Chapter 4. Finiteness and verb fronting

Distributional properties of the verb in Germanic languages have to be accounted for by a rule that moves a verb into sentence initial position (‘verb second/V2’). Traditionally it is claimed that this rule applies exclusively to finite verbs in main sentences. In this paper, we will discuss some phenomena in West Frisian that lead to some new proposals with respect to the factors that are involved in V2. A major role in our exposition is played by the so-called Frisian ‘en+imperative’ construction. We will argue that an account for the properties of this construction lead to a reconsideration of some of the factors relevant for V2: finiteness, the obligatoriness of verb movement and the distinction between main and embedded clauses.