Subject ellipsis in the main clause in Russian and the typology of correlatives

This paper deals with the Russian words to, tak, no, kak, togda and tut when they are used as correlatives, that is, are linked to a subordinator across the clause boundary (cf. Esli zavtra budet xorošaja pogoda, to my pojdjom guljat’, ‘if the weather is good tomorrow, then we will go for a walk’). It is argued that to, tak, no and kak differ from togda and tut in that they interact with the possibility of subject ellipsis in the main clause: only when they are present in the sentence, is subject ellipsis allowed. The explanation I propose to this fact is based on three assumptions: (i) constructions with togda and tut, but not those with to, tak, no or kak, are a subtype of correlative relative constructions; (ii) to, tak, no and kak, but not togda or tut, serve to raise the degree of semantic and grammatical symmetry between clauses; (iii) symmetry is a factor relevant for ellipsis. The differences that the correlatives under discussion display in the elliptical context can therefore be seen as a manifestation of a more basic distinction between two types of correlatives.

Keywords

corpus, correlative, ellipsis, relative clause, subject

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanitarian Research, grant No. 17-04-00517(а).

Received

25.11.2018

Publication date

26.11.2018

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GOST	Pekelis O. Subject ellipsis in the main clause in Russian and the typology of correlatives // Voprosy Jazykoznanija – 2018. – Issue 6 C. 31-59 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/vopjaz/s207987840001243-6-1-en (circulation date: 18.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S0373658X0002019-9
MLA	Pekelis, Olga E "Subject ellipsis in the main clause in Russian and the typology of correlatives." Voprosy Jazykoznanija 6 (2018):31-59. DOI: 10.31857/S0373658X0002019-9
APA	Pekelis O. (2018). Subject ellipsis in the main clause in Russian and the typology of correlatives. Voprosy Jazykoznanija (6), pp.31-59 DOI: 10.31857/S0373658X0002019-9

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