Decomposing adverbs and complementizers: A case study of Dutch 'hoe' (how)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines the syntax of the Dutch wh-element hoe ‘how’ in two of its grammatical uses: its use as an interrogative manner ‘adverb’ (hoeQ(uestion)), and its use as a non-interrogative conjunctive element (referred to as hoeE(ventive)). It is proposed that the two instances of hoe can be reduced to a single linguistic expression, namely a nominal expression. HoeQ starts out as the complement of a silent adposition which heads a PP. This PP is moved to the clausal left periphery, specifically to the Spec-position of a dummy adpositional ‘conjunction’ that surfaces as of ‘if/whether’ or remains silent. HoeE is base-generated in [Spec, CP] and assigns substantive contents (‘manner/way’) to the clause. This nominal clause-marker moves to the specifier position of an adpositional conjunction within the clausal left periphery. Thus, although the base positions of the nominal expressions hoeQ and hoeE are configurationally asymmetric, their derived positions are configurationally symmetric.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNon-interrogative subordinate Wh-clauses
EditorsLukasz Jędrzejowski, Carla Umbach
Place of PublicationOxford
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter6
Pages158-206
ISBN (Electronic)9780191933264
ISBN (Print)9780192844620
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Publication series

NameOxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics
PublisherOxford University Press

Keywords

  • Dutch
  • hoeQuestion
  • hoeEventive
  • adpositional conjunction
  • nominal clause-marker
  • symmetry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Decomposing adverbs and complementizers: A case study of Dutch 'hoe' (how)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this