Einglisc V2 Word Order
▲
0▲ 0 ▼ 0
A guide to the overarching syntactical structure of Einglisc sentences
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 30 Apr 2021, 01:24.
[comments] <wip>egcgrammarsyntax
Many Germanic languages follow a syntactical structure known as V2 Word Order (V2-Wordstelling in Einglisc), which is short for verb-second word order (verb tvaðe wordstelling). Clauses that adhere to V2 must always have their finite verbs in the second position (not necessarily the second word), regardless of whether that means the subject comes after the verb. Whereas Modern English saw a heavy reduction in the use of V2, most main clauses in Einglisc adhere to it. To illustrate this difference, here is an example (the numbered sentences are grammatically correct, the bulleted ones are incorrect):
"Ethelred was fortunately nice yesterday"
- Æðelred was gesælig lijðe jesterdaj
- Æðelred was jesterdaj lijðe gesælig
- Jesterdaj was Æðelred gesælig lijðe
- Jesterdaj was Æðelred lijðe gesælig
- Gesælig was Æðelred lijðe jesterdaj
- Gesælig was Æðelred jesterdaj lijðe
- Jesterdaj Æðelred was gesælig lijðe
- Jesterdaj Æðelred was lijðe gesælig
- Jesterdaj was gesælig Æðelred lijðe
- Gesælig Æðelred was lijðe jesterdaj
- Gesælig was jesterdaj Æðelred lijðe
- Gesælig Æðelred was jesterdaj lijðe
As this example shows, the finite verb is always in the 2nd position in V2 clauses, even if that means the subject (here, 'Æðelred') must come after it. Additionally, the subject may only appear in the 1st or 3rd position, anywhere else being ungrammatical. This results in many sentence arrangements that would be grammatically correct in Modern English being incorrect in Einglisc (i.e "Yesterday, Ethelred was fortunately nice"). In comparison, adverbs/adverbials are significantly more flexible. They can come in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, or 5th visible (de facto) positions; however, the grammatical (de jure) positions are a bit more rigid, as we will discuss later in this article. Of course, just because the adverb can be placed in a certain position, it doesn't mean the sentence will always sound natural. We will also discuss this later in the article.
In Einglisc, V2 word order only applies to specific clauses, with other clauses following different rules. In order to fully cover the ins-and-outs of Einglisc syntax, we will be approaching each clause one-by-one. Before that, let's lay some groundwork by identifying the parts of a clause that we will need to distinguish.
Clauses (senling, literally "sentence-ling", in Einglisc) are the largest components of a sentence. They consist of three primary constituents: predicands, predicates, and adjuncts.
Predicand - Predikand/Groundlið
A predicand, or groundlið ("foundation-component"), is the constituent of a clause that serves as the subject of a verb. Predicands are often the subjects of a sentence's main clause:
Ij
I jode to ðe scjoppe
went to the shop
Ðe feair,
The man, ðinkend at himself,
thinking to himself, lefte for heim
left for home
However, the predicand may sometimes be only implied:
[Ðou/Je]
[You] Goa mid hir
Go with her
Part of the main clause's predicate:
Ij
I will
want him
him to goa mid jou
to go with you
Or an adjunct:
Ðe cildren
The children kammen forbij
came by on ðe daj
on the day seðe bewolkned
that was cloudy
Note that when the predicand is not the subject of the main clause, it is often the implied subject of an embedded clause. In other words, it's connected to a non-finite verb (an infinitive clause, or infinitivesen) or a finite verb by a conjunction it's not repeated after (a relative clause, or relativesen).
Predicates Other Than the Head of the Clause - MOVE TO ADJUNCT SECTION
In Modern English, there are a few cases in which a predicate may be an adjunct of another clause or there may be no verb at all. In Einglisc, there are only two:
A) When the subject is the predicand:
Sittend next bij hir,
Sitting next to her ij
I was bliðe
was happy
Ij
I swijed,
kept quiet, bliðe bare for to be ðer
happy just to be there
Predicate - Predikate/Kvidelið
A predicate, or kvidelið (“statement component”), is the portion of a clause that makes a claim about the predicand. Most predicates consist of two main components:
(1) The Verb
The core constituent of most predicates is/are the verb(s) (same spelling in Einglisc). The verb may consist of a single finite verb:
Ðou
You fremmedest
performed wynnsomlig
beautifully
A more complex verb phrase with a main verb followed by non-finite verbs:
Je
You kouðen have kunnen fortelle
could have been able to tell my ðat
me that
Or a non-finite verb/verb phrase:
Our maingoal:
Our primary objective: To bescielde
To protect mannslife
human life
There are also some clauses that do not require a verb at all. These verbless clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma, like so:
Diogenes
Diogenes stormed into Platons klasseroum,
stormed into Plato's classroom, en plukked cikken in hand
a plucked chicken in hand
(2) The Arguments
Arguments (also spelled the same in Einglisc) are expressions that help complete the meaning of a predicate. While the subject is considered an argument, we will be focusing on the arguments that make up the predicate in this section. There are three main types: direct objects, indirect objects, and obliques.
The Direct and Indirect Objects - Ðe Driegend ond Midweurkend Onwyrpts
It's probably safe to assume that you are already familiar with the concepts of the direct object, or driegend onwyrpt (literally "enduring/recipient object") in Einglisc, and indirect object, or midweurkend onwyrpt (literally "cooperating object"). The objects usually directly follow the final verb of the clause (if present) without being preceded by a preposition. The one exception to this being object-first clauses, in which one of the object precedes both the subject and the verb(s) (more on this in the Main Clause section). Aside from object-first clauses, the objects are ordered identically to MdE: indirect object(s) >> direct object(s). Compare:
Niels
Niels gave
gave my
me ðe ball
the ball
Niels
Niels gave
gave ðe ball
the ball my
me
As you can see in the examples above, changing the order of the objects changes the meaning of the clause.
The Oblique - Sideling Onwyrpt
In Einglisc grammar, an oblique, or sideling onwyrpt (literally "oblique object"), is considered a type of indirect object that is either marked by a preposition or an adjective. They are used to indicate either a recipient or result of the action, acting as a sort of 3rd object. They are very easy to confuse with adjuncts, which are not considered arguments.
Main clauses (headsens, "head-sentences", in Einglisc), or independent clauses, are clauses that can stand on their own. They may ✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
Comments
