Abstract Complement clauses of verbs of fear often contain expletive negation, which is negative marking without negative meaning. Expletive negation in fear-complements regularly co-occurs with non-indicative moods, such as subjunctive, conjunctive, or conditional. The aim of this paper is to provide a diachronic explanation for the phenomenon of expletive negation in complement clauses of fear-verbs. Based on data from various languages, I will show that cases of expletive negation after verbs of fear can be divided into several groups, each with a different origin. Fear complement clauses can derive from embedded polar questions, paratactic constructions expressing a wish, or from negative purpose clauses. Complement clauses with polar questions usually contain an indicative verb form, while clauses based on the expression of a wish often have non-indicative verb forms. The paper also discusses cases in which expletive negation is lost.

中文翻译：

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恐惧动词补语从句中的否定

摘要 恐惧动词的补语从句中常含有咒骂的否定，是没有否定意义的否定标记。恐惧补语中的咒骂否定经常与非指示性情绪同时出现，例如虚拟语气、连接语或条件语。本文旨在为恐惧动词补语从句中的咒骂否定现象提供历时解释。根据来自各种语言的数据，我将展示恐惧动词后的咒骂否定案例可以分为几组，每组都有不同的来源。恐惧补语从句可以从嵌入的极性问题、表达愿望的并列结构或否定目的从句中派生出来。带有极性问题的补语从句通常包含指示性动词形式，而基于愿望表达的从句通常具有非指示性动词形式。本文还讨论了咒骂否定丢失的情况。