Abstract

CHANTAL, Melis  and  MILAGROS ALFONSO, Vega. ADJUNCTS, SUBJECTS AND WORD ORDER IN SPANISH INTRANSITIVE CLAUSES. Lingüística [online]. 2013, vol.29, n.2, pp.127-151. ISSN 2079-312X.

This paper analyzes locative and temporal adjuncts appearing initially in Spanish intransitive clauses. Starting from the observation that in these structures with non canonical word order the subject may either precede or follow the verb (LOC/TEMP-S-V vs. LOC/TEMP-V-S), we explore the ways in which the discourse-pragmatic functions associated with the initial constituents relate to the alternative subject positions. In light of the examined corpus data, we identify and discuss three functions of this nature: the adjunct sets the ‘frame’ of the event in a topicalized phrase (preverbal S), it serves as a ‘vehicle’ for the introduction of a new referent in presentative clauses (postverbal S), and on occasion it represents the ‘theme’, that is, what the sentence is about (postverbal S).

Keywords : locative or temporal adjunct; intransitive verbs; marked word order; topicalization; presentative function; theme.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )