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Article published In:
Functions of Language
Vol. 28:2 (2021) ► pp.121–152

Negation in complement clauses of fear-verbs

| National Research University Higher School of Economics
Complement clauses of verbs of fear often contain expletive negation, which is negative marking without negative meaning. Expletive negation in fear-complements regularly co-occurs with non-indicative moods, such as subjunctive, conjunctive, or conditional. The aim of this paper is to provide a diachronic explanation for the phenomenon of expletive negation in complement clauses of fear-verbs. Based on data from various languages, I will show that cases of expletive negation after verbs of fear can be divided into several groups, each with a different origin. Fear complement clauses can derive from embedded polar questions, paratactic constructions expressing a wish, or from negative purpose clauses. Complement clauses with polar questions usually contain an indicative verb form, while clauses based on the expression of a wish often have non-indicative verb forms. The paper also discusses cases in which expletive negation is lost.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Fear complement clauses: The main patterns
    • 2.1Fear-complements without expletive negation
    • 2.2Fear-complements with expletive negation and indicative
    • 2.3Fear-complements with expletive negation and non-indicative mood
    • 2.4Summary
  • 3.Functional motivation for the usage of expletive negation
    • 3.1Functional motivation for the usage of expletive negation in clauses with an embedded question
    • 3.2Functional motivation for the usage of expletive negation in complement clauses with a non-indicative mood
      • 3.2.1Fear-complements with volitional forms
      • 3.2.2Fear-complements with the subjunctive
        • 3.2.2.1Fear-complements with a subjunctive derived from a wish-construction
        • 3.2.2.2Fear-complements with a subjunctive derived from negative purpose
    • 3.3Summary
  • 4.Loss of expletive negation: Different stages of development
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 30 June 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.18056.dob
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