1887
Volume 48 Number 2
  • ISSN 0378-4169
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9927

Abstract

Abstract

In this contribution, I address the syntax of similative clauses in Germanic. Drawing mostly from English and German, I show that similative clauses pattern with prepositional relative clauses and hence are to be analysed as such. Specifically, I propose that the so-called parameter in similatives corresponds to the head complex of the relative clause that originates within the subordinate clause to then raise to the edge of it in line with the head-raising approach to relative clauses as originally proposed by Kayne (1994). The underlying syntactic structure I argue for in this contribution, as well as the derivation proposed for similative clauses is not specific to English and German, but should also hold for other Germanic varieties.

Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/li.00128.mas
2026-02-19
2026-03-17
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/li.00128.mas.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/li.00128.mas&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Alexeyenko, S.
    (2015) The syntax and semantics of Manner modification: Adjectives and adverbs. PhD thesis, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.
  2. (2025) On the categorial status of adverbs. Languages, 10(7), 149. 10.3390/languages10070149
    https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10070149 [Google Scholar]
  3. Alrenga, P.
    (2010) Comparisons of similarity and difference. InP. Cabredo Hofher & O. Matushansky (Eds), Adjectives: Formal analyses in syntax and semantics, 155–186. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/la.153.05alr
    https://doi.org/10.1075/la.153.05alr [Google Scholar]
  4. Bianchi, V.
    (1999) Consequences of antisymmetry: Headed relative clauses. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110803372
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110803372 [Google Scholar]
  5. Brandner, E. & Bräuning, I.
    (2013) Relative wo in Alemannic: Only a complementizer?Linguistische Berichte, 2341, 131–169. 10.46771/2366077500234_1
    https://doi.org/10.46771/2366077500234_1 [Google Scholar]
  6. Bresnan, J. W.
    (1972) Theory of complementation in English syntax. PhD thesis, MIT, Cambridge, MA.
  7. (1975) Comparative deletion and constraints on transformations. Linguistic Analysis, 11, 25–74.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bužarovska, E.
    (2005) Equality versus similarity constructions in English. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(1), 74–99.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bücking, S.
    (2015) Zur Syntax hypothetischer Vergleichssätze im Deutschen [On the syntax of hypothetical comparison constructions in German]. Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik, 43(2), 261–305. 10.1515/zgl‑2015‑0012
    https://doi.org/10.1515/zgl-2015-0012 [Google Scholar]
  10. Camp, E. & Hawthorne, J.
    (2008) Sarcastic like: A case study in the interface of syntax and semantics. Philosophical Perspectives, 221, 1–21. 10.1111/j.1520‑8583.2008.00140.x
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1520-8583.2008.00140.x [Google Scholar]
  11. Chamoreau, C. & Treis, Y.
    (Eds) (2019) Comparaison d’égalité et de similitude [Equative and similative constructions]. Faits de Langue, 50(1). 10.1163/19589514‑05001004
    https://doi.org/10.1163/19589514-05001004 [Google Scholar]
  12. Chomsky, N.
    (1977) On wh-movement. InP. Culicover, T. Wasow & A. Akmajian (Eds), Formal syntax, 71–132. New York: Academic Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Cinque, G.
    (2020) The syntax of relative clauses: A unified analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781108856195
    https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108856195 [Google Scholar]
  14. Citko, B.
    (2004) On headed, headless, and light-headed relatives. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 22(1), 95–126. 10.1023/B:NALA.0000005564.33961.e0
    https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NALA.0000005564.33961.e0 [Google Scholar]
  15. Corver, N.
    (2006) Comparative deletion and subdeletion. InM. Everaert & H. van Riemsdijk (Eds), The Blackwell companion to syntax, 582–637. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 10.1002/9780470996591.ch15
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996591.ch15 [Google Scholar]
  16. D’Arcy, A.
    (2005) Like: Syntax and development. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Toronto.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Eggs, F.
    (2006) Die Grammatik von als und wie [The grammar of als and wie]. Tübingen: G. Narr.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Emonds, J.
    (1985) A unified theory of syntactic categories. Dordrecht: Foris. 10.1515/9783110808513
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110808513 [Google Scholar]
  19. Faarlund, J. T.
    (2004) The syntax of Old Norse: With a survey of the inflectional morphology and a complete bibliography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Faarlund, J. T., Lie, S. & Vannebo, K. I.
    (2006) Norsk referansegrammatikk [Norwegian reference grammar]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Franco, I. & Boef, E.
    (2015) On “som” in Scandinavian long-distance A-bar dependencies. Rivista di Grammatica Generativa, 371, 55–80.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Giusti, G.
    (1997) The categorial status of determiners. InL. Haegeman (Ed.), The new comparative syntax, 95–124. London: Longman.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Götz, K., Hock, W. & Widmer, P.
    (Eds) (2021) Comparison and gradation in Indo-European. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Gust, H. & Umbach, C.
    (2021) A qualitative similarity framework for the interpretation of natural language similarity expressions. InL. Bechberger, K.-U. Kühnberger & M. Liu (Eds), Concepts in Action: Representation, Learning, and Application, 63–92. Springer. 10.1007/978‑3‑030‑69823‑2_4
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69823-2_4 [Google Scholar]
  25. Haspelmath, M. & Buchholz, I.
    (1998) Equative and similative constructions in the languages of Europe. InJ. van der Auwera & D. Ó Baoill (Eds), Adverbial constructions in the languages of Europe, 277–334. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110802610.277
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110802610.277 [Google Scholar]
  26. Hoekstra, J.
    (1995) Preposition stranding and resumptivity in West Germanic. InH. Haider, S. Olsen & S. Vikner (Eds), Studies in Comparative Germanic Syntax, 95–118. Springer. 10.1007/978‑94‑015‑8416‑6_4
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8416-6_4 [Google Scholar]
  27. Hohaus, V. & Zimmermann, M.
    (2021) Comparisons of equality with German so… wie, and the relationship between degrees and properties. Journal of Semantics, 38(1), 95–143. 10.1093/jos/ffaa011
    https://doi.org/10.1093/jos/ffaa011 [Google Scholar]
  28. Jäger, A.
    (2018) Vergleichskonstruktionen im Deutschen: Diachroner Wandel und Synchrone Variation [Comparison constructions in German: Diachronic change and synchronic variation]. Berlin: de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110561234
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110561234 [Google Scholar]
  29. (2019) The syntax of comparison constructions in diachronic and dialectal perspective. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 4(1), 1–51.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Jäger, A. & Walkden, G.
    (2021) West Germanic. InK. Götz, W. Hock & P. Widmer (Eds), Comparison and gradation in Indo-European, 281–348. Berlin, Boston: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110641325‑012
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110641325-012 [Google Scholar]
  31. Johnsen, O.
    (1913) On some uses of the indefinite relatives in Old English and on the origin of the definite relatives. Jahresband, 371, 281–302. 10.1515/angl.1913.1913.37.281
    https://doi.org/10.1515/angl.1913.1913.37.281 [Google Scholar]
  32. Jónsson, J. G.
    (2017) Why “sem” is (still) a complementizer and not a relative pronoun. InN. LaCara, K. Moulton & A.-M. Tessier (Eds), A Schrift to fest Kyle Johnson, 169–176. University of Massachusetts.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Kayne, R. S.
    (1994) The antisymmetry of syntax. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. (2005) Movement and silence. New York: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179163.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179163.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  35. König, E. & Umbach, C.
    (2018) Demonstratives of manner, of quality and of degree. InM. Coniglio, A. Murphy, E. Schlachter & T. Veenstra (Eds), Atypical demonstratives: Syntax, semantics and pragmatics, 285–328. Berlin: de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110560299‑010
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110560299-010 [Google Scholar]
  36. Leu, T.
    (2015) The architecture of determiners. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. López-Couso, M. J. & Méndez-Naya, B.
    (2012) On the use of as if, as though, and like in present-day English complementation structures. Journal of English Linguistics, 40(2), 172–195. 10.1177/0075424211418976
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424211418976 [Google Scholar]
  38. Maling, J.
    (1983) Transitive adjectives: A case of categorial reanalysis. InF. W. Heny & B. Richards (Eds), Linguistic categories: Auxiliaries and related puzzles, 253–289. Dordrecht: Reidel. 10.1007/978‑94‑009‑6989‑6_8
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6989-6_8 [Google Scholar]
  39. Moltmann, F.
    (1992) Coordination and comparatives. PhD thesis. MIT Cambridge: Mass.
  40. Neijmann, D. L.
    (2022) Icelandic: An essential grammar. London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Poletto, C. & Sanfelici, E.
    (2021) Against complementizers. InS. Wolfe & C. Meklenborg Salvesen (Eds), Continuity and variation in Germanic and Romance, 370–403. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780198841166.003.0015
    https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198841166.003.0015 [Google Scholar]
  42. Rett, J.
    (2013) Similatives and the argument structure of verbs. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 31(4), 1101–1137. 10.1007/s11049‑013‑9201‑0
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-013-9201-0 [Google Scholar]
  43. (2020) Separate but equal: a typology of equative constructions. InP. Hallman (Ed.), Interactions of Degree and Quantification, 163–204. Brill. 10.1163/9789004431515_006
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004431515_006 [Google Scholar]
  44. van Riemsdijk, H.
    (2006) Free relatives. InM. Everaert & H. van Riemsdijk (Eds.), The Blackwell companion to syntax, 338–382. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 10.1002/9780470996591.ch27
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996591.ch27 [Google Scholar]
  45. Rizzi, L.
    (2019) Notes on the map of the left periphery in Danish. InK. Ramshøj Christensen, H. Jørgensen & J. L. Wood (Eds), The sign of the V: Papers in honour of Sten Vikner, 489–502. Aarhus University: AU-TRYK. 10.7146/aul.348.112
    https://doi.org/10.7146/aul.348.112 [Google Scholar]
  46. Ross, J.
    (1986) Infinite syntax!Norwood, NJ: ABLEX Publishing Corporation.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Smits, R. J. C.
    (1988) The relative and cleft constructions of the Germanic and Romance languages. Dordrecht: Foris.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Stroh-Wollin, U.
    (2002) Som-satser med och utan som [Som-sentences with and without som]. Skrifter utgivna av institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala Universiteit, 58 [Publications edited by the institution for Nordic languages within Uppsala University]. Uppsala: Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala Universiteit.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Taraldsen, K. T.
    (1986) Som and the binding theory. InL. Hellan & K. Koch Christensen (Eds), Topics in Scandinavian syntax, 149–184. Dordrecht: Reidel. 10.1007/978‑94‑009‑4572‑2_8
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4572-2_8 [Google Scholar]
  50. Terenghi, S.
    (2023) Missing person: Structure and change in Romance demonstratives. PhD thesis. Utrecht: LOT Publications.
  51. Thurmair, M.
    (2001) Vergleiche und Vergleichen: Eine Studie zu Form und Funktion der Vergleichsstrukturen im Deutschen [Comparisons and comparing: A study on the form and function of comparison constructions in German]. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Treis, Y. & Vanhove, M.
    (Eds) (2017) Similative and equative constructions: A cross-linguistic perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.117
    https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.117 [Google Scholar]
  53. Umbach, C. & Gust, H.
    (2014) Similarity demonstratives. Lingua, 1491, 74–93. 10.1016/j.lingua.2014.05.003
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2014.05.003 [Google Scholar]
  54. de Vries, M.
    (2002) The Syntax of relativization. PhD thesis. Utrecht: LOT Publications.
  55. Westergaard, M., Vangsnes, Ø. A. & Lohndal, T.
    (2012) Norwegian “som”: The complementizer that climbed to the matrix Left Periphery and caused Verb Second violations. InV. Bianchi & C. Chesi (Eds), Enjoy linguistics! Papers offered to Luigi Rizzi on the occasion of his 60th birthday, 329–343. Siena: CISCL Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. (2017) Variation and change in Norwegian wh-questions: The role of the complementizer “som”. Linguistic Variation, 17(1), 8–43. 10.1075/lv.17.1.02wes
    https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.17.1.02wes [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/li.00128.mas
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): adverbial syntax; Germanic; relative clauses; similative clauses
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error