V2 word order

Examples of V2 in English include (brackets indicating a single constituent): If English used V2 in all situations, then it would feature such sentences like: 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.

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.

If the same example in Norwegian were translated to English with the inversions intact: Barnachild-DEF-PLspilteplay-PRETfotballfootball/socceriinparkenpark-DEF-SGførbeforeskoletid.schooltime-SG.Barna spilte fotball i parken før skoletid.child-DEF-PL play-PRET football/soccer in park-DEF-SG before schooltime-SG.The children played football/soccer in the park before schooltime.Fotballfootball/soccerspilteplay-PRETbarnachild-DEF-PLiinparkenpark-DEF-SGførbeforeskoletid.schooltime-SG.Fotball spilte barna i parken før skoletid.football/soccer play-PRET child-DEF-PL in park-DEF-SG before schooltime-SG.Football/soccer played the children in the park before schooltime.FørBeforeskoletidschooltimespilteplay-PRETbarnachild-DEF-PLfotballfootball/socceriinparken.park-DEF-SG.Før skoletid spilte barna fotball i parken.Before schooltime play-PRET child-DEF-PL football/soccer in park-DEF-SG.Before schooltime played the children football/soccer in the park.Iinparkenpark-DEF-SGspilteplay-PRETbarnachild-DEF-PLfotballfootball/soccerførbeforeskoletid.schooltime.I parken spilte barna fotball før skoletid.in park-DEF-SG play-PRET child-DEF-PL football/soccer before schooltime.In the park played the children football/soccer before schooltime.The caveat here (unlike in German) is that in languages without grammatical case, the form with the object first (2b) can only be used unambiguously when the object is unmistakable from the subject, such as if it is a personal pronoun, or as in this example, cannot meaningfully be the subject.

Unlike in English however adjectives and adverbs must precede the verb: ''dat het boek groen is'', "that the book green is".

[9] 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.

They are declarative content clauses, the direct objects of so-called bridge verbs, which are understood to quote a statement.

Compare the normal embed-clause order after dass 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.

MariaMaria-NOM-SGdenkt,think-PRES-3SG,dassthatPeterPeter-NOM-SGglücklichhappyist.be-PRES-3SGMaria denkt, dass Peter glücklich ist.Maria-NOM-SG think-PRES-3SG, that Peter-NOM-SG happy be-PRES-3SG→ In a non-V2 embedded clause, the speaker is only committed to the truth of the statement "Maria thinks ..."MariaMaria-NOM-SGdenkt,think-PRES-3SG,PeterPeter-NOM-SGistbe-PRES-3SGglücklich.happy.Maria denkt, Peter ist glücklich.Maria-NOM-SG think-PRES-3SG, Peter-NOM-SG be-PRES-3SG 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 order such as V1 (verb-initial word order), V3 and V4 orders are widely attested in many Early Germanic and Medieval Romance languages.

[14] [DP Jedeseveryjahr]year[Pn ich]Ikaufbuy-PRES-1SGmirme-DAT-SGbeiatDeichmannDeichmann-DAT-SG(substandard German, „Kiezdeutsch“) [DP Jedes jahr] [Pn ich] kauf mir bei Deichmann{} every year {} I buy-PRES-1SG me-DAT-SG at Deichmann-DAT-SG"Every year I buy (shoes) at Deichmann's" [PP abfromjetzt]now[Pn ich]Ikriegget-PRES-SGimmeralwayszwanzigtwentyEuroeuro-ACC-PL(substandard German) [PP ab jetzt] [Pn ich] krieg immer zwanzig Euro{} from now {} I get-PRES-SG always twenty euro-ACC-PL"From now on, I always get twenty euros"V2 is fundamentally derived from a morphological obligatory exponence effect at sentence level.

The left edge filling trigger is independently active in morphology as EPP effects are found in word-internal levels.

Using the language Breton as an example, absence of a pre-tense expletive will allow for the LEFT to occur to avoid tense-first.

[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.

To capture generalities, scholars of syntax and linguistic typology treat them as basically subject-object-verb (SOV) structure, modified by the V2 constraint.

A more substantial number of clauses contain a single finite verb form followed by an object, superficially verb-subject-object.

forðonthereforewewesceolanmustmidwithealleallmodmind&andmægenepowertotoGodeGodgecyrranturnforðon we sceolan mid ealle mod & mægene to Gode gecyrrantherefore we must with all mind and power to God turn'Therefore, we must turn to God with all our mind and powerHowever, 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.

...þa ða...whenhishisleorningcnichtasdiscipleshinehimaxodonaskedforforhwæswhosesynnumsinssethemanmanwurdebecameswathusblindblindacenned ...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'In a similar clause pattern, the finite verb form of a yes–no question occupied the first position Truwasttrustðuyoununowþeyouselfumselfandandþinumyourgeferumcompanionsbetbetterþonnethanðamtheapostolum...?apostlesTruwast 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...?

bibyþisthisȝeyoumahenmayseonseeantandwiten...knowbi þis ȝe mahen seon ant witen...by this you may see and knowalleallðesethosebebodescommandmentsicIhabbehaveihealdekeptframfromchildhadechildhoodalle ðese bebodes ic habbe ihealde fram childhadeall those commandments I have kept from childhoodLate Middle English texts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries show increasing incidence of clauses without the inversion associated with V2.

sothelyTrulysetheryghtwyserighteoussekysseeksþetheloyejoyand...and...sothely se ryghtwyse sekys þe loye and...Truly the righteous seeks the joy and...AndAndbybyþisthissamesameskyleskillhophopeandandsoresorrowshulleshalljugenjudgeususAnd by þis same skyle hop and sore shulle jugen usAnd by this same skill hope and sorrow shall judge usNegative clauses were no longer formed with ne (or na) as the first element.

(not follows noun phrase subject)whywhyshuldeshouldhehenot...not (not precedes pronoun subject)why shulde he not...why should he notThertherenysnot-isnatnotoononekancanwarawarebybyotherotherbebeTher nys nat oon kan war by other bethere not-is not one can aware by other be'There is not a single person who learns from the mistakes of others'HeHewaswasdespeyred;in despair;no thyngnothingdorstedaredheheseyesayHe was despeyred; {no thyng} dorste he seyeHe was {in despair}; nothing dared he sayAs in earlier periods, Modern English normally has subject-verb order in declarative clauses and inverted verb-subject order[19] in interrogative clauses.

CarFors'ilif-heneNEGmeme.CL=gardelook.3SGdeofpres,closejeIneNEGdoutdoubt.1SGmieNEGCar s'il ne me garde de pres, je ne dout mieFor if-he NEG me.CL= look.3SG of close I NEG doubt.1SG NEG'Since he watches me so closely, I do not doubt'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: hyunda-baassiewinter-afterjaagoesgõrmisummerhõ-ibecome-GER(in Kotgarhi) hyunda-baassie jaa gõrmi hõ-iwinter-after goes summer become-GER"After winter comes summer."

'O'odham has relatively free V2 word order within clauses; for example, all of the following sentences mean "the boy brands the pig":[23] The finite verb is "'o" and appears after a constituent in the second position.

Despite the general freedom of sentence word order, O'odham is fairly strictly V2 in its placement of the auxiliary verb (in the sentences above, it is ʼo; in the sentences below, it is ʼañ): 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'.

"Immediately there came fire from the heavens" → This sentence has a constituent that is an adverb phrase, followed by the verb in second position.[PP ytortheneuadhally]PRTkyrchyssant.went.

However, these variations are restricted to specific contexts, such as in sentences with impersonal verbs, imperatives, answers or direct responses to questions or commands and idiomatic sayings.

It is argued that Wymysorys enables its speaker to operate between two word order system, which represent both forces driving its grammar: Germanic and Slavonic.

The rigid word order in the Germanic system causes the placement of the verb to be determined by syntactic rules in which V2 is commonly respected.

"The man speaks Wymysorys" → This sentence has a constituent with a subject, followed by the verb in second position.[DP DosThisbihɫa]bookhothadyhIgyśrejwa.written.

"This is for him" → This sentence has a preposition phrase, followed by the verb in second position.V2 word order existed in Classical Portuguese much longer than in other Romance languages.

The CP (complementizer phrase) structure incorporates the grammatical information which identifies the clause as declarative or interrogative, main or embedded.