9.4.7 Subordinating particles

Use this section for verbal auxiliaries, affixes, adverbs, and particles that indicate a subordinate clause. The following definitions are taken from Bybee, Joan, Revere Perkins, and William Pagliuca. 1994. The evolution of grammar. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

subordinating: Often there are special verb forms or morphemes associated with the verb that occur obligatorily in subordinate clauses of certain types. The extent to which such morphemes can be said to have "meaning" varies, since they often co-occur with other markers of subordination. Their function is primarily to signal the type of subordinate clause.

Complement clauses: A main verb may take as its direct object a clause. These are often referred to as "Noun clauses" or "Noun complements". The verb form of the subordinate clause is usually determined by the semantics of the main verb, so in this case, our meaning labels will just refer to the context. If a verb form occurs in the complements to words of thinking and believing, the meaning label will be complement to words of thinking and believing.

complement to words of thinking

complement to words of believing

complement to words of saying

complement to words of ordering (in English we use an infinitive with these words)

complement to words of wanting (again in English these are done with infinitives)

complement to words of emotion (surprise, regret, happiness, sadness, etc.; the complement proposition is presupposed to be true)

complement to words of obligation

complement to words of admonition

subsequent: following a reference time in the past.

subordinator: marker indicates that the verb is in a subordinate clause.