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Abstract The subject in Greek may be identified as the element which agrees with a finite verb. In addition, the subject is the only candidate to undergo raising. The subject in a finite clause is marked by nominative case. The subject of an infinitive or participle may carry nominative or other cases depending on whether it is coreferent with the subject of a governing verb or not. 1. Introduction Subject is the name given to a central grammatical function identifiable in most of the world’s languages. Whether subject is a linguistic universal is the topic of on…

Abstract Direct and indirect speech are varieties of reported speech. In Ancient Greek, indirect speech may take different forms: a subordinate clause with a finite verb, an infinitive clause or a participle clause. In indirect speech, the optative mood often replaces the original mood of the verb after a past-tense verb of speaking. 1. Introduction Direct and indirect speech are subtypes of reported speech. The distinction between direct and indirect speech refers to the linguistic marking of the utterance; the propositional content remains the same in bo…

Abstract   Referential arguments of a verb may be realized as zero pronouns. This is especially common for subjects. Null anaphora is constrained by both syntax (shared arguments are expressed only once) and discourse structure (null elements must be easily accessible in the context). 1. Introduction The term ‘null anaphora’ refers to cases where an argument position of a predicate is filled not by an overtly realized element, but by an invisible anaphoric pronoun (Anaphoric Processes). The null pronoun may be referential or non-referential…

Abstract Questions fall into two main groups: alternative questions (including yes/no questions) and constituent questions (wh-questions). Questions may be direct or indirect. Indirect questions may have the same form as direct questions or be explicitly marked as indirect. 1. Introduction The question is a sentence type found in most languages of the world. The function of questions has been derived from commands as well as from statements (see discussion in Lyons 1977:753ff.). Questions fall into two major categories: alternative questions and constituent questions. Yes/no…