The Syntax of Serbian How-Complements

This paper discusses a special type of complement of perception verbs in Serbian, introduced by kako (‘how’). Via a parallel corpus analysis, I compare the distribution of Serbian kako-clauses and English -ing forms. I show that two types of non-interrogative kako-clauses can be used in translations...

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Vydané v:Languages (Basel) Ročník 10; číslo 9; s. 227
Hlavný autor: Frasson, Alberto
Médium: Journal Article
Jazyk:English
Vydavateľské údaje: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2025
Predmet:
Analysis
Clauses
complement clause
Complements
Corpus analysis
English language
Form-Copy
Grammatical case
Grammatical subject
Parallel corpora
Perceptions
phases
Pro drop parameter
Property
Propositions
Semantics
Serbo-Croatian language
Slavic
Slavic languages
Syntactic analysis
Syntactic phases
Syntax
Translating and interpreting
Truth
Verbs
France
Serbia
United Kingdom
ISSN:2226-471X, 2226-471X
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Shrnutí:This paper discusses a special type of complement of perception verbs in Serbian, introduced by kako (‘how’). Via a parallel corpus analysis, I compare the distribution of Serbian kako-clauses and English -ing forms. I show that two types of non-interrogative kako-clauses can be used in translations of English -ing forms, distinguished based on their formal and interpretive properties: ‘eventive’ and propositional kako-clauses. Eventive clauses focus on directly perceived events and cannot be negated or combined with epistemic verbs, while propositional clauses express beliefs or judgments and have a truth value. At a formal level, eventive clauses feature a null subject, while propositional clauses feature an overt nominative subject. I argue that this distinction is captured syntactically through the notion of phasehood, with only propositional clauses merging a full CP domain. Adopting the Form-Copy operation, I propose that eventive clauses lack a phase boundary, allowing for the deletion of a lower subject copy and yielding the observed case alternation and null embedded subject. This analysis offers a unified syntactic account of kako-complements and contributes to the typology of perception-based clause embedding.
Bibliografia:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:2226-471X
2226-471X
DOI:10.3390/languages10090227