Download or read book The Function of Function Words and Functional Categories written by Marcel den Dikken and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2005-08-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together papers which address a range of issues regarding the syntax of function words and functional categories in the Germanic languages. The works offered in this volume derive specifically from comparative studies of Germanic; at the same time they all bear directly on long-standing problems in syntactic theory and universal grammar. The contributions include novel theoretical and empirical approaches to infinitives, the syntax and acquisition of Verb Second, the structure and interpretation of present tense, the syntax and semantics of reflexives, the relationship between expletive syntax and the EPP, the syntax of possession, and the DP-internal syntax of pronouns. Some contributions present the results of experimental research which provide an entirely fresh perspective on previously unchallenged claims.