Re: Verb-second ... verb-penultimate languages?

From: "R A Brown" <ray@...>
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 9:36 PM

> As I understand it, the so-called V2 languages, it's
> really: TOPIC + VERB + REST OF SENTENCE.
Well, I don't know exactly what "V2" means, but I've seen it
together with German and Dutch splitting verbs:

E.g. the verb "anerkennen" (to recognize) [1]:

  Sie  erkennen den Antrag      an.
  They -cognize the application re-.

E.g. the verb "durchlesen" (to read through):

  Ich lese mir    eine Broschüre durch.
  I   read to me  a    brochure  through.

The same works as well with other prefixes and prepositions,
but not with all. But I think the part that is crucial for
V2 is the following:

E.g. gestanden haben (to have stood)

  Ich habe lange in der Schlange gestanden.
  I   have long  in the cue      stood

Note that the conjugated auxiliary verb "haben" is the
second constituent, while the past participle comes at the
end of the main clause (which is called "Verbklammer" IIRC).
It is different, though, for sub clauses [2]:

  ..., weil    ich in der Schlange gestanden habe.
  ..., because I   in the cue      stood     have.

It would be ungrammatical to put another noun phrase between
the S and the V in a main clause, so the V is always the
second constituent of a main clause.

I hope that helped at least a little bit.

Carsten

[1] You can alarmingly often see that this verb is
understood as indivisible. My German teacher said it's not,
and it also hurts my instinct to say "Sie anerkennen den
Antrag". The _an-_ of _anerkennen_ seems to be about to
fossilize.

[2] Both verb bracketing and putting the verb at the end of
a subclause have added to the urban myth that in German
verbs *always* come last -- after an infinite succession of
sub clauses that is, of course ...

--
"Miranayam kepauarà naranoaris." (Kalvin nay Hobbes)
Tenena, Lahang 1, 2315, ea 02:13:46 pd