Syntax and Semantics of Imperative Subjects

Authors

  • Britta Jensen University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/12.23

Keywords:

Imperative, Subject, Phrase Structure, TP

Abstract

In this paper I examine the distributional and typological constraints on subjects of imperatives in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish and aim to account for all the facts call for explanation (interpretation of imperative subject, word order variation, etc.) with as few departures as possible from declarative clauses. In fact, all the observed differences are shown to reduce to features of one functional X°. After charting the typology of licit imperative DPs for each language, I present an analysis which accounts for with reference to two points of difference: ±identity and ±case neutralisation.

Downloads

Published

2004-01-27

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 1 (2003): Proceedings of SCL 19

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).