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In:Adverbs and Particles at the Form-Meaning Interface
Edited by Marco Coniglio, Kalle Müller and Markus Steinbach
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 292] 2026
► pp. 278–306

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Sentence adverbs based on parenthetical clauses

The case of German

 | University of Tübingen
 | University of Tübingen
Published online: 23 March 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.292.13axe
Abstract
This paper investigates German sentence adverbs that have a clausal origin. In particular, we propose a scenario in which they are reanalyzed from V1- or V2-parentheticals, rather than from subordinating matrix constructions. This reanalysis is facilitated by systematic structural ambiguity between integrated and non-integrated material in the German middle field. We argue that the change can be better explained by principles of syntactic economy that lead to structural simplification, rather than semanto-pragmatic mechanisms such as subjectification. While we assume that this path is highly relevant also cross-linguistically, German offers a particularly well-suited environment for its study because it exhibits asymmetries for main clauses vs. subordinate clauses, V1 parentheticals vs. main clauses, and a disambiguating position for integrated vs. non-integrated material in the C-domain, the German prefield.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Placement of adverbs, parentheticals, and subordinating constructions
  • 3.From parenthetical clause to sentence adverb
    • 3.1Sentence adverbs based on V2-parentheticals in Modern German
    • 3.2Diachronic development: Reanalysis in the middle-field
    • 3.3Sentence adverbs based on V1-parentheticals
    • 3.4Interim summary
  • 4.Alternative routes
    • 4.1Matrix-clause + that-complement?
    • 4.2Integration from the right?
    • 4.3Integration from the left?
  • 5.Syntactic vs. pragmatic factors
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Corpora
  • References
References (51)
Corpora
DeReKo = Deutsches Referenzkorpus / Archiv der Korpora geschriebener Gegenwartssprache. Mannheim: Institut für Deutsche Sprache. URL: [URL]
DWb = Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, digitalisierte Fassung im Wörterbuchnetz des Trier Center for Digital Humanities, Version 01/23. URL: [URL]
DGD = Datenbank für Gesprochenes Deutsch. Mannheim: Institut für Deutsche Sprache. URL: [URL]
DTA = Digitaler Teil des Deutschen Textarchivs. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften Deutsches Textarchiv. URL: [URL]
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