Unlike other Germanic languages, V2 movement is not common in English. However, it was once common. It is now used in certain cases.
The following sentences have V2 movement:
Here comes the bus.
Now is time to say good-bye.
Never will he agree.
Behind the park is the school.
Down came the rain.
The examples begin with adverbs and a preposition. With most adverbs, V2 movement is not allowed as in the sentence Sometimes they can't come. The examples preserve a structure which was common in Old English and Middle English. They can be considered vestiges of V2 movement in English.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
The opera Turandot features an Asian princess who many men wish to marry. However, if they wish to do so, they must answer three riddles c...
-
Most English compound nouns are endocentric. This means that the central meaning of the compound is carried by the head. The head of English... -
All English sentences can be classified as canonical and non-canonical clauses. Canonical clauses are the most basic sentences we can constr...
No comments:
Post a Comment