The structure of null subject DPs and agreement in Polish impersonal constructions 131
- Two types of impersonal constructions
As illustrated by the following discussion, the SIĘ construction and the –NO/–TO
construction differ in a significant way in their morpho-syntactic behaviour.
2.1 The SIĘ construction
This structure consists of a verb and a reflexive pronoun. The verb is invariably in the
3 sg form, as in (1):
(1) a. Tańczy się tutaj często.
dance.pres 3 sg się here often
‘One dances here often.’
b. Buduje się tutaj szkołę.
build.pres 3 sg się here school.acc
‘They are building/they build a/the school here.’
c. Często jadło się maliny.
often eat.past 3 sg.n się raspberries.acc
‘[One] often ate raspberries.’
d. Da się wszystkim prezenty.
give.pres 3 sg się everybody.dat gifts.acc
‘[One] will give everybody gifts.’
The sentences in (1) show that reflexive impersonals can be used with intransitive (1a),
monotransitive (1b)/(1c), and ditransitive (1d) verbs with distinct forms for each tense
(Kibort 2008). In (1a) and (1b) the impersonal verb refers to the present, in (1c) to the
past, and in (1d) to the future. The example in (1c) shows that when the SIĘ imper-
sonal refers to the past, the verb form is marked 3sg.n. It is also clear that accusative
objects are retained, as in (1b), (1c), and (1d).
2.1.1 Cross-linguistic perspective
The Polish SIĘ construction is superficially similar to the so-called SI/SE construc-
tion in Italian and Spanish. Italian and Spanish examples are given in (2) and (3)
respectively.
(2) a. In Italia si mangiano gli spaghetti.
in Italy si eat.3pl cl.pl.m spaghetti.pl.m
‘In Italy people eat spaghetti.’
b. In Italia si mangia spaghetti.
in Italy si eats.3sg spaghetti.pl.m
‘In Italy one eats spaghetti.’
(Italian, D’Alessandro 2004: 16)