V2 is basically SOV with a twist, “if the clause is declarative and non-dependent move the last verb to the second position”. That explains why, in a string with 3 or more verbs, Latin and German would agree on almost all of them - except one. While SVO languages invert the whole chain; e.g.
V2 is basically SOV with a twist, “if the clause is declarative and non-dependent move the last verb to the second position”. That explains why, in a string with 3 or more verbs, Latin and German would agree on almost all of them - except one. While SVO languages invert the whole chain; e.g.
Focus on the verbs I’ve numbered [1] and [2] - both Latin and German would use them in this order, while English and Italian go [2] then [1] instead.
(inb4: I added the “ego” and “io” just for the sake of sentence formation, it sounds weirdly emphatic. I also had to backport “tango” as “tangus”)