þæt...

that...

for hwam noldest þu {ðe sylfe} me gecgyðan þæt...

for what not-wanted you yourself me make-down that...

'wherefore would you not want to make known to me yourself that...'

i.

Ne

not

sceal

shall

he

he

naht

nothing

unaliefedes

unlawful

don

do

Ne sceal he naht unaliefedes don

not shall he nothing unlawful do

'He shall not do anything unlawful.'

j.

þa

then

foron

sailed

hie

they

mid

with

þrim

three

scipum

ships

ut

out

þa foron hie mid þrim scipum ut

then sailed they with three ships out

'Then they sailed out with three ships.'

Inversion of a subject pronoun also occurred regularly after a direct quotation.

k.

"Me

to me

is,"

is

cwæð

said

hēo

she

Þīn

your

cyme

coming

on

in

miclum

much

ðonce"

thankfulness

"Me is," cwæð hēo Þīn cyme on miclum ðonce"

{to me} is said she your coming in much thankfulness

'"Your coming," she said, "is very gratifying to me".'

Embedded clauses

Embedded clauses with pronoun subjects were not subject to V2. Even with noun subjects, V2 inversion did not occur.

l.

...þa ða

...when

his

his

leorningcnichtas

disciples

hine

him

axodon

asked

for

for

hwæs

whose

synnum

sins

se

the

man

man

wurde

became

swa

thus

blind

blind

acenned

 

...þa ða his leorningcnichtas hine axodon for hwæs synnum se man wurde swa blind acenned

...when his disciples him asked for whose sins the man became thus blind {}

'...when his disciples asked him for whose sins the man was thus born blind'

Yes-no questions

In a similar clause pattern, the finite verb form of a yes-no question occupied the first position

m.

Truwast

trust

ðu

you

nu

now

þe

you

selfum

self

and

and

þinum

your

geferum

companions

bet

better

þonne

than

ðam

the

apostolum...?

apostles

Truwast ðu nu þe selfum and þinum geferum bet þonne ðam apostolum...?

trust you now you self and your companions better than the apostles

'Do you now trust yourself and your companions better than the apostles...?'

Middle English

Continuity

Early Middle English generally preserved V2 structure in clauses with nominal subjects.

a.

Topic phrase first

On

in

þis

this

gær

year

wolde

wanted

þe

the

king

king

Stephne

Stephen

tæcen

seize

Rodbert

Robert

On þis gær wolde þe king Stephne tæcen Rodbert

in this year wanted the king Stephen seize Robert

'During this year King Stephen wanted to seize Robert.'

b.

Nu first

Nu

now

loke

look

euerich

every

man

man

toward

to

himseleun

himself

Nu loke euerich man toward himseleun

now look every man to himself

'Now it's for every man to look to himself.'

As in Old English, V2 inversion did not apply to clauses with pronoun subjects.

c.

Topic phrase first

bi

by

þis

this

ȝe

you

mahen

may

seon

see

ant

and

witen...

know

bi þis ȝe mahen seon ant witen...

by this you may see and know

d.

Object first

alle

all

ðese

those

bebodes

commandments

ic

I

habbe

have

ihealde

kept

fram

from

childhade

childhood

alle ðese bebodes ic habbe ihealde fram childhade

all those commandments I have kept from childhood

Change

Late Middle English texts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries show increasing incidence of clauses without the inversion associated with V2.

e.

Topic adverb first

sothely

Truly

se

the

ryghtwyse

righteous

sekys

seeks

þe

the

loye

joy

and...

and...

sothely se ryghtwyse sekys þe loye and...

Truly the righteous seeks the joy and...

f.

Topic phrase first

And

And

by

by

þis

this

same

same

skyle

skill

hop

hope

and

and

sore

sorrow

shulle

shall

jugen

judge

us

us

And by þis same skyle hop and sore shulle jugen us

And by this same skill hope and sorrow shall judge us

Negative clauses were no longer formed with ne (or na) as the first element. Inversion in negative clauses was attributable to other causes.

g.

Wh- question word first

why

why

ordeyned

ordained

God

God

not

not

such

such

ordre

order

why ordeyned God not such ordre

why ordained God not such order

'Why did God not ordain such an order?' (not follows noun phrase subject)

h.

why

why

shulde

should

he

he

not...

not

 

(not precedes pronoun subject)

why shulde he not...

why should he not

i.

There first

Ther

there

nys

not-is

nat

not

oon

one

kan

can

war

aware

by

by

other

other

be

be

Ther nys nat oon kan war by other be

there not-is not one can aware by other be

'There is not a single person who learns from the mistakes of others'

j.

Object first

He

He

was

was

despeyred;

in despair;

no thyng

nothing

dorste

dared

he

he

seye

say

He was despeyred; {no thyng} dorste he seye

He was {in despair}; nothing dared he say

Vestiges in Modern English

As in earlier periods, Modern English normally has subject-verb order in declarative clauses and inverted verb-subject order in interrogative clauses. However these norms are observed irrespective of the number of clause elements preceding the verb.

Classes of verbs in Modern English: auxiliary and lexical

Inversion in Old English sentences with a combination of two verbs could be described in terms of their finite and non-finite forms. The word which participated in inversion was the finite verb; the verb which retained its position relative to the object was the non-finite verb. In most types of Modern English clause, there are two verb forms, but the verbs are considered to belong to different syntactic classes. The verbs which participated in inversion have evolved to form a class of auxiliary verbs which may mark tense, aspect and mood; the remaining majority of verbs with full semantic value are said to constitute the class of lexical verbs. The exceptional type of clause is that of declarative clause with a lexical verb in a present simple or past simple form.

Questions

Like Yes/No questions, interrogative Wh- questions are regularly formed with inversion of subject and auxiliary. Present Simple and Past Simple questions are formed with the auxiliary do, a process known as do-support.

a. Which game is Sam watching?

b. Where does she live?

(see subject-auxiliary inversion in questions)

With topic adverbs and adverbial phrases

In certain patterns similar to Old and Middle English, inversion is possible. However, this is a matter of stylistic choice, unlike the constraint on interrogative clauses.

negative or restrictive adverbial first

c. At no point will he drink Schnapps.

d. No sooner had she arrived than she started to make demands.

(see negative inversion)

comparative adverb or adjective first

e. So keenly did the children miss their parents, they cried themselves to sleep.

f. Such was their sadness, they could never enjoy going out.

After the preceding classes of adverbial, only auxiliary verbs, not lexical verbs, participate in inversion

locative or temporal adverb first

g. Here comes the bus.

h. Now is the hour when we must say goodbye.

prepositional phrase first

i. Behind the goal sat many photographers.

j. Down the road came the person we were waiting for.

(see locative inversion, directive inversion)

After the two latter types of adverbial, only one-word lexical verb forms (Present Simple or Past Simple), not auxiliary verbs, participate in inversion, and only with noun-phrase subjects, not pronominal subjects.

Direct quotations

When the object of a verb is a verbatim quotation, it may precede the verb, with a result similar to Old English V2. Such clauses are found in storytelling and in news reports.

k. "Wolf! Wolf!" cried the boy.

l. "The unrest is spreading throughout the country," writes our Jakarta correspondent.

(see quotative inversion)

Declarative clauses without inversion

Corresponding to the above examples, the following clauses show the normal Modern English subject-verb order.

Declarative equivalents

a′. Sam is watching the Cup games.

b′. She lives in the country.

Equivalents without topic fronting

c′. He will at no point drink Schnapps.

d′. She had no sooner arrived than she started to make demands.

e′. The children missed their parents so keenly that they cried themselves to sleep.

g′. The bus is coming here.

h′. The hour when we must say goodbye is now.

i′. Many photographers sat behind the goal.

j′. The person we were waiting for came down the road.

k′. The boy cried "Wolf! Wolf!"

l′. Our Jakarta correspondent writes, "The unrest is spreading throughout the country" .

French

Modern French is a subject-verb-object (SVO) language like other Romance languages (though Latin was a subject-object-verb language). However, V2 constructions existed in Old French and were more common than in other early Romance language texts. It has been suggested that this may be due to influence from the Germanic Frankish language. Modern French has vestiges of the V2 system similar to those found in modern English.

The following sentences have been identified as possible examples of V2 syntax in Old French:

a.	Old French	Longetemps	fu	ly	roys	Elinas	en	la	montaigne
	Modern French	Longtemps	fut	le	roi	Elinas	dans	la	montagne	....	'Pendant longtemps le roi Elinas a été dans les montagnes.'
	English	For a long time	was	the	king	Elinas	in	the	mountain	...	'King Elinas was in the mountains for a long time.'

b.	Old French	Iteuses	paroles	distrent	li	frere	de	Lancelot
	Modern French	Telles	paroles	dirent	les	frères	de	Lancelot	....	'Les frères de Lancelot ont dit ces paroles'
	English	Such	words	uttered	the	brothers	of	Lancelot	....	'Lancelot's brothers spoke these words.'

c.	Old French	Atant	regarda	contreval	la	mer
	Modern French	Alors	regarda	en bas	la	mer	....	'Alors Il a regardé la mer plus bas.'
	English	Then	looked at	downward	the	sea	....	'Then he looked down at the sea.' (Elision of subject pronoun, contrary to the general rule in other Old French clause structures.)

Old French

Similarly to Modern French, Old French allows a range of constituents to precede the finite verb in the V2 position.

(1)

Il

He

oste

removes.3sg

ses

his

armes

weapons

Il oste ses armes

He removes.3sg his weapons

'He removes his weapons'

Old Occitan

A language that is compared to Old French is Old Occitan, which is said to be the sister of Old French. Although the two languages are thought to be sister languages, Old Occitan exhibits a relaxed V2 whereas Old French has a much more strict V2. However, the differences between the two languages extend past V2 and also differ in a variation of V2, which is V3. In both language varieties, occurrence of V3 can be triggered by the presence of an initial frame-setting clause or adverbial (1).

(1)

Car

For

s'il

if-he

ne

NEG

me

me.CL=

garde

look.3SG

de

of

pres,

close

je

I

ne

NEG

dout

doubt.1SG

mie

NEG

Car s'il ne me garde de pres, je ne dout mie

For if-he NEG me.CL= look.3SG of close I NEG doubt.1SG NEG

'Since he watches me so closely, I do not doubt'

Other languages

Kotgarhi and Kochi

In his 1976 three-volume study of two languages of Himachal Pradesh, Hendriksen reports on two intermediate cases: Kotgarhi and Kochi. Although neither language shows a regular V-2 pattern, they have evolved to the point that main and subordinate clauses differ in word order and auxiliaries may separate from other parts of the verb:

(a)

hyunda-baassie

winter-after

jaa

goes

gõrmi

summer

hõ-i

become-GER

(in Kotgarhi)

 

hyunda-baassie jaa gõrmi hõ-i

winter-after goes summer become-GER

"After winter comes summer." (Hendriksen III:186)

Hendriksen reports that relative clauses in Kochi show a greater tendency to have the finite verbal element in clause-final position than matrix clauses do (III:188).

Ingush

In Ingush, "for main clauses, other than episode-initial and other all-new ones, verb-second order is most common. The verb, or the finite part of a compound verb or analytic tense form (i.e. the light verb or the auxiliary), follows the first word or phrase in the clause."

(a)

muusaa

Musa

vy

V.PROG

hwuona

2sg.DAT

telefon

telephone

jettazh

striking

muusaa vy hwuona telefon jettazh

Musa V.PROG 2sg.DAT telephone striking

'Musa is telephoning you.'

O'odham

O'odham has relatively free V2 word order within clauses; for example, all of the following sentences mean "the boy brands the pig":

          ceoj ʼo g ko:jĭ ceposid
          ko:jĭ ʼo g ceoj ceposid
          ceoj ʼo ceposid g ko:jĭ
          ko:jĭ ʼo ceposid g ceoj
          ceposid ʼo g ceoj g ko:jĭ
          ceposid ʼo g ko:jĭ g ceoj
The finite verb is "'o" which appears after a constituent, in second position

Despite the general freedom of sentence word order, O'odham is fairly strictly verb-second in its placement of the auxiliary verb (in the above sentences, it is ʼo; in the following it is ʼañ):

          Affirmative: cipkan ʼañ = "I am working"
          Negative: pi ʼañ cipkan = "I am not working" [not *pi cipkan ʼañ]

Sursilvan

Among dialects of the Romansh, V2 word order is limited to Sursilvan, the insertion of entire phrases between auxiliary verbs and participles occurs, as in 'Cun Mariano Tschuor ha Augustin Beeli discurriu ' ('Mariano Tschuor has spoken with Augustin Beeli'), as compared to Engadinese 'Cun Rudolf Gasser ha discurrü Gion Peider Mischol' ('Rudolf Gasser has spoken with Gion Peider Mischol'.)

The constituent that is bounded by the auxiliary, ha, and the participle, discurriu, is known as a Satzklammer or 'verbal bracket'.

Estonian

In Estonian, V2 word order is very frequent in the literate register, but less frequent in the spoken register. When V2 order does occur, it is found in main clauses, as illustrated in (1).

(1)

Kiiresti

quickly

lahku-s-id

leave-PST-3PL

õpilase-d

student-NOM.PL

koolimaja-st.

schoolhouse-ELA

Kiiresti lahku-s-id õpilase-d koolimaja-st.

quickly leave-PST-3PL student-NOM.PL schoolhouse-ELA

'The students departed quickly from the schoolhouse.'

Unlike Germanic V2 languages, Estonian has several instances where V2 word order is not attested in embedded clauses, such as wh-interrogatives (2), exclamatives (3), and non-subject-initial clauses (4).

(2)

Kes

who.NOM.

mei-le

we-ALL

täna

today

külla

village/visit.ILL

tule-b?

come-PRS.3SG

Kes mei-le täna külla tule-b?

who.NOM. we-ALL today village/visit.ILL come-PRS.3SG

'Who will visit us today?'

(3)

Küll

ADV

ta

s/he.NOM

täna

today

tule-b.

come-PRS.3SG

Küll ta täna tule-b.

ADV s/he.NOM today come-PRS.3SG

'S/he's sure to come today!'

(4)

Täna

today

ta

s/he.NOM

mei-le

we-ALL

külla

village/visit.ILL

ei

not

tule.

come

Täna ta mei-le külla ei tule.

today s/he.NOM we-ALL village/visit.ILL not come

'Today s/he won't come to visit us.'

Welsh

In Welsh, V2 word order is found in Middle Welsh, but not in Old and Modern Welsh which only has verb-initial order. Middle Welsh displays three characteristics of V2 grammar:

         (1)	A finite verb in the C-domain
         (2)	The constituent preceding the verb can be any constituent (often driven by pragmatic features). 
         (3)	Only one constituent preceding the verb in subject position

As we can see in the examples of V2 in Welsh below, there is only one constituent preceding the finite verb, but any kind of constituent (such as a noun phrase NP, adverb phrase AP and preposition phrase PP) can occur in this position.

(a)

[_DP

 

'r

the

guyrda

nobles

a]

PRT

doethant

came

y gyt.

together.

[_DP 'r guyrda a] doethant {y gyt}.

{} the nobles PRT came together.

"The nobles came together"
→ This sentence has a constituent with a subject, followed by the verb in second position.

(b)

[_DP

 

deu

two

drws

door

a]

PRT

welynt

saw

yn

PRED

agoret.

open.

[_DP deu drws a] welynt yn agoret.

{} two door PRT saw PRED open.

"They saw two doors that were open"
→ This sentence has a constituent with a object, followed by the verb in second position.

(c)

[_AdvP

 

yn

PRED

diannot

immediate

y]

PRT

doeth

came

tan

fire

o

from

r

the

nef.

heaven.

[_AdvP yn diannot y] doeth tan o r nef.

{} PRED immediate PRT came fire from the heaven.

"They made for the hall"
→ This sentence has a constituent that is an adverb phrase, followed by the verb in second position.

(d)

[_PP

 

y

to

r

the

neuad

hall

y]

PRT

kyrchyssant.

went.

[_PP y r neuad y] kyrchyssant.

{} to the hall PRT went.

"They made for the hall"
→ This sentence has a constituent that is a preposition phrase, followed by the verb in second position.

Middle Welsh can also exhibit variations of V2 such as cases of V1 (verb-initial word order) and V3 orders. However, these variations are restricted to specific contexts such as in sentences that has impersonal verbs, imperatives, answers or direct responses to questions or commands and idiomatic sayings. It is also possible to have a preverbal particle preceding the verb in V2, however these kind of sentences are limited as well.

Wymysorys

Wymysory is classified as a West-Germanic language, however it can exhibit various Slavonic characteristics. It is argued that Wymysorys enables its speaker to operate between two word order system that represent two forces driving the grammar of this language Germanic and Slavonic. The Germanic system is not as flexible and allows for V2 order to exist in it form while the Slavonic system is relatively free. Due to the rigid word order in the Germanic system, the placement of the verb is determines by syntactic rules in which V2 word order is commonly respected.

Wymysory, like with other languages that exhibit V2 word order, the finite verb is in second position with a constituent of any category preceding the verb such as DP, PP, AP and so on.

(a)

[_DP

 

Der

The

klop]

man

kuzt

speaks

wymyioerys.

Wymysorys.

[_DP Der klop] kuzt wymyioerys.

{} The man speaks Wymysorys.

"The man speaks Wymysorys"
→ This sentence has a constituent with a subject, followed by the verb in second position.

(b)

[_DP

 

Dos

This

bihɫa]

book

hot

had

yh

I

gyśrejwa.

written.

[_DP Dos bihɫa] hot yh gyśrejwa.

{} This book had I written.

"I had written that book"
→ This sentence has a constituent with an object, followed by the verb in second position.

(c)

[_PP

 

Fjyr

For

ejn]

him

ej

is

do.

this.

[_PP Fjyr ejn] ej do.

{} For him is this.

"This is for him"
→ This sentence has a preposition phrase, followed by the verb in second position.

Classical Portuguese

Compared to other Romance languages, the V2 word order has existed in Classical Portuguese a lot longer. Although Classical Portuguese is a V2 language, V1 occurred more frequently and as a result of this, it is argued whether or not Classical Portuguese really is a V2-like language. However, Classical Portuguese is a relaxed V2 language, meaning V2 patterns coexist with its variations, which are V1 and/or V3. In the case of Classical Portuguese, there is a strong relationship between V1 and V2 due to V2 clauses being derived from V1 clauses. In languages, such as Classical Portuguese, where both V1 and V2 exist, both patterns depend on the movement of the verb to a high position of the CP layer, with the difference being whether or not a phrase is moved to a preverbal position.

Although V1 occurred more frequently in Classical Portuguese, V2 is the more frequent order found in matrix clauses. Post-verbal subjects may also occupy a high position in the clause and can precede VP adverbs. In (1) and (2), we can see that the adverb 'bem' can precede or proceed the post-verbal subject.

(1)

E

and

nos

in-the

gasalhados

welcome

e

and

abraços

greetings

mostraram

showed

os

the

cardeais

cardinals

legados

delegates

E nos gasalhados e abraços mostraram os cardeais legados

and in-the welcome and greetings showed the cardinals delegates

'In the welcome and greetings the cardinal delegates showed this satisfaction well.'

(2)

E

and

quadra-Ihe

fits-CL.3.DAT

bem

well

o

the

nome

name

de

of

Piemonte...

Piemonte

E quadra-Ihe bem o nome de Piemonte...

and fits-CL.3.DAT well the name of Piemonte

'And the name of Piemonte fits it well...'

In (2), the post-verbal subject is understood as an informational focus, but the same cannot be said for (1) because the difference of the positions determine how the subject is interpreted.

Structural analysis of V2

Various structural analyses of V2 have been developed, including within the model of dependency grammar and generative grammar.

Structural analysis in dependency grammar

Dependency grammar (DG) can accommodate the V2 phenomenon simply by stipulating that one and only one constituent can be a predependent of the finite verb (i.e. a dependent which precedes its head) in declarative (matrix) clauses (in this, Dependency Grammar assumes only one clausal level and one position of the verb, instead of a distinction between a VP-internal and a higher clausal position of the verb as in Generative Grammar, cf. the next section). On this account, the V2 principle is violated if the finite verb has more than one predependent or no predependent at all. The following DG structures of the first four German sentences above illustrate the analysis (the sentence means 'The kids play soccer in the park before school'):

The finite verb spielen is the root of all clause structure. The V2 principle requires that this root have a single predependent, which it does in each of the four sentences.

The four English sentences above involving the V2 phenomenon receive the following analyses:

Structural analysis in generative grammar

In the theory of Generative Grammar, the verb second phenomenon has been described as an application of X-bar theory. The combination of a first position for a phrase and a second position for a single verb has been identified as the combination of specifier and head of a phrase. The part after the finite verb is then the complement. While the sentence structure of English is usually analysed in terms of three levels, CP, IP, and VP, in German linguistics the consensus has emerged that there is no IP in German.

Tree structure for the English clause. German does not use an "I" position and has a VP with the verb at the end.

The VP (verb phrase) structure assigns position and functions to the arguments of the verb. Hence, this structure is shaped by the grammatical properties of the V (verb) which heads the structure. The CP (complementizer phrase) structure incorporates the grammatical information which identifies the clause as declarative or interrogative, main or embedded. The structure is shaped by the abstract C (complementiser) which is considered the head of the structure. In embedded clauses the C position accommodates complementizers. In German declarative main clauses, C hosts the finite verb. Thus the V2 structure is analysed as

1 Topic element (specifier of CP)

2 Finite-verb form (C=head of CP) i.e. verb-second

3 Remainder of the clause

In embedded clauses, the C position is occupied by a complementizer. In most Germanic languages (but not in Icelandic or Yiddish), this generally prevents the finite verb from moving to C.

The structure is analysed as

1 Complementizer (C=head of CP)

2 Bulk of clause (VP), including, in German, the subject.

3 Finite verb (V position)

This analysis does not provide a structure for the instances in some language of root clauses after bridge verbs.

Example: Danish Vi ved at denne bog har Bo ikke læst with the object of the embedded clause fronted.

(Literally 'We know that this book has Bo not read')

The solution is to allow verbs such as ved to accept a clause with a second (recursive) CP.

The complementizer occupies C position in the upper CP.

The finite verb moves to the C position in the lower CP.

See also

• Second position clitics

Literature

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