Cover not available
Part of
Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew: Background, Morpho-lexicon, and Syntax
Edited by Ruth A. Berman
[Studies in Language Companion Series 210] 2020
► pp. 539–582

Chapter 15
Impersonal and pseudo-impersonal constructions

| The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The domain of impersonal constructions is highly complex and heterogeneous in Hebrew as in other languages. It includes sentences that lack an overt constituent bearing the properties of a referential and identifiable subject or that are altogether lacking in canonical subject properties. The aim of the present chapter is to present an up-to-date classification of the major impersonal and generalized or impersonalized constructions in Modern, primarily spoken, Hebrew. To this end, the coding properties of such constructions are analyzed, based on the typological characterization of Modern Hebrew (MH) as a non-subject-oriented and non-configurational language characterized by synthetic inflectional morphology with marking of person in finite verbs, so not requiring an expletive or ‘dummy’ subject. Functional properties of impersonal and generalized constructions in MH are noted in relation to pragmatic underpinnings of their patterning and use.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Relevant properties of MH
  • 3.Hebrew empty-subject constructions
  • 4.Classes of impersonals in MH
    • 4.1Uncontrolled events: Meteorological and environmental assertions
    • 4.2Constructions of existence and possession
    • 4.3Internal impersonals in modal and evaluative function
    • 4.4Experiential impersonals
    • 4.5Impersonal passives
    • 4.63rd person plural subjectless impersonals
    • 4.7Impersonals with overt pronouns
      • 4.7.1Impersonals with 1st person plural subjects
      • 4.7.22nd person singular impersonal pronouns
    • 4.8Impersonals with generic noun subjects
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 18 March 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.210.16hal
References
Benveniste, Émile
1966 Structure des relations de personne dans le verbe. In Problèmes de linguistique générale, Vol. 1, 225–236. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar
Berman, Ruth A.
1979 Form and function: Impersonals, passives, and middles in Modern Hebrew. Berkeley Linguistic Society 5: 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1980 The case of an (S)VO language: Subjectless constructions in Modern Hebrew. Language 56(4): 759–776. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1981 Dative marking of the affectee role. Hebrew Annual Review 6: 35–59.Google Scholar
2005 Introduction: Developing discourse stance in different text types and languages. Journal of Pragmatics 37(2): 105–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2011 Revisiting impersonal constructions in Modern Hebrew: Discourse-based perspectives. In Impersonal Constructions: A Cross-linguistic Perspective [Studies in Language Companion Series 124], Andrej Malchukov & Anna Siewierska (eds), 323–355. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Berman, Ruth A. & Neeman, Yonni
1994 Development of linguistic forms: Hebrew. In Relating Events in Narrative: A Crosslinguistic Developmental Study, Ruth A. Berman & Dan I. Slobin (eds), 285–328. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Blau, Joshua
1996 ʕal hasavil hastami bamiqraʔ (On the impersonal passive in Biblical Hebrew). In Studies in Hebrew Linguistics, 114–121. Jerusalem: Magnes.Google Scholar
Bloomfield, Leonard
1933 Language. New York NY: Henry Holt & Company.Google Scholar
Bolinger, Dwight
1973 Ambient it is meaningful too. Journal of Linguistics 9(2): 261–270. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1979 To catch a metaphor: You as norm. American Speech 54(3): 194–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borer, Hagit
1989 Anaphoric AGR. In The Null Subject Parameter [Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 15], Osvalso Jaeggli & Kenneth J. Safir (eds), 69–109. Dordrecht: Kluwer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borschev, Vladimir & Partee, Barbara H.
2002 The Russian genitive of negation: Theme-rheme structure or perspective structure? Journal of Slavic Linguistics 10(1–2): 105–144.Google Scholar
Bossong, Georg
1998 Le marquage de l’expérient dans les langues d’Europe. In Actance et valence dans les langues de l’Europe [Empirical Approaches to Language Typology 20–2], Jack Feuillet (ed.), 259–294. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Bybee, Joan L.
2006 Frequency of Use and the Organization of Language. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Bybee Joan L. & Hopper, Paul
2001 Frequency and the Emergence of Linguistic Structure [Typological Studies in Language 45]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia
2003 Arbitrary readings of 3pl pronominal. In Proceedings of the Conference ‘sub7 – Sinn und Bedeutung’ [Arbeitspapier 114], Matthias Weisgerber (ed.), 81–94. Konstanz: FB Sprachwissenshaft, Universität Konstanz. < [URL]>Google Scholar
Cinque, Gugliemo
1988 On Si constructions and the theory of Arb . Linguistic Inquiry 19(4): 521–581.Google Scholar
Creissels, Denis
2006 Syntaxe générale: Une introduction typologique. Paris: Hermes Science–Lavoisier.Google Scholar
2008 Impersonal and related constructions: A typological approach. Lectures presented at the University of Tartu, 2–3 June.
Croft, William A.
2001 Radical Construction Grammar: Syntactic Theory in Typological Perspective. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2003 Typology and Universals. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Croft, William A. & Cruse, D. Alan
2004 Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Doron, Edit
2003 Bare singular reference to kinds. In Proceedings of Israel Association for Theoretical Linguistics 19, Yehuda F. Falk (ed.). Jerusalem: Hebrew University. < [URL] > DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dowty, David
1991 Thematic proto-roles and argument selection. Language 67(3): 547–619. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dubnov, Keren
2013 Russian and Slavic influence on Modern Hebrew. In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Vol. 3, Geoffrey Khan (ed.), 576–578. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Gast, Volker & Florian Haas
2011 On the distribution of subject properties in formulaic presentationals of Germanic and Romance: A diachronic-typological approach. In Impersonal Constructions: A Cross-linguistic Perspective [Studies in Language Companion Series 124], Andrej Malchukov & Anna Siewierska (eds), 127–166. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gast, Volker & van der Auwera, Johan
2013 Towards a distributional typology of human impersonal pronouns. In Languages across Boundaries: Studies in Memory of Anna Siewierska, Dik Bakker & Martin Haspelmath (eds), 119–158. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Givón, Talmy
1976a Topic, pronoun and grammatical agreement. In Subject and Topic, Charles N. Li (ed.), 151–188. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
1976b On the VS order in Israeli Hebrew: Pragmatics and typological change. In Studies in Modern Hebrew Syntax and Semantics: The Transformational-Generative Approach [North Holland Linguistic Series 32], Peter Cole (ed.), 153–181. Amsterdam: North Holland.Google Scholar
Goldberg, Adele E.
1995 Constructions: A construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
2003 Constructions: A new theoretical approach to language. Trends in Cognitive Science 7(5): 219–224. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2006 Constructions at Work: The Nature of Generalization in Language. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Goldenberg, Gideon
1998 On verbal structure and the Hebrew verb. In Studies in Semitic Linguistics: Selected Writings, 148–197. Jerusalem: Magnes.Google Scholar
2013 Semitic Languages: Features, Structures, Relations, Processes. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Grossman, Eitan
2013 ‘So you just flow with it’: A discourse strategy in ‘soldiers’ testimonies’ from the occupied Palestinian territories. In Meditations on Authority, David Dean Shulman (ed), 157–191. Jerusalem: Magnes.Google Scholar
Hale, Ken
1982 Preliminary remarks on configurationality. Proceedings of the North Eastern Linguistic Society 12: 86–96.Google Scholar
Halevy, Rivka
1992 tʔarim ħofšiyim utʔarim bilti ħofšiyim baʕivrit haħadašah (Free and restricted adjectives in Contemporary Hebrew). In Language Studies, Vol. 5–6, Moshe Bar-Asher (ed.), 521–537. Jerusalem: Magnes.Google Scholar
2006 tifqudah šel ‘zeh’ habilti leqsiqalit bʕivrit bat yameynu (The function of nonlexical ‘ze’ in Contemporary Hebrew). Lešonenu 67: 283–307.Google Scholar
2013a Deixis: Modern Hebrew. In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Vol. 1, Geoffrey Khan (ed.), 693–697. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
2013b Syntax: Modern Hebrew. In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Vol. 3, Geoffrey Khan (ed.), 707–722. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
2016 Non-canonical ‘existential-like’ constructions in colloquial Modern Hebrew. In Atypical Predicate-Argument Relations [Lingvisticæ Investigationes Supplementa 33], Thierry Ruchot & Pascale Van Praet (eds), 27–60. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Izre’el, Shlomo
2018 Unipartite clauses: A view from spoken Israeli Hebrew. In Afroasiatic Data and Perspectives [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 339], Mauro Tosco (ed.), 235–260. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jespersen, Otto & Haislund, Niels
2013 Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles, Vol. 7: Syntax . London: Routledge. (Original work published 1954) DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jespersen, Otto
1937 Analytic Syntax. Copenhagen: Levin & Munksgaard.Google Scholar
1965 The Philosophy of Grammar. New York NY: Norton & Company. (Original work published 1924)Google Scholar
Keenan, Edward L.
1976 Towards a formal definition of ‘Subject’. In Subject and Topic, Charles N. Li (ed.), 305–333. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
2003 The definiteness effect: Semantics or pragmatics? Natural Language Semantics 11(2): 187–216. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kitagawa, Chisato & Lehrer, Adrienne
1990 Impersonal uses of personal pronouns. Journal of Pragmatics 14(5): 739–759. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuzar, Ron
1993 ha‘ħagam’ – ħeleq dibur ʔo ʕemdah taħbirit? (The impersonal constructions – a part of speech or a syntactic position?). Lešonenu 56(3): 241–248.Google Scholar
2000 ‘ʔašrey hamaʔamin’ wtavniyot domot bʕivrit ʕal rvadeha ( ‘Blessed is the believer’ and similar constructions in the different phases of Hebrew). Hebrew Linguistics 46: 55–67.Google Scholar
2002 tavnit ha‘ħagam’ hapšutah balašon hamyuceget kimduberet([The simple impersonal construction in texts represented as colloquial Hebrew). In Speaking Hebrew: Studies in the Spoken Language and in Linguistic Variation in Israel [Te’uda 18], Shlomo Izre’el (ed.), 329–352. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Google Scholar
2012 Sentence Patterns in English and Hebrew [Constructional Approaches to Language 12]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lambert, Pierre-Yves
1998 L’impersonnel. In Actance et valence dans les langues de l’Europe [Empirical Approaches to Language Typology 20–2], Jack Feillet (ed.), 295–345. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Langacker, Robert W.
1991 Foundations of Cognitive Grammar, Vol. 2. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Lauwers, Peter & Willems, Dominique
2011 Coercion: Definitions and challenges, current approaches, and new trends. Linguistics 49(6): 1219–1235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leonetti, Manuel
2008 Definiteness effect and the role of the coda in existential constructions. In Essays on Nominal Determination: From Morphology to Discourse Management [Studies in Language Companion Series 99], Henrik Høeg Müller & Alex Klinge (eds), 131–162. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyons, John
1977 Semantics. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
1995 Linguistic Semantics: An Introduction. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malchukov, Andrej & Siewierska, Anna
2011 Impersonal Constructions: A Cross-linguistic Perspective [Studies in Language Companion Series 124]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malchukov, Andrej & Ogawa, Akio
2011 Towards a typology of impersonal constructions: A semantic map approach. In Impersonal Constructions: A Cross-linguistic Perspective [Studies in Language Companion Series 124], Andrej Malchukov & Anna Siewierska (eds), 19–56. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McNally, Louise
2011 Existential sentences. In Semantics: An International Handbook of Natural Language Meaning, Vol. 2 [Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science 33–2], Klaus von Heusinger, Claudia Maienborn & Paul Portner (eds), 1829–1848. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Milsark, Gary
1974 Existential sentences in English. PhD dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar
Muchnik, Malka
2015 The Gender Challenge of Hebrew [The Brill Reference Library of Judaism 42]. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Oz, Amos
2002 sipur ʕal ʔahavah wħošex (A Tale of Love and Darkness). Jerusalem: Keter.Google Scholar
Perlmutter, David M.
1983 Personal vs. impersonal constructions. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 1(1): 141–200. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rabin, Haiim B.
1998 givun signoni baguf hastami bamikraʔ (Stylistic variation in use of impersonals in Biblical Hebrew). In Linguistic Studies: Collected Papers in Hebrew and Semitic Languages, Moshe Bar-Asher & Baraq Dan (eds), 244–253. Jerusalem: The Academy of Hebrew Language & The Bialik Institute. (Original work published 1979)Google Scholar
Rosén, Haiim B.
1967 ʕivrit tovah (Good Hebrew). Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer.Google Scholar
1977 Contemporary Hebrew [Trends in Linguistics: State-of-the-Art Reports 11]. The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sa’ar, Amalia
2007 Masculine talk: On the subconscious use of masculine linguistic forms among Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking women in Israel. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 32(2): 405–429. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasse, Hans-Jürgen
1987 The thetic/categorical distinction revisited. Linguistics 25(3): 511–580. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2006 Theticity. In Pragmatic Organization of Discourse in the Languages of Europe [Empirical Approaches to Language Typology 20–8], Giuliano Bernini & Marcia Linda Schwartz (eds), 255–308. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shimoni, Youval
1999 ħeder ‘A Room’. Tel Aviv: Am-Oved.Google Scholar
Shlonsky, Ur
2009 Hebrew as a partial null-subject language. Studia Linguistica 63(1): 133–157. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Siewierska, Anna
1984 The Passive: A Comparative Linguistic Analysis. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
2004 Person. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008 Introduction: Impersonalization from a subject-centered vs. agent-centered perspective. Transactions of the Philological Society 106(2): 1–23. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Siewierska, Anna & Papastathi, Maria
2011 Third person plurals in the languages of Europe: Typological and methodological issues. Linguistics 43(2): 575–610.Google Scholar
Sperber, Dan & Wilson, Deirdre
1986 Relevance: Communication and Cognition. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Stassen, Leon
2009 Predicative Possession. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Taube, Dana
2007 Impersonal and passive constructions in contemporary Hebrew. In Studies in Semitic and General Linguistics in Honor of Gideon Goldenberg, Tali Bar & Eran Cohen (eds), 277–297. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.Google Scholar
Van Valin Jr., Robert D.
2005 Exploring the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Ziv, Yael
1976 On the reanalysis of grammatical terms in Hebrew possessive constructions. In Studies in Modern Hebrew Syntax and Semantics [North-Holland Linguistic Series 32], Peter Cole (ed.), 153–181. Amsterdam: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 8 other publications

Brandel, Noa
2022. Not all diatheses are created equal: Evidence from semantic drifts. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 6:1 DOI logo
DATTNER, Elitzur & Dorit RAVID
2023. The development of Hebrew zero and pronominal subject realization in the context of first and second person. Journal of Child Language ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Halevy, Rivka
2022. The existential construction in Spoken Modern Hebrew. Journal of Speech Sciences 11 ► pp. e022005 ff. DOI logo
Halevy, Rivka
2022. What makes the dative-experiencer construction in Modern Hebrew different from its counterparts in European languages?. STUF - Language Typology and Universals 75:3 ► pp. 379 ff. DOI logo
Halevy, Rivka
2023. Non-subject oriented existential, possessive and dative-experiencer constructions in Modern Hebrew – a cross-linguistic typological approach. STUF - Language Typology and Universals 76:4 ► pp. 545 ff. DOI logo
Izre'el, Shlomo
2022. The syntax of existential constructions. Journal of Speech Sciences 11 ► pp. e022001 ff. DOI logo
Notarius, Tania
2022. Impersonal Verbal Constructions in Biblical Hebrew: Active, Stative, and Passive. Journal for Semitics 30:2 DOI logo
Shor, Leon
2022. Revisiting “verbal agreement”: The case of Israeli Hebrew. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 7:1 DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 23 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.