Introduction to The Syntax of Dutch

Abstract

This chapter contains four sections. Section 1 is intended as a reference section. It contains the basic facts of Dutch inflectional morphology and syntax that are discussed in this book. Section 2 reviews the traditional analysis of these facts within the generative framework, based on Koster (1975) and Den Besten (1977). Section 3 discusses the problematic aspects of the traditional analysis on its own terms, i.e. as an implementation of the so-called Government and Binding approach.¹ In section 4, the consequences of the Minimalist Program for the analysis of Dutch syntax are briefly sketched; it contains a review of the traditional analysis, this time on minimalist terms, and the first outline of a minimalist approach to the syntax of Dutch.