Abstract

In this paper I discuss some syntactic and selectional problems conceming dependent clauses with verb-second structure in German. These clauses occur as propositional arguments after certain classes of matrix verbs or adjectives. They alternate systematically with verb-final clauses introduced by a complementizer (daß or wenn). In generative accounts of these data, both realizations of the propositional argument have usually been treated as instances of syntactic complementation, i.e. both types are generated in a structural complement position. But dependent verb-second clauses display syntactic properties that are at odds with such an analysis. There is strong empirical evidence against the complement status. Another perspective on the same problem is the question whether dependent verb-second clauses are selected by means of lexical information. This question arises, because syntactic configurations are supposed to represent the argument structure of lexical items in an unambiguous way. I will provide evidence that there are in fact restrictions for the realization of verbsecond clauses that cannot be part of the information of a lexical entry under common assumptions about the lexicon. Dependent verb-second clauses are therefore neither syntactic complements nor lexically selected objects and present serious diffculties for an account within a generative framework.