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Workshop: (Mis-)matches in clause linkage, April 13th

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0 Introduction

Phenomenon: Clauses that provide an argument for a matrix predicate, but are in the shape of a

conditional 'if'-clause: argument if- clauses.

(1) a. German

[Wir bedauern esσ]φ, wenn<σ, φ> [die Schwimmer nicht bereit sind, we regret it if the swimmers not willing are

die konzeptuellen Dinge mitzutragen]σ the conceptual issues share responsibility 'We regret it if the swimmers are not willing to share the responsibility for conceptual issues.' DWDS BZ 2005

"Ergänzende wenn-Sätze" 'complementary wenn-clauses' – cf. Hansen (1980), Zifonun et al.

(1997), Kaiaty (2010), Schwabe (2012).

b. English

"Non-logical if-clauses" [Williams (1974), Pesetsky (1991)], "complement if-clauses" [Steriade

(1981)], "irrealis if-clauses" [Pullum (1987), Rocchi (2010)]

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Polish

Słyszałam, że duchy uwielbiają jeśli się je czci

heard.3SG.PST.F that spirits.NOM adore.3PL if REFL they.ACC worship.3SG ‘I heard that spirits adore being worshiped.’ (NKJP, 1991/10/1)

Italian (Rocchi 2010:30)

Mi piace se la gente mi sorride

me please.3SG if the people me smile.3SG.IND ‘I like it if people smile at me.’

(Rocchi 2010:30)

Les molesta si te miro

They annoy.3sg if you look.at.1sg ‘It annoys them if I look at you.’

As for Romance see Farkas (1992), Quer (1998), Quer (2002), Rocchi (2010)

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Kamtok (English-based Creole language)

E fo beta fo yi if dem no fo born yi

It COND be.better for 3SG if 3PL NEG COND bear 3SG ‘It would be better for him if he had not been born.’ Gud Nyus, Mar.14,21

Krio (English-based Creole language)

I go gud if una nɔ du dɛn tin

It FUT good if 2PL NEG do PL thing ‘It will be good if you don’t do these things.’ Krio Good News, Act.15,29

Focus of this talk: Argument if-clauses in Polish, Kamtok and German.

1. The form of the argument if-clause

2. The status of the argument if-clause

Is it a syntactic complement or an adverbial?

3. Licensing conditions of argument if-clauses

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1 Form of complement-like 'if'-clauses

1.1 German

Leo bedauert (es), [wenn Mia krank ist] Leo regrets it if Mia ill is ‘Leo regrets it if Mia is ill.’

b. falls

Philip bedauere es, [falls seine Bemerkung eine Beleidigung dargestellt habe] Philip regret.3SG.KONJI it if his comment an insult be.PTCP have.3SG.KONJI ‘Philip is said to regret it if his comment has been an insult.’ DWDS BZ 1999

c. V1

Philip bedauere es, [sollte seine Bemerkung eine Beleidigung dargestellt haben] Philip regret.3SG.KONJI it should his comment an insult be.PTCP have ‘Philip is said to regret it if his comment has been an insult.’ DWDS BZ 1999

- Focus on wenn-clauses

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1.2 Kamtok

E fo beta fo daa man [if dem no fo born yi] it COND be.better for DEM man if 3PL NEG COND bear 3SG ‘It would be better for that man if he had not been born.’ Mar.14,21

[Wen ren fol smol, den, smol tam, son komot], i fayn when rain fall short then short time sun come.out it be.good ‘When it rains for a short time and then the sun comes out, it is good.’

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o Alternative realizations:

‘

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o This is in analogy, for instance, to Romance languages or other creoles:

1.3 Polish

Nie pożałujesz, [jeśli się odezwiesz] NEG regret.2SG.PFV if REFL get:in:touch.2SG ‘You will not regret it if you get in touch (with me).’ NKJP, 2003/3/12

Nie będziemy żałowad, [jeżeli zaplanujemy teraz wypoczynek] NEG will.1PL regret.INF.IPFV if plan.1PL now rest.ACC ‘We will not regret it if we planned our vacation now.’ (NKJP, 2004/8/20)

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Żałuję [kiedy nie wybieram morz-a] regret.1SG.IPFV when NEG choose.1SG sea-GEN ‘I (always) regret if I don’t choose the Baltic Sea’. (NKJP, 2003/7/12)

Bardzo żałujemy, [gdy odchodzą od nas zdolni uczniowie] very regret.1PL.IPFV if leave.3PL from us talented students.NOM ‘We are very sorry if talented students leave our school.’ (NKJP, 2007/6/26)

e.

Zapewne nie pożałujecie, [jak ją odwiedzicie] certainly NEG regret.2PL.PFV how she.ACC visit.2PL

‘Certainly, you will not regret it if you visit her.’ (NKJP, 2002/11/2)

- All 5 conjunctions are replaceable by each other provided the matrix predicate and the embedded 'if'-clause occur in the indicative mood:

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Lubię jeśli/jeżeli/kiedy/gdy/jak pada like.1SG.IPFV if falls ‘I like it when it rains/snows.’

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(11) a. Constraint 1: *kiedy if φSUBJ (σSUBJ)

Żałował-a-by-ś później, regret.lPTCP-F-SUBJ-AUX.CL then

jeśli-by-ś/jeżelibyś/gdybyś/jakbyś/*kiedybyś z nim teraz zerwał-a if-SUBJ-AUX.CL with he.INS now split:up.lPTCP-F ‘You would then regret it if you would split up with him now.’

b. Constraint 2: temporal interpretations of kiedy, jak, and gdy are possible too.

Będziesz żałowad, jeśli/jeżeli/gdy/jak/kiedy z nim zerwiesz will.2SG regret.INF if with he.INS split:up.2SG conditional: ‘You’ll regret it if you split up with him.’ temporal: You’ll regret it, after splitting up with him.’

- If the matrix verb allows if-clauses and if the embedded clause has an episodic interpretation, then both conditional and temporal readings appear imaginable. Only jeśli and jeżeli possess a pure conditional meaning:

c. *Jeśli/*Jeżeli/Gdy/Jak/Kiedy miałem siedem lat, złamałem prawą nogę

when had.1SG.M seven years.ACC broke.1SG.M right leg

‘When I was seven, I broke my right leg.’

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Complement-like if-clauses: A provisional result

cross-linguistic comparisons reveal quite a lot of variation in the realization of complement-

like if-clauses among different languages:

o number of conjunctions involved: German and Kamtok have two, Polish has five conjunctions

o existence of alternative realizations: V1 in German, subjunctive clauses in Kamtok

o distribution of the involved conjunctions:

conditional temporal

German wenn, falls wenn

Kamtok if if, wen

Polish jeśli, jeżeli, gdy, jak, kiedy gdy, jak, kiedy

central to all these if-clauses: their apparent complement-like behavior a number of questions

arises:

o Why not just analyze these if-clauses as complements of the matrix predicate?

o Which role does the matrix predicate play in the interpretation of these if-clause con-

structions?

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2 Syntactic function of complement-like 'if'-clauses

If argument if-clauses realize a propositional argument of the matrix predicate, the suggestion

seems likely that they are proper complements. That is they or their traces, respectively, are minimally

governed by v0. But, there are reasons to analyze German, Kamtok and Polish argument if-clauses as

adverbials.

i. if-clause-topicalization

German: If there is predicate with an obligatory propositional argument like bedauern 'regret' and

a preposed argument if-clause, the complement position has to be occupied by an es-correlate

which is the proper complement and can absorb the index of the wenn-clause. The wenn-clause

leaves a trace that sits above of VP.

(12) a. [Wenn Mia krank ist]1, σ bedauertj es2, σ Leo [t1, σ … *v' t2, σ tj]

if Mia ill is regrets it Leo 'If Mia is ill, Leo will regret it.'

If the dass-clause is preposed, it leaves a trace in the complement position. The complement po-

sition is then blocked for the es-correlate.

(12) b. [Dass Mia krank ist]1, σ bedauertj Leo tφ … *v' t1, σ tj ]

if Mia ill is regrets Leo 'If Mia is ill, Leo will regret it.'

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obligatory argument and a preposed argument if-

clause, the complement position is occupied necessarily by a correlate representing the

proper complement.

(13) a. [Gdy grają na gitarze]σ (to) kocham toσ

if play.3PL on guitar.LOC then love.1sg that.ACC ‘I love it when they play the guitar.’

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(12) b. *[Że grają na gitarze]σ (to) kocham toσ

that play.3PL on guitar.LOC then love.1sg that.ACC

( 12 c. [PP [PP Z tego], [że przyjdziesz,]] cieszę się bardzo from that that come.2SG be:glad.1SG REFL very ‘I’m very glad that you will come.’

Kamtok: And an argument if-clause can be

fronted too.

‘If I were Eto’o, I would not play.’ (CO, 2011/8/31)

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b. So [if paul ayah change yi name]σ eσ go beta 4 yi. so if Paul Ayah change 3SG name it FUT be.better for 3SG ‘So if Paul Ayah changed his name, it would be better for him.’ (CO, 2011/9/14)

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a. laik ‘like’

A layk [se mek/ *if ren fol onli fo nayt]. 1SG like COMP SUBJ if rain fall only at night ‘I like it when it rains only at night.’(Feral 1989:152)

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a'. prife ‘prefer’

A prefer [say make/ *if we strike]. 1SG prefer COMP SUBJ if 1PL strike ‘I’d prefer if we striked.’ (CO, 2011/09/01)

Wir bedauern, wenn ... dem ... Ansehen von F. K. und FRONTAL Schaden zugefügt wurde we regret if the reputation of F. K. and FRONTAL damnified was 'We regret if the reputation of Friedrich Kurz and FRONTAL has been damnified.' DWDS BZ 1997

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(17) a. [PP [PP Darüber] [dass Mia kommt]] hat sich Leo gefreut PP[über] that Mia comes has REFL.ACC Leo enjoyed 'Leo has enjoyed that Mia would come.'

(17) b. *[PP [PP Darüber] [wenn Mia kommt]] hat sich Leo gefreut PP[über] if Mia comes has REFL.ACC Leo enjoyed

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(18) a. [PP [PP Z tego], [że przyjdziesz,]] cieszę się bardzo from that that come.2SG be:glad.1SG REFL very ‘I’m very glad that you will come.’

(18) b. *[PP [PP Z tego] [jeśli/jeżeli/gdy/jak/kiedy przyjdziesz]], cieszę się bardzo from that if come.1SG be:glad.1SG REFL very

- The sentence is grammatical if kiedy has a temporal interpretation.

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(19) a. Leo bedauert es, wenn er Lea je beleidigt hat. Leo regrets it if he Lea ever insulted has 'Leo regrets it if he ever has insulted Lea.'

(19) b. *Leo bedauert es, dass er Lea je beleidigt hat. Leo regrets it that he Lea ever insulted has

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a. subject clause

But if any person rather than pa popo win it go fine sooteh. but if any person rather than papa popo win it FUT good so.much ‘But if anyone else but Pa Popo (i.e. Pres. Paul Biya) win, it would be wonderful.’ (CO, 2011/09/26)

b. zero clause

Sorry if i hurt anybody. be.sorry if 1sg hurt anybody. (I’m) sorry if I hurt anybody. (CO, 2011/8/26)

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(21) a. Q: Worüber freut sich Leo? A: Darüber dass/*Wenn Mia gesund ist. What about rejoice REFL.ACC Leo ProPP that/if Mia healthy is 'What is Leo rejoicing about?' 'About Mia's being healty.'

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(21) b. Q: Was zieht Leo vor? A: Wenn Mia glücklich ist. what prefers Leo PRT if Mia happy is ‘What prefers Leo?’ ‘If Mia is happy.’

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a. [{Leoj bedauerti es1,σ [VP [VP tj [v' t1 ti]]}φ [wenn<σ,φ> Mia krank ist]σ]

[{Leoj bedauerti [VP [VP tj[v' [dass Mia krank ist]σ ti]]}φ [wenn<σ,φ> Mia krank ist]σ]

Leo regrets it if she ill is 'Leo regrets it if Mia is ill.' [Mia is ill]σ *Leo regrets σ+

b. [wenn<σ,φ> Mia krank ist]σ,2 [bedauerti es1,σ … t2 … L… [VP[v' t1 ti]]φ

[wenn<σ,φ> Mia krank ist]σ,1 [bedauerti …t1 … Leo… [VP[v' [dass Mia krank ist]σ ti]]φ

if Mia ill is regrets it Leo 'If Mia is ill, Leo regrets that she is ill.' [Mia is ill]σ *Leo regrets σ+

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(23)

a. Eσ fain [if pipul dem di kosh wuna] σ

[Eσ fain [se pipul dem di kosh wuna]σ] [if pipul dem di kosh wuna] σ

it be.good COMP people PL HAB insult 2PL if people PL HAB insult 2PL ‘It is good if the people insult you.’ (Gud Nyus, 2Pet.1,19) [people insult you]σ *good σ+

b. [If pipul dem di kosh wuna]σ eσ fain

[If pipul dem di kosh wuna]σ [eσ fain [se pipul dem di kosh wuna]σ]φ

if people PL HAB insult 2PL it be.good COMP people PL HAB insult 2PL

[people insult you]σ *good σ+

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c. Eσ fain [ (se) meik yu helep yi]σ.

[Eσ fain [*se yu helep yi]σ] [ (se) meik yu helep yi]σ.

it be.fain COMP 2SG help 3SG COMP SUBJ 2SG help 3SG ‘It is good that you help him if you help him. ’(Gud Nyus, Luk.7,4)

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σ φ [ <σ,φ> ]σ

[ ]σ φ [ <σ,φ> ]σ

σ *Anna hates σ+

b. [ <σ, φ> ]σ σ]φ

[ <σ, φ> ]σ [ ]σ]φ

σ *Anna hates σ+

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o

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a. [Leo zieht esσ vor]φ, [wenn<σ, φ> [Mia ruhig ist]σ]

[Leo zieht [dass Mia ruhig ist]σ vor]φ, *[wenn<σ, φ> [Mia ruhig ist]σ]

Leo prefers it / that Mia quiet is PRT if Mia quiet is 'Leo prefers it if Mia is quiet.' [Maria is quiet]σ ⤃ [Leo prefers σ]

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b. [Leo zieht esσ vor]φ, [wenn<σ, φ> [Mia ruhig ist]σ]

Leo prefers it prt if Mia quiet is 'Leo prefers if Mia is quiet.' [Maria is not quiet] σ [Leo prefers σ]

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c. [Wenn Mia ruhig ist]1,σ [ziehti … Leo … das2,σ … t1 … t2 … vor ti

if Mia quiet is prefers Leo it [Maria is quiet]σ ⤃ *Leo prefers σ+

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(26) a. Wohini zieht Leo es vor, [dass Mia fährt ti] where prefers Leo it prt that Mia goes Where does Leo prefer that Maria will go?'

(25) b. *Wohini zieht Leo es vor, [wenn Mia fährt ti] where prefers Leo it prt if Mia goes Where does Leo prefer that Maria will go?'

Preliminary conclusion

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o -

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o - where the matrix

clause is the conclusion.

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GERMAN POLISH KAMTOK

1. clause preposing

non-argument if-clause 1(es) 1 1 argument if-clause 1 (es) 1 1 that-clause 1 (no es) 0 0

adverbial

2. Non-realized obligatory argument

non-argument if-clause 1 1 0 argument if-clause 1 1 0 that-clause 1 1 1

complement-like adverbial

3. DP/PP-adjunction non-argument if-clause 0 0 - argument if-clause 0 0 - that-clause 1 1 -

adverbial -

4. NPI-licensing non-argument if-clause 1 - 1 argument if-clause 1 - 1 (neutral) that-clause 0 - 0

adverbial - adverbial

5. Paraphrase with that-clause 1 1 1 adverbial

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As -

(27) a. Non-argument adverbial if-clauses

Leo bedauert es1,τ [FP [FP DANN F0, …*v' tτ ti ] [wenn [Mia den Brief schreibt]σ]]

Leo regrets it then if Mia the letter writes 'Leo regrets it then if Mia writes the letter.'

[Mia writes the letter]σ [Leo regrets τ]

b. Argument adverbial if-clauses

[Wenn Mia den Brief schreibt]2,σ bedauerti es1, σ Leo [FP t2 [F0 …*v' t1,σ ti]]]

if Mia the letter writes regrets it Leo 'If Mia writes the letter, Leo will regret it.'

[Mia writes the letter]σ [Leo regrets σ]

c. Complement-like adverbial if-clauses

Leo bedauerti (es1,σ) … [VP[VP …*v' t1,σ ti]] [wenn Mia krank ist]σ]

Leo regrets it if Mia ill is

[Mia is ill]σ [Leo regrets σ]

c'. Special case: if-complements of preference predicates

[Leo zieht esσ vor]φ, [wenn<σ, φ> [Mia ruhig ist]σ]

Leo prefers it PRT if Mia quiet is 'Leo prefers if Mia is quiet.'

[Mia is not quiet] σ [Leo prefers σ]

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- Syntactic licensing conditions for wenn-forms

a. A wenn-clause is licensed if it or its trace is m-commanded by F0 or v0 – cf. (27a, b) .

b. A sentential correlate representing a propositional argument, i.e. es or ProPP, is licensed if it

is governed by v0 or V0 – cf. (27a-d). The correlate dann representing an adverbial proposition

is licensed if it or its trace is governed by F0 – cf. (27a).

c. A propositional variable is licensed if it is governed by v0 or V0 and its associated clause is m-

commanded by v0 – cf. (27c).

- Syntactic absorption rule

a. A correlate as an indexed variable either absorbs the index of the proposition which is

denoted by the clause which is m-commanded by v0 or it absorbs the index of the most

salient anaphorically given proposition.

b. A missing obligatory argument as a non-indexed variable absorbs the index of the proposition

which is denoted by a clause which is m-commanded by v0.

- Argument if-clauses are integrated (Reis 1997) or central (Haegemann 2006, 2010, Frey 2011),

respectively.

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3 Licensers of complement-like 'if'-clauses

3.1 Licensers of argument adverbials

Paraphrases

(28) a. Natürlich [ist esσ gut]φ, wenn<σ, φ> [der Patient an den Behandlungserfolg glaubt]σ

of course it is good if the patient in the success of the therapy believes Of course, it is good if the patient believes in the success of the therapy.' DWDS BZ 2005 [the patient believes in the success of the therapy]σ ⇒ *good σ+

See also fain ‘to be good’, and nienawidzied ‘to hate’ in Polish

(28) b. [Wir bedauern esσ]φ, wenn<σ, φ> [die Schwimmer nicht bereit sind, we regret it if the swimmers not willing are

die konzeptuellen Dinge mitzutragen]σ the conceptual issues share responsibility 'We regret it if the swimmers are not willing to share the responsibility for conceptual

issues.' DWDS BZ 2005

- If (28a, b) is uttered and σ is obviously true, the speaker indirectly expresses that φ(σ) is true.

- σ is a reason for φ(σ), i.e. it is a sufficient condition for φ(σ). But this does not mean that σ is always a necessary condition for φ(σ). That is, that the matrix predicate has not always to be veridical, let alone factive.

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o Veridicality: for all : φ( ) . [Lahiri 2002, Spector & Egré 2007]

o Factivity: for all : (not) φ( )

Like the emotive predicate bedauern 'regret', t preference predicate vorziehen 'prefer' [cf. Fabricius-Hansen 1980] as well as the cognition predicate (davon) hören 'hear' are not veridical, but they license the argument if-clause.

(29) a. [Leo prefers that Mia will come] ⤃ Mia will come a'. Leo prefers it if Mia will come.

(29) b. [Leo regrets that Mia will come] ⤃ Mia will come b'. Leo regrets it if Mia will come.

- On the other hand, there are predicates like darüber nachdenken 'deliberate on' and beweisen 'prove' that are veridical, but do not embed an argument if-clause.

(30) a. Leo denkt darüber nach dass Mia krank ist

Leo deliberates PP[über] PRT that Mia ill is Leo is deliberating on Mia's illness ⇒ Mia is ill

(30) a'. [Leo denkt darüberτ/*σ nach]φ wenn<σ, φ> [Mia krank ist]σ

Leo deliberates PP[über] PRT if Mia ill is 'Leo is deliberating on the issue if Mia is ill.'

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Veridicality is neither a sufficient (30) nor a necessary condition (29) for predicates to license an argument if-clause construction. But, what predicates license the argument if-form?

i. Factive predicates

G: gut sein 'to be good', egal sein 'to not mind', bedauerlich sein 'to be regrettable' , (es) schätzen

'to appreciate (it)', …

K: argument if-clauses

fain ‘to be good‘, bad ‘to be bad’, hapi ‘to be happy’, main ‘to mind’

subjunctive

fain ‘to be good’, laik ‘to like’, koret ‘to be right, to be good’, fea ‘to be fair’

P: kochad ‘to love’, uwielbiad ‘to adore’, lubid ‘to like’

ii. Almost-factive predicates

G: (es) bedauern 'to regret (it)', sich (darüber) freuen 'to be glad', …

K: sori ‘to be sorry’

P: żałowad ‘to regret’

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- In German, they are non-veridical without the correlate, but they are factive with it.

(31) a. M freut sich (darüber) dass der .. Verein mehr Aufmerksamkeit bekommt als sonst M is.glad REFL.ACC ProPP that the .. club more attention attracks as usual 'Möhring is glad that the Berlin club attracks more attention than usual.' DWDS BZ 2005

(31) b. [Sie freuten sich (darüberσ)]φ, wenn<σ, φ> [der Kurs ihrer Aktien stieg]σ

they were.glad REFL.ACC PP[über] if the price of their shares increased 'They were glad when the price of their shares increased.' DWDS BZ 1998

But, nachdenken 'deliberate' is factive, but does not allow an argument if-clause. Unlike sich freuen 'enjoy', they admit the embedding of a particular type of ob-embedding construction.

(32) a. [Viele denken nicht darüberτ/*σ nach]φ wenn<σ, φ> [sie einen Kredit aufnehmen müssen]σ

many think not about PRT if they a loan take out must

'Many students do not ponder if they have to take out a loan.' DWDS TS 2002

(32) b. Als die Algerier mich um politische Hilfe baten, habe ich lange nachgedacht, when the Algeriens me for political help asked have I a long time considered

'When the Algerians asked me for political help, I considered for a long time whether I can account for

this face to face with France.' DWDS BZ 2004

- "Almost-factive predicates" admit an argument if-clause if they do not embed an ob-clause.

(33) b. ob ich das gegenüber Frankreich verantworten kann whether I this face to face with France account for can

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G: (es) lesen 'to read' ..., (es) hören 'to hear', (es) wissen 'to know', (es) erfahren 'to find

out', …

P: wiedzied ‘to know’

- In German, these predicates are without a correlate unambiguously (wissen) or ambiguously

(hören) veridical and they are consistent with the condition:

For all σ: there is at least one constellation ℵ in which verb is veridical and for every embeddable true statement σ, there is an individual such that α verb dass σ.

- In German, they are factive with the es-correlate.

(33) a. Du wirst es schon hören, wenn dieser Typ anruft. you will it prt hear if this guy calls 'You will hear it, if this guy will be calling.' DWDS BZ 2005

- Notice, however, that it does hold for Polish and the to-correlate cannot occur:

b. Będziesz wiedzied *to, jeżeli ktoś dokona w nich edycji will.2SG know.INF it if someone.NOM makes in them edition ‘You will know it if someone edits them (= the files).’ (NKJP, 2006/6/24)

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- They admit the embedding of question extensions (cf. Groenendijk & Stokhof 1982) or what Schwabe & Fittler (2012) call the exclusive reducible ob-form, respectively

Exclusive reducible ob-form:

A verb ob σ ⇔ (A verb dass σ A verb dass ¬σ) & A verb dass σ ⇔ σ

(34) Sie kann es hören, ob sie ihn geweckt hat she can it hear whether she him waked up 'She can hear it whether she has waked him up.' IDS rhz 2009

G: davon hören 'to hear about', davon wissen 'to know about' …

- davon wissen is veridical and factive, davon hören is not veridical.

(35) a. Man hat davon gehört, wenn sie auftrat One has PP[von] heard when she acted out 'One has heard about the events when she acted out.'

- They admit the neutral ob-form. Neutral ob-form: A verb ProPP ob σ ⇔ A verb dass φ, whereat σ or ¬σ, respectively, is a subformula of a formula φ which fulfills 'A verb ProPP dass φ'. (cf. If Max tells Leo that Mia will come, Leo has heard whether Mia will come)

(35) b. Leo hat davon gehört, ob Mia kommt Leo has PP[von] heard whether Mia comes 'Leo has heard about whether Mia would come.'

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iii. Preference predicates

G: vorziehen, besser finden both: 'to prefer', ...

K: argument if-clause

beta ‘to be better’

subjunctive

beta ‘to be better’, prife ‘to prefer’

P: woled, preferowad both: ‘to prefer’

o -

(36) [Leo zieht esσ vor]φ, [wenn<σ, φ> [Mia ruhig ist]σ]

Leo prefers it prt if Mia quiet is 'Leo prefers if Mia is quiet.' [Maria is not quiet] σ [Leo prefers σ]

- These predicates are anti-veridical with the correlate, but not anti-veridical without it

Anti-veridicality: for all : φ( )

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3.2 Aspect-driven interpretations of if-clauses in Polish

Krifka et al. (1995: 6) observed a correlation between aspectual distinctions and generic vs.

episodic distinction: progressive and perfect sentences show a strong tendency toward an episodic, non-

generic interpretation (but see Schubert & Pelletier 1987 for some apparent counterexamples):

(37) John is smoking/has smoked a pipe. (Krifka et al. 1995: 6; ex 10)

Dahl (1995: 419f.) claims that there is a strong correlation between the imperfective aspect and generic

sentences. We assume that if both perfective and imperfective opponents c-select if-clauses and if both

of them are productively used as clause-embedding predicates, then the imperfective verb triggers a

generic interpretation of the embedded if-clause:

a.

*episodic/OKgeneric

If the matrix verb is perfectivized, the sentence becomes ungrammatical:

*episodic/*generic (NKJP, 2003/3/26)

Żałuję kiedy nie wybieram morz-a regret.1SG.IPFV when NEG choose.1SG sea-GEN ‘I (always) regret, if I don’t choose the Baltic Sea’.

b. *Pożałuję kiedy nie wybieram morz-a regret.1SG.PFV when NEG choose.1SG sea-GEN

33

This correlation does not hold if the matrix verb is modalized:

(39) a. imperative form OKepisodic/*generic (NKJP, 2006/10/15)

b. future auxiliary: OKepisodic/*generic (NKJP, 2003/3/26)

If both the matrix predicate and the embedded verb are imperfective, only a generic interpretation is

possible. An episodic interpretation is out of the question:

(40) imperfective matrix verb + imperfective embedded verb = generic if-clause:

*episodic/OKgeneric

Żałujcie jeśli nie widzieliście “Rzeźni” regret.2PL.IMP.IPFV if NEG saw.2PL.PST Rz.GEN ‘Regret it if you didn’t see “Rzeźnia” (= a film).’

Nie będzie żałował, jeśli mu zapłacimy NEG will.3SG regret.lPTCP.IPFV if him.DAT pay.1PL ‘He will not regret it if we pay him (for it).’

Żałuję kiedy nie wybieram morz-a regret.1SG.IPFV when NEG choose.1SG.IPFV sea-GEN ‘I (always) regret, if I don’t choose the Baltic Sea.’

34

Conclusion

- -

o -

o - where

the matrix clause is the conclusion.

- -

-

35

Bibliography

Primary sources:

CO – User comments from Cameroonian news website (http://www.cameroononline.org)

DWDS – Digitales Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache, Subcorpora: Berliner Zeitung, Zeit.

(http://www.dwds.de)

Krio Good News – RUNKEL, BARBARA et al. (1992): Gud Nyus Fɔ Ɔlman. Di Nyu Testament. Freetown: The

Bible Society in Sierra Leone.

Gud Nyus – NGUM, PETER (2000): Gud Nyus fo ol pipul. Nyu Testament fo Pidgin. Yaounde: Bible Society of

Cameroon.

IDS rhz – COSMAS II, Subcorpus: Rhein-Zeitung (https://cosmas2.ids-mannheim.de/cosmas2-web)

NKJP – Narodowy Korpus Języka Polskiego [National Corpus of Polish] (http://nkjp.pl)

36

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Benjamins, pp. 69-104.

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-

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39

Appendix

Aspect-driven interpretations of if-clauses in Polish

English Polish

Complementizers

jeśli jeżeli gdy jak kiedy

g(eneric) e(pisodic) g e g e g e g e

1. ‘to notice’ zauważad (ipfv) 1 0 2 0 2 0 5 0 7 0

zauważyd (pfv) 0 0 0 1 5 3 0 4 0 2

2. ‘to prefer’ preferowad (ipfv) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

(pfv) does not exist - - - - - - - - - -

3. ‘to accept’ akceptowad (ipfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0

zaakceptowad (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

4. ‘to appreciate’ szanowad (ipfv) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

uszanowad (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5. ‘to prefer’ woled (ipfv) 5 0 0 0 21 0 >50 0 16 0

(pfv) does not exist - - - - - - - - - -

6. ‘to love’ kochad (ipfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0

pokochad (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7. ‘to adore’ uwielbiad (ipfv) 1 0 0 0 33 0 >50 0 2 0

uwielbid (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8. ‘to like’ lubid (ipfv) 22 0 0 0 >50 0 >50 0 >50 0

polubid (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9. ‘to hate’ nienawidzied (ipfv) 1 0 0 0 24 0 >50 1 8 0

znienawidzied (pfv) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10. ‘to regret’ żałowad (ipfv) 3 5 0 1 4 1 1 6 4 0

pożałowad (pfv) 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

40

a) preference predicates like woled, preferowad etc. do not possess a perfective counterpart –

in most cases they trigger a generic interpretation of the complement-like if-clause,

b) complement-like if-clauses principally express genericity: 483 (94%) generic vs. 31 (6%) episodic

clauses:

imperfective perfective generic 477 (93%) 14 (2,3%) episodic 14 (2,3%) 17 (3,3%)

c) similar to German falls, Polish jeżeli is used in very few instances; in Polish it is specifically employed

in written texts and in a lofty style,

d) the majority of complement-like if-clauses is introduced by the complementizer jak:

jeżeli jeśli gdy jak kiedy 4 (0,7%) 43 (8,3%) 146 (28,4%) 230 (44,7%) 91(17,9%)

e) the most frequent embedding predicates are emotive verbs like lubid (‘to like’), uwielbiad (‘to

adore’), and nienawidzied (‘to hate’).