V2 Word Order - Examples

Examples

The following examples from German illustrate the V2 principle:

a. Die Kinder spielen Fussball vor der Schule im Park.
the kids play soccer before school in the park
.
b. Fussball spielen die Kinder vor der Schule im Park. 'Soccer the kids play before school in the park.'
c. Vor der Schule spielen die Kinder Fussball im Park. 'Before school, the kids play soccer in the park.'
d. Im Park spielen die Kinder Fussball vor der Schule. 'In the park, the kids play soccer before school.'
.
e. *Vor der Schule Fussball spielen die Kinder im Park. 'Before school soccer, the kids play in the park.'
f. *Fussball die Kinder spielen vor der Schule im Park. 'Soccer the kids play before school in the park.'

(The star * is the standard means employed in linguistics to indicate that the example is grammatically unacceptable.) The sentences a-d, which are all perfectly acceptable, have the finite verb spielen in second position, whereby the major constituent that appears in the first position varies. Note that in the English translations on the right, the subject the kids remains in the position immediately before the finite verb play. The e and f sentences are bad because the finite verb no longer appears in second position there, but rather it has been pushed to the third position. The V2 principle allows any major constituent to occupy the first position as long as the second position is occupied by the finite verb.

The following examples from Dutch illustrate the V2 principle further:

a. Ik las dit boek gisteren.
I read this book yesterday
.
b. Dit boek las ik gisteren 'This book I read yesterday.'
c. Gisteren las ik dit boek. 'Yesterday I read this book.'
.
d. *Dit boek ik las gisteren. 'This book I read yesterday.'
e. *Gisteren ik las dit boek. 'Yesterday I read this book.'

We again see in sentence a-c that the as long as the finite verb (here las) is in second position, the major constituent in first position can vary. When two (or more) major constituents appear before the finite verb as in sentences d and e, the V2 principle is violated and the sentence is bad. Data similar to these examples from German and Dutch could easily be produced for the other Germanic languages.

Read more about this topic:  V2 Word Order

Famous quotes containing the word examples:

    “No rules exist, and examples are simply life-savers answering the appeals of rules making vain attempts to exist.”
    —André Breton (1896–1966)

    “It is hardly to be believed how spiritual reflections when mixed with a little physics can hold people’s attention and give them a livelier idea of God than do the often ill-applied examples of his wrath.”
    —G.C. (Georg Christoph)

    “In the examples that I here bring in of what I have [read], heard, done or said, I have refrained from daring to alter even the smallest and most indifferent circumstances. My conscience falsifies not an iota; for my knowledge I cannot answer.”
    —Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)