Orð og tunga - 01.06.2014, Page 66

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Orð og tunga
a particular instance of word order variation in verb clusters. Varia-
tion may occur in different respects. We will restrict ourselves to the
variation of the finite auxiliary verbs haben and werden in three-verb
clusters, all in subordinate clauses with so-called "Ersatzinfinitiv"
('substitutive infinitive') constructions.
A few notes are necessary on some basic theoretical aspects and
the 'rules' as codified by today's grammars. In three-verb clusters con-
taining a past participle, the finite verb in subordinate clauses would
be put at the end of the clause:
(1) ... damit er gesehen3 werden2 kann'
... so that he seenVinf become2-inf can1_fin
'so that he can be seen'
The dependencies within the verbal cluster therefore usually run from
right to left. This serialization pattern has proved to be relatively con-
stant in the history of New High German (cf. Hard 1981:13,167; Ágel
2001:322), and it is also given as a codified present-day 'basic rule'
by the most authoritative present-day grammar, the Duden grammar
(cf. Duden grammar 2009:474). However, this rule does not apply for
cases in which the second dependency is filled by a modal verb. In
such clusters, modal verbs do not have past participle forms, but an
infinitive. This is considered to be a substitution of the past participle,
hence the name "Ersatzinfinitiv" ('substitutive infinitive'). This gram-
matical feature also alters the word order; here, the finite verb occurs
in the initial position:
(2) ... dass er das Spiel hat} sehen2, können2
... that he the match has1_fin watch3-inf can2_inf
'that he has been able to watch the match'
The Duden grammar (2009:474) pronounces this a 'special rule' in
present-day standard German, which is compulsory in cases were the
finite verb is haben. If the finite verb is werdcn, both positions (initial
and final) are possible (cf. Duden grammar 2009:474^175). In contrast
to this variation of the finite verbs, the order of the infinite parts of the
cluster is restricted to 3-2.
It is noteworthy, that a third possible pattern is not mentioned in
the Duden grammar, namely 3-1-2. Here, the finite verb is put in be-
tween the infinite parts (so-called "Zwischenstellung"). According to
Hiird (1981:117), this variant gradually fell into disuse as from the
seventeenth century and was virtually extinct in the nineteenth cen-
tury. Although it is not codified in grammars of standard German,