Sussex R., Cubberley P. The Slavic Languages

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sentence-initial or enclitic. Polish czy, Ukrainian c

ˇy

, Belarusian ci and Slovenian ali

are sentence-initial:

(37) Ukr c

y zdoro

vyj ty

Q healthy you

‘are you well?’

All the other languages have the enclitic li, and Slovenian also preserves it as a

marked stylistic alternative to ali:

(38) B/C/S gla

va li ga b



i ?

head Q his hurt

‘does his head hurt?’

The enclitic li questions the preceding word or constituent. In order to question the

sentence as a whole, li usually follows the verb, which requires the word order V-li-S

(39a) or V -li-S-O (39b):

(39a) Rus zdoro

v ø li ty

healthy (be) Q you

‘are you well?’

(39b) Rus otve

til li stude

nt na vse

vopro

sy?

answer-MascSgPast Q student to all questions

‘did the student answer all the questions?’

Other word orders are emphatic, and question the word or phrase to the left – that

is, the one to which li is attached:

(39c) Rus stude

nt li otve

til na vse

vopro

sy?

student Q answer-MascSgPast to all questions

‘was it the student who answered all the questions?’

South Slavic languages possess both sentence-initial and li questions. Slovenian has

ali; in the other three South Slavic languages we find da li/dali in sentence-initial

position, using the da ‘that, in-order-that’ complementizer:

(40a) B/C/S da li si ga vı%

deo?

Q Q Aux-2Sg him see-MascSgPastPart

‘have you seen him?’

Dali is particularly used in indirect questions (7.3.4):

(40b) Blg ne zna

m, dalı

te ba˘

da u

tre svobo

den

Neg know-1SgPres Q Fut be-1SgFut tomorrow free

‘I don’t know whether I shall be free tomorrow’

7.1 Overview 359

Tag questions in Slavic are of the German nicht wahr? (lit. ‘not true?’) type:

(41a) Rus o

n prie

xal, ne pra

vda li?

he come-MascSgPast Neg truth Q

‘he has arrived, hasn’t he?

or merely use the word for ‘truth’ (e.g. Pol prawda) with question intonation:

(41b) Pol przyjechał, prawda? ‘he has arrived, hasn’t he?’

or the negative particle, again with rising/question intonation:

(41c) Cz uˇz bychom se me

ˇli

vra

tit dom

u, ne?

already be-1SgCond Refl have-PlPast return home Neg

‘I should have gone home already, shouldn’t I?’

Information questions, as opposed to Yes/no questions, are formed with special

question words, the ‘‘k-/j-words’’ (8.6.2), which function like the ‘‘wh-’’ words of

English. They express notions like who? what? whose? how? why? where? when? how

much?, and are preceded in the sentence only by prepositions and conjunctions. The

other members of the sentence then follow in normal declarative order:

(42a) Cz v kolik hodin pr

ijdes

at which hour come-2SgFut

‘at what time will you come?’

(42b) Blg ka

k ne se setı

x za tova

-ra

no?

how Neg Refl guess-1SgAor about that earlier

‘how didn’t I guess about that earlier?’

Note the special word order with

eto ‘this’ [Neuter Singular] and the copula in

Russian (43a):

(43a) Rus c

´`

eto knı

ga?

whose-FemNomSg this-NeutSg book[Fem]-NomSg

‘whose book is this?’

cf. (43b) Rus c

´`

eta knı

ga?

whose-FemNomSg this-FemSg book[Fem]-NomSg

‘whose is this book?’

7.1.3 Negation

It is usual to find the negative particle ne (etc.), which functions as a proclitic,

immediately before the verb or auxiliary when the whole sentence is negated. When

not functioning as a prefix in word formation (8.2.1, 8.3.1, 8.4.1), ne is usually

360 7. Sentence structure

written as a separate word, and as a proclitic is not normally stressed. But in Czech,

Slovak and Sorbian the negative particle is attached to the verb (or the auxiliary, if

present) and attracts to itself the word-initial stress:

(44a) Sorb ¨nje-chodz

´-u

´ensa

na dz

´eˇ

ło

Neg-go-1SgPres today to work

‘I am not going to work today’

(44b) Sorb to ¨njej-sym nihdy prajił

that Neg-Aux-1Sg never say-MascSgPast

‘I have never said that’

Individual constituents can be negated by placing the negative particle directly

before them:

(45a) Cz pr

ijeli autem, ne vlakem

come-PlPast car-Instr Neg train-Instr

‘they came by car, not train’

(45b) Cz mu ˇz ne v leps

ch letech

man Neg in best years

‘a man not in his best years’

(45c) Ukr ne ja

ne mı

h pomı

tyty va

oji pomy

lky

Neg I Neg able-MascSgPast observe your error

‘It wasn’t I who couldn’t observe your error’

(45d) Ukr ty

ne mı

h ne zna

you Neg able-MascSgPast Neg know

‘you couldn’t not know’

Apparently the only language not to have this type of constituent negation is Sorbian

ewc-Schuster, 1976: 14–15). Here the negative particle is placed with the main verb

or its auxiliary, and the constituent being negated receives contrastive stress:

(46a) Sorb wo

n nas

HNYDOM spo

znał njeje

he us at once recognize-MascSgPast Neg-Aux

‘he didn’t recognize us at once’

cf. (46b) Rus o

n ne sra

zu na

s uzna

he Neg at once us recognize-MascSgPast

‘he didn’t at once recognize us’

Negative pronouns, and adverbs and determiners like ‘no-one’, ‘nowhere’ and

‘none’, have double syntactic negation. The Slavic negative pronouns, adverbs

and determiners are prefixed by the negative ni- (8.6.2), and have ne (etc.) after

7.1 Overview 361

(though not necessarily directly after) the negated word, and directly preceding the

auxiliary or main verb. It does not matter how many such negated forms there are

in a sentence – there can be only one ne (nje, etc.), unless the sentence contains a

semantically double negative, as in (45d):

(47a) Sorb nichto

njeje nic

owe

ał

no-one Neg-Aux-3Sg nothing know-MascSgPast

‘no-one knew anything’

(47b) Pol nikt mi nic o

zadnym zjez

´dzie

no-one I-Cl-Dat nothing about no conference

nie mo

wił

Neg say-MascSgPast

‘no-one has told me anything about any conference’

Negated pronouns and determiners with ni- can allow a preposition to occur

between the negative prefix and the pronoun/determiner; this is also required

with indefinite pronouns/determiners with ne. So that while the Russian pronoun

for ‘no-one’ is nikto

, instrumental nike

m, when governed by a preposition the

pronoun is interrupted:

(48) Rus o

nni s ke

m ne razgova

rivaet

he NegPref with who-Instr Neg talk-3SgPres

‘he talks to no-one’

‘Neither ...nor’ requires ni ...ni (ani ...ani), with each ni/ani occupying the proclitic

position of a normal negative; the proclitic ne is still required before the verb:

(49) Ukr ni C

pka, ni Ha

lja ne zho

dˇzuvalys

‘neither C

ipka nor Galja agreed’

Slavic, as in English, has a ‘‘negative raising’’ construction where the negative can

be attached to the verb of the subordinate (50b) or the superordinate (50a) sentence:

(50a) Rus ja

ne du

maju, c

ˇto

n anglic

ˇa

nin

‘I do not think that he is an Englishman’

(50b) Rus ja

maju, c

to o

n ne anglic

nin

‘I think that he is not an Englishman’

7.1.4 Imperatives

Commands in Slavic are usually expressed by the imperative. The subject pronoun

is normally omitted with 1 and 2 Person imperatives, and the verb, depending on

the language, may have a special imperative form (5.5.5.9):

362 7. Sentence structure

(51a) Blg c

ˇete

te! ‘read’ [2PlImprfv]

pomo

gnete! ‘help!’ [2PlImprfv]

(51b) Rus sjad

! ‘sit down!’ [2SgPrfv]

sadı

! ‘be seated!’ [2SgImprfv]

(51c) Sorb dajmy! ‘let us give!’ [1PlPrfv]

dajmoj! ‘let us give!’ [1DuPrfv]

Imperatives occur in both aspects (5.4.7, 6.3), but with complex meanings, which

remain controversial. Conventional aspectual meanings coexist, and in some cases

are overlaid by, factors of pragmatics, interpersonal communication and polite-

ness. Positive imperfective imperatives are variously described as more polite, more

urgent and vulgar. Positive perfective imperatives may indicate completion, e.g.

with telic constructions, or may also be brusque (or neutrally polite). Negative

imperatives show the same preference for the imperfective as negative declarative

sentences, for instance with telic constructions: an action not to be undertaken will

not be completed. South Slavic, apart from Slovenian, hardly uses perfectives in

this construction. Elsewhere analyses differ. Kuc

era (1984) finds imperfectives

preferred in Czech with verbs expressing voluntary agency, and perfectives with

verbs where the subject has less voluntary control over the outcome (e.g. catching a

cold). Benacchio’s (2002) analysis shows the Russian perfective imperative as

distancing, and so more neutral as to politeness in more formal contexts, while

in more informal contexts the imperfective is less distanced, and can be either

positively polite or downright rude. Her association of communicative distance,

pragmatics and politeness looks promising for future investigations of other Slavic

languages.

Morphological imperatives can also be used pragmatically to express exhorta-

tions, injunctions and desired actions. Negative imperatives can express prohibi-

tions, warnings, cautions and permission.

There are also several periphrastic imperative constructions, like the English

let’s go! They involve invariant particles, and occur in 3 Person imperatives, and

also with other imperative forms, especially 1 Person plural/dual:

(52a) Mac neka vika/vikaat!

ImperParticle shout-3Sg/shout-3Pl

‘let him/them shout!’

(52b) Ukr xa

jˇzyvu

i hero

ji!

ImperParticle live-3PlPres our-NomPl hero-NomPl

‘long live our heroes!’

7.1 Overview 363

(52c) Pol njech zas

piewaja˛!

ImperParticle sing-3PlFutPrfv

‘let them sing!’

In Polish, with the polite pan/pani/pan

stwo/panowie/panie (11.4.2) in 2 Person

address, 3 Person imperatives serve for commands as well:

(52d) Pol niech pani mi powie

Particle lady/you[FemSg] I-Cl-Dat tell-3SgFutPrfv

wszystko

everything

‘tell [Fem] me everything!’

Such periphrastic constructions express a strong desire or wish rather than a

command. The same effect is found in many exclamations, using a 2 Person

imperative of the verb with a 3 Person noun-address, often referring to the

deity:

(53a) Sorb Pomhaj Bo

h! ‘God help (us)!’

(53b) Sorb Bo

h knjez pr

ewo

dz Was ... ‘May Almighty God guide you’

The three languages without special morphological forms for 1 Person plural

imperative have analytic constructions instead (Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian):

(54a) Blg ne

ka da gle

dame!

ImperParticle that look-1PlPres

‘let us look!’

(54b) Mac da/neka vikam/vikame!

that/ImperParticle shout-1Sg/shout-1Pl

‘let me/us shout!’

(54c) Rus dava

jte popro

buem!

give-2PlImper try-1PlPrfv

‘let us try!’

In spite of the presence of genuine morphological imperatives, periphrastic forms

may also be available in the other languages. B/C/S, for instance, has ha

jde [2Sg],

jdemo [lPl], ha

jdete [2Pl], parallel to the negative imperatives in n



oj, n



ojmo,



ojte (64).

There are several ways in which the force of a command can be modified and

mollified, apart from merely adding ‘‘please’’. One method involves enclitic parti-

cles like Russian -te, -ka, Ukrainian -no

, -bo, which make the command more

intimate, friendly and shared when added to the regular imperative:

364 7. Sentence structure

(55a) Rus pojde

m-te/pojde

m-ka ‘let’s go!’

(55b) Ukr idy

-no ‘go on!’

ska ˇzy

-bo ‘do tell!’

Commands can also be modified by appropriate use of intonation, or by including

the pronoun subject with the imperative form of the verb. This weakens the

command to the level of a strong recommendation, sometimes with overtones of

a warning:

(56) Pol atysłuchaj! ‘you’d better listen!’

Slavic commands can also be expressed by the infinitive (57a–b). If uttered directly

to a person, however, such an order is authoritarian, brusque or rude (57c):

(57a) Rus ne kurı

! ‘no smoking’

(57b) Sorb zac

inic

! ‘begin!’

(e.g. in an examination, addressing a class of students)

(57c) Pol siadac

i milczec

! ‘sit down and shut up!’

Impersonal sentences, which express commands by means of statements, often use

the reflexive form of the verb (58a). The same command can be expressed by a

personal sentence (58b–c) or by an apersonal one, more of a gentle request (58d):

(58a) Pol tu sie˛ nie pali!

here ReflCl Neg smoke-3SgPres

‘no smoking here!’

(58b) Pol palenie wzbronione ‘smoking prohibited’

(58c) Slk fajc

it’ [Inf ] zaka

zane ‘smoking prohibited’

(58d) Rus zde

ne ku

rjat [3PlPres] ‘no smoking please’

Conditional constructions may, as questions, convey a polite request or exhor-

tation:

(59) Pol Czy byłaby pani taka

Q be-CondFemSg you[Fem] so-FemSgNom

łaskawa i ...

kind-FemSgNom and

‘Could you [Fem] be so kind as to ...’

In some languages the past active participle/past tense in -l can also be used

to express command or volition (60a–d); atypically in Russian it may express a

1 Person imperative (60e):

7.1 Overview 365

(60a) Blg ubı

lteGo

spod!

kill-MascSgPart you-AccSg God

‘may God strike you dead!’

(60b) B/C/S pro`` klet bı``o!

damn-MascSgPart be-MascSgPart

‘be damned!’

(60c) B/C/S ˇzı

vela na`` s

omovina!

live-FemSgPart our-FemSgNom country[Fem]-SgNom

‘long live our country!’

(60d) Pol poszedł mi sta˛d!

go-MascSgPast I-Cl-DatSg from-here

‘go away!’

(60e) Rus poe

xali!

go-PlPastPrfv

‘let’s go!’

Various particles may add command elements to declarative sentences, turning

them into a kind of optative (5.4.9):

(61a) Cz at’ se tam pe

kne

chova

ImperParticle ReflCl there well behave-2SgPres

‘behave yourself well there’

(61b) Cz aˇzsede

ˇje,

co de

ˇje

ImperParticle ReflCl do what do

‘whatever will be, will be’

Negative imperatives deserve special mention. The simplest means of forming them

is to add the negative particle to the sentence in the normal way (7.1.3). In Czech,

Slovak and Sorbian the particle is attached to the verb:

(62a) Sorb njekur! ‘don’t smoke!’

(62b) Ukr xa

j/nexa

j pry

jde! ‘let him come!’

(62c) Ukr xa

j/nexa

j ne pry

dje ‘let him not come!’

The negative imperative with the negative particle is available in all Slavic lan-

guages. In Bulgarian, Macedonian and B/C/S, however, there is a parallel form

derived etymologically from the verb ‘be able’ or ‘do’ with the infinitive. In

Bulgarian this formation is one of the few cases where the (vestigial) infinitive

366 7. Sentence structure

(63a–b) is found (Scatton, 1993: 226): the alternative with da + Sentence (63c)

is also available and is preferred. The ‘be able/do’ negative imperatives are found

in the 2 Person in Bulgarian and Macedonian (63), and in the 1 Person plural as well

in B/C/S (64):

(63a) Blg nede

j se sme

‘don’t laugh’ [Sg]

(63b) Blg nede

jte ka

zva ‘don’t say’ [Pl]

(63c) Blg nede

j da gle

das

‘don’t look’ [Sg]

(64a) B/C/S n



ojmo pı

sati ‘let’s not write!’

(64b) B/C/S n



ojte pı

sati/n



ojte da p



ete ‘don’t write!’ [Pl]

The imperative forms of the verb do not always have the communicative force of

a command. Imperative forms may be used like the historic present to indicate

sudden or dramatic action:

(65a) Mac tamo imas

e mnogu svet pred

there have-3SgAor much people before

vratata: edni vlezi, drugi izlezi

doors-Def some-Pl enter-2SgImper others exit-2SgImper

‘there, there were many people at the door: some were going

in, others were coming out’ (de Bray, 1980b: 205)

Russian has a special construction with two imperatives, meaning something like

‘went and ...’:

(65b) Rus a soba

ka voz

mı

da i pry

gni ...

and dog take-2SgImper Particle and jump-2SgImper

‘and the dog went and jumped ...’

Imperative forms can also express conditions, even with 1 Person subjects (66a);

they can also express irony (66b):

(66a) Ukr pry

jdy ja

sjudy

ˇa

sno, nic

ˇo

come-1SgFutPrfv I-Nom here in-time nothing-Gen

bto

ho ne bulo

Cond this-Gen Neg by-NeutSgPast

‘If I had come here in time, nothing of this would have

happened’

(66b) Rus ˇzdı

ot tako

go po

mos

expect-2SgImper from such-GenSg help-Gen

‘It’s useless to expect help from a man like him’

7.1 Overview 367

7.1.5 Passives

The passive in Slavic is expressed in two principal ways: a morphological passive,

and a reflexive.

The formation of the morphological passive is described in 5.4.8 and 5.5.5.10.

Since the imperfective passive past participle is so little used, the morphological

passive is uncommon in the present tense, when the reflexive construction is normal

(below). However, the morphological passive is regularly found in both the past

and the future, especially with the perfective passive participle. The agent is less

often expressed in this construction than in English:

(67) Blg vrata

ta e otvo

rena ot le

karjat

gate-Pl-Def Aux-3Sg open-NeutPlPastPart by doctor-Def

‘the gate has been opened by the doctor’

The morphological passive is more written than spoken. It is more to be found in

formal, scientific and technical prose.

The reflexive, on the other hand, is more like the middle voice in Greek. It is most

used in the present tense to express habitual or imperfective passives:

(68a) Rus

etot ˇzurna

this-NomSgMasc journal[Masc]-NomSg

ita

etsja vse

read-3SgPresRefl all-InstrPl

‘this journal is read by everyone’

(68b) Slk rec

i sa hovoria a chlieb

speech-Pl ReflCl speak-3PlPres and bread-Sg

sa je

ReflCl eat-3SgPres

‘speeches are spoken and bread is eaten’ (saying)

Two other constructions are used in Slavic as intermediate steps between activity

and passivity, and as a means of reducing the explicit agentiveness of actions. One is

the apersonal construction (7.3.3), where the generalized subject is not lexically

expressed:

(69) Blg tu

k proda

vat zelenc

here sell-3PlPres vegetable

‘here they sell vegetables/here vegetables are sold’

The second pseudo-passive, which is not evenly distributed across Slavic, involves

the past passive participle of both transitive and intransitive verbs and the imper-

sonal construction:

368 7. Sentence structure