The Syntax of Early English - Cryptm.org

192 The syntax of early EnglishIt is therefore reasonable to assume that the particle in main clauses and theverb in subordinate clauses mark the same position. Because the verb followsthe object in Dutch subordinate clauses, Koster draws the conclusion thatDutch is an SOV language and that the finite verb in main clauses is moved toC, in accordance with its Verb-Second character as discussed in chapter 4. Theparticle is not subject to this movement and remains in D-structure preverbalposition. It therefore marks the position of the verb before movement.Schematically we can represent this in the following way:(26) Jan belt Piet vaak op[Jan] [belt ] [Piet vaak op t ]NP C i VP iUsually, it is assumed that verb and particle form a syntactic unit (as representedin (27a)), but Bennis (1992) argues that the particle in Dutch can moveindependently and that the structure in (27b) captures this:(27) a.b.PartVPVvPPVPartIn (27b) the particle really is an intransitive preposition, and as a PP can bemoved independently. Either way, the position of the particle in sentences like(21)–(24) is interpreted as marking the underlying position of the verb.6.4.2 Koster’s test applied to Old EnglishWhen we try to apply Koster’s tests to Old English, we find that theydo not give the same clearcut results. This is partly because it is difficult insome cases to establish whether a test applies because we lack native speakers’intuitions. We must necessarily depend on the texts that have come down tous, which are mostly formal in nature and in which certain constructions maybe rare or completely absent. We do not have reliable information about stressand intonation patterns outside the poetry, and the punctuation of OldEnglish manuscripts is not the same as we would use today and is therefore apoor guide (cf. chapter 1 and Mitchell 1980).In spite of these limitations, some generalizations can nevertheless be madeabout particle position in Old English. As far as can be established, it appearsthat in Old English, as in Dutch, elements that can follow the particle in main