Information structure and information weight

Double-object constructions

Double-object constructions alternate with prepositional constructions. In my book entitled Benjamin Franklin’s English: Form to Function Analyses (Abingdon: Routledge, 2025), I analyzed the verbs show and write concerning this structural variation. Show is a typical double-object construction verb, whose behaviour differs depending on whether the accusative object is a personal pronoun or other noun phrases. The prepositional construction is more common with personal pronouns. The situation differs slightly with write, which gives preposition constructions more extensively. I argue that this is perhaps because the association between write and to is stronger. Further details are given in Section 4.2.6 (pp. 176-178).

Ordering of main and subordinate clauses

The ordering of main and subordinate clauses is a popular topic in contemporary English studies. In the following paper, by contrast, I focus on Middle English to see if the same mechanism works in earlier periods.

• Iyeiri, Yoko. 2013. “The Positioning of Adverbial Clauses in the Paston Letters”, in Meaning in the History of English: Words and Texts in Context, ed. Andreas H. Jucker, Daniela Landert, Annina Seiler, & Nicole Studer-Joho, pp. 211-229. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.