The Syntactic Structures of Norwegian Pseudocoordinations

Abstract

Pseudocoordinations (for example sitte og skrive ‘sit and write’) look like coordinations, but do not have the syntactic properties of coordinations. Their analysis is a classical problem in Scandinavian grammar. In this article, it is argued that pseudocoordinations are not a unitary phenomenon; different first verbs take different constructions. Most pseudocoordinations are control constructions. The syntactic differences between pseudocoordination control constructions and ordinary control constructions are discussed, and shown to follow from the control theory of Lexical‐Functional Grammar. Not all pseudocoordinations are control constructions, however. There are also pseudocoordinations that are raising constructions, and pseudocoordinations that are monoclausal.