LINGUIST List 17.948

Wed Mar 29 2006

FYI: Subjects in English Imperatives

Editor for this issue: Svetlana Aksenova <svetlanalinguistlist.org>

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Directory         1.    Bernard De Clerck, Subjects in English Imperatives

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Message 1: Subjects in English Imperatives
Date: 29-Mar-2006
From: Bernard De Clerck <Bernard.DeClerckugent.be>
Subject: Subjects in English Imperatives


Dear Linguist List members,

While English imperatives normally do not contain a subject, it can beobserved that imperatives with explicit subjects are also possible, as inNobody move! and Don't you talk to me like that!. However, when consultingthe relevant literature, there is less agreement on

1) the kinds of subjects which are possible and

2) the pragmatic effects of explicit you-subjects

For the purposes of my PhD research I would like to compare and complementthese views (and my own personal analysis of the data) with the opinions ofnative or near-native speakers of English. The link below provides accessto a survey in which a selection of imperative sentences is listed,representing the problematical issues referred to above.

www.imperatives.ugent.be

I would really appreciate it if you could provide your own views andcomments on these matters, by following the instructions on top of thesurvey. A summary will be posted afterwards.

Thank you very much in advance!

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax
Subject Language(s): English (eng)