Editing Clitic (section)

==Indo-European languages==

===Germanic languages===

==== English ====
[[English language|English]] enclitics include the contracted versions of auxiliary verbs, as in ''I'm'' and ''we've''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney |author-link1=Rodney Huddleston
|last2= Pullum |first2= Geoffrey |author-link2=Geoffrey Pullum
|title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=0-521-43146-8|pages=1614–1616}}
</ref> Some also regard the [[English possessive|possessive marker]], as in ''The Queen of England's crown'' as an enclitic, rather than a (phrasal) genitival inflection.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney |author-link1=Rodney Huddleston|last2= Pullum |first2= Geoffrey |author-link2=Geoffrey Pullum|title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=0-521-43146-8|pages=480–481}}</ref>

Some consider the [[Uses of English verb forms#To-infinitive|infinitive marker]] ''to'' and the [[English articles]] ''a, an, the'' to be proclitics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~zwicky/what-is-a-clitic.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031073058/http://web.stanford.edu/~zwicky/what-is-a-clitic.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-31 |url-status=live|title=What is a clitic?|website=stanford.edu|access-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>

The negative marker ''-n't'' as in ''couldn't'' etc. is typically considered a clitic that developed from the lexical item ''not''. Linguists [[Arnold Zwicky]] and [[Geoffrey Pullum]] argue, however, that the form has the properties of an affix rather than a syntactically independent clitic.<ref>{{cite journal
| last= Zwicky
| first= Arnold M.
| year= 1983
| title= Cliticization vs. inflection: the case of English ''n't''
| journal= Language
| volume= 59
| pages= 502–513
| doi= 10.2307/413900
| issue= 3
| author2= Pullum| jstor= 413900
}}</ref>

====Other Germanic languages====
*[[Old Norse]]: The definite article was the enclitic {{lang|non|-inn}}, {{lang|non|-in}}, {{lang|non|-itt}} (masculine, feminine and neuter nominative singular), as in {{lang|non|álfrinn}} ("the elf"), {{lang|non|gjǫfin}} ("the gift"), and {{lang|non|tréit}} ("the tree"), an abbreviated form of the independent pronoun {{lang|non|hinn}}, [[cognate]] of the German pronoun {{lang|de|jener}}. It was fully declined for gender, case and number. Since both the noun and enclitic were declined, this led to "double declension". The situation remains similar in modern [[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], but in [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], the enclitics have become [[Suffix#Inflectional suffixes|endings]]. Old Norse had also some enclitics of personal pronouns that were attached to verbs. These were {{lang|non|-sk}} (from {{lang|non|sik}}), {{lang|non|-mk}} (from {{lang|non|mik}}), {{lang|non|-k}} (from {{lang|non|ek}}), and {{lang|non|-ðu / -du / -tu}} (from {{lang|non|þú}}). These could even be stacked up, e.g. {{lang|non|fásktu}} ([[Hávamál]], stanza 116).
*[[Dutch language|Dutch]]: {{lang|nl|'t}} definite article of neuter nouns and third person singular neuter pronoun, {{lang|nl|'k}} first person pronoun, {{lang|nl|je}} second person singular pronoun, {{lang|nl|ie}} third person masculine singular pronoun, {{lang|nl|ze}} third person plural pronoun
* [[Plautdietsch]]: {{lang|pdt|Deit'a't vondoag?}} ("Will he do it today?")
*[[Gothic language|Gothic]]: Sentence clitics appear in 2nd position in accordance with [[Wackernagel's Law]], including {{lang|got|-u}} ([[yes–no question]]), {{lang|got|-uh}} ("and"), {{lang|got|þan}} ("then"), {{lang|got|ƕa}} ("anything"), for example {{lang|got|ab-'''u''' þus silbin}} ("of thyself?"). Multiple clitics could be stacked up, and split a [[preverb]] from its rest of the verb if the preverb comes at the beginning of the clause, e.g. {{lang|got|diz-'''uh-þan'''-sat ijōs}} ("and then he seized them (fem.)"), {{lang|got|ga-'''u-ƕa'''-sēƕi}} ("whether he saw anything").
*[[Yiddish]]: The unspecified pronoun {{lang|yi|מען}} can be contracted to {{lang|yi|מ'}}.

===Celtic languages===
In [[Cornish language|Cornish]], the clitics ''ma'' ''/'' ''na'' are used after a noun and definite article to express "this" / "that" (singular) and "these" / "those" (plural). For example:
*''an lyver'' "the book", ''an lyver ma'' "this book", ''an lyver na'' "that book"
*''an lyvrow'' "the books", ''an lyvrow ma'' "these books", ''an lyvrow na'' "those books"

[[Irish-Gaelic|Irish Gaelic]] uses ''seo'' ''/'' ''sin'' as clitics in a similar way, also to express "this" / "that" and "these" / "those". For example:
*''an leabhar'' "the book", ''an leabhar seo'' "this book", ''an leabhar sin'' "that book"
*''na leabhair'' "the books", ''na leabhair seo'' "these books", ''na leabhair sin'' "those books"

===Romance languages===
In [[Romance languages]], some have treated the object [[personal pronoun]] forms as clitics, though they only attach to the verb they are the [[Object (grammar)|object]] of and so are affixes by the definition used here.<ref name=Haspelmath/><ref name=Spencer>Andrew Spencer and Ana Luís, "The canonical clitic".  In Brown, Chumakina, & Corbett, eds. ''Canonical Morphology and Syntax''.  Oxford University Press, pp. 123–150.</ref> There is no general agreement on the issue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diplist.it/mmm8/handout/Gaglia_Schwarze.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518102639/http://www.diplist.it/mmm8/handout/Gaglia_Schwarze.pdf |archive-date=2014-05-18 }}</ref> For the [[Spanish object pronouns]], for example:

*'''''lo''' atamos'' {{IPA|['''lo'''aˈtamos]}} ("'''it''' tied-<small>1PL</small>" = "we tied it" or "we tied him"; can only occur with the verb it is the object of)
*''dá'''melo''''' {{IPA|[ˈda'''melo''']}} ("give '''me it'''")

[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] allows object suffixes before the conditional and future suffixes of the verbs:<ref>
{{cite journal 
 |last=Gadelii 
 |first=Karl Erland 
 |year=2002 
 |title=Pronominal Syntax in Maputo Portuguese (Mozambique) from a Comparative Creole and Bantu Perspective 
 |journal=Africa & Asia 
 |volume=2 
 |pages=27–41 
 |issn=1650-2019 
 |url=http://www.african.gu.se/aa/pdfs/aa02027.pdf 
 |access-date=2006-09-20 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060920015915/http://www.african.gu.se/aa/pdfs/aa02027.pdf 
 |archive-date=2006-09-20 
 }}
</ref>

*''Ela levá-'''lo'''-ia'' ("''She take-'''it'''-would''" – "She would take it").
*''Eles dar-'''no'''-'''lo'''-ão'' ("''They give-'''us'''-'''it'''-will''" – "They will give it to us").

Colloquial [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] allows '''ser''' to be conjugated as a verbal clitic adverbial adjunct to emphasize the importance of the phrase compared to its context, or with the meaning of "really" or "in truth":<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last        = Bartens
 |first       = Angela, and Niclas Sandström
 |year        = 2005
 |title       = Novas notas sobre a construção com ser focalizador
 |journal     = EStudos Em Homenagem Ao Professor Doutor Mário Vilela
 |volume      = 1
 |pages       = 105–119
 |url         = http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/4523.pdf
 |access-date  = 2014-03-11
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140312000606/http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/4523.pdf
 |archive-date = 2014-03-12
}}
</ref>

*''Ele estava '''era''' gordo'' ("''He was '''was''' fat''" – "He was very fat").
*''Ele ligou '''é''' para Paula'' ("''He phoned '''is''' Paula''" – "He phoned Paula (''with emphasis'')").

Note that this clitic form is only for the verb '''ser''' and is restricted to only third-person singular conjugations. It is not used as a verb in the grammar of the sentence but introduces prepositional phrases and adds emphasis. It does not need to concord with the tense of the main verb, as in the second example, and can be usually removed from the sentence without affecting the simple meaning.

===Proto-Indo-European===
In the [[Indo-European languages]], some clitics can be traced back to [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]: for example, {{lang|ine-x-proto|*-kʷe}} is the original form of [[Sanskrit]] ''[[wikt:च|च]]'' (''-ca''), [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[wikt:τε|τε]]'' (''-te''), and [[Latin]] ''[[wikt:que#Latin|-que]]''.
*Latin: ''[[wikt:-que#Latin|-que]]'' "and", ''[[wikt:-ve#Latin|-ve]]'' "or", ''[[wikt:-ne#Latin|-ne]]'' ([[yes–no question]])
*Greek: ''[[wikt:τε|τε]]'' "and", ''[[wikt:δέ|δέ]]'' "but", ''[[wikt:γάρ|γάρ]]'' "for" (in a logical argument), ''[[wikt:οὖν|οὖν]]'' "therefore"

===Slavic languages===
*[[Russian language|Russian]]: [[wikt:ли|ли]] (yes–no question), [[wikt:же|же]] (emphasis), то (emphasis), [[wikt:не|не]] "not" (proclitic), [[wikt:бы|бы]] (subjunctive)
* [[Czech language|Czech]]: special clitics: weak personal and reflexive pronouns (''mu'', "him"), certain auxiliary verbs (''by'', "would"), and various short particles and adverbs (''tu'', "here"; ''ale'', "though"). "''Nepodařilo '''by se mi mu to''' dát''" "I would not succeed in giving it to him". In addition there are various simple clitics including short prepositions.
* [[Polish language|Polish]]: ''[[wikt:by|-by]]'' (conditional mood particle), ''[[wikt:się|się]]'' (reflexive, also modifies meaning of certain verbs), ''[[wikt:no|no]]'' and ''[[wikt:że|-że]]'' (emphasis), ''-m, -ś, -śmy, -ście'' (personal auxiliary), ''mi, ci, cię, go, mu'' &c. (unstressed personal pronouns in [[oblique case]]s)

==== Serbo-Croatian ====
[[Serbo-Croatian]]: the [[reflexive pronoun]] forms ''si'' and ''se'', ''li'' (yes–no question), unstressed [[Present tense|present]] and [[aorist]] tense forms of ''biti'' ("to be"; ''sam, si, je, smo, ste, su''; and ''bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi'', for the respective tense), unstressed [[personal pronoun]]s in genitive (''me, te, ga, je, nas, vas, ih''), dative (''mi, ti, mu, joj, nam, vam, im'') and accusative (''me, te, ga (nj), je (ju), nas, vas, ih''), and unstressed present tense of ''htjeti'' ("want/will"; ''ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će'')

These clitics follow the first stressed word in the sentence or clause in most cases, which may have been inherited from [[Proto-Indo-European]] (see [[Wackernagel's Law]]), even though many of the modern clitics became cliticised much more recently in the language (e.g. auxiliary verbs or the accusative forms of pronouns). In subordinate clauses and questions, they follow the connector and/or the question word respectively.

Examples (clitics – ''sam'' "I am", ''biste'' "you would (pl.)", ''mi'' "to me", ''vam'' "to you (pl.)", ''ih'' "them"):

* ''Pokažite '''mi ih'''.'' "Show (pl.) them to me." 
* ''Pokazao '''sam vam ih''' jučer.'' "I showed them to you (pl.) yesterday." 
* ''Sve '''sam vam ih''' (jučer) pokazao. / Sve '''sam vam ih''' pokazao (jučer).'' "I showed all of them to you (yesterday)." (focus on "all") 
* ''Jučer '''sam vam ih''' (sve) pokazao.'' "I showed (all of) them to you yesterday." (focus on "yesterday") 
* ''Znam da '''sam vam ih''' već pokazao.'' "I know that I have already shown them to you." 
* ''Zašto '''sam vam ih''' jučer pokazao?'' "Why did I show them to you yesterday?" 
* ''Zar '''sam vam ih''' jučer pokazao?'' "Did I (really) show them to you yesterday?" 
* ''Kad '''biste mi ih''' sada dali...'' "If you (pl.) gave them to me now..." (lit. If you-would to-me them now give-''participle''...) 
* ''Što '''sam''' god vidio...'' "Whatever I saw..." (lit. What I-am ever see-''participle''...)

In certain rural dialects this rule is (or was until recently) very strict, whereas elsewhere various exceptions occur. These include phrases containing conjunctions (e. g. ''Ivan i Ana'' "Ivan and Ana"), nouns with a genitival attribute (e. g. ''vrh brda'' "the top of the hill"), proper names and titles and the like (e. g. ''(gospođa) Ivana Marić'' "(Mrs) Ivana Marić", ''grad Zagreb'' "the city (of) Zagreb"), and in many local varieties clitics are hardly ever inserted into any phrases (e. g. ''moj najbolji prijatelj'' "my best friend", ''sutra ujutro'' "tomorrow morning"). In cases like these, clitics normally follow the initial phrase, although some Standard grammar handbooks recommend that they should be placed immediately after the verb (many native speakers find this unnatural).

Examples: 
* ''Ja '''smo''' i on otišli u grad.'' "He and I went to town." (lit. I are and him gone to town) – this is dialectal. 
* ''Ja i on '''smo''' otišli u grad.'' – commonly heard
* ''Ja i on otišli '''smo''' u grad.'' – prescribed by some standard grammars
* ''Moja '''mu je''' starija sestra to rekla.'' "My elder sister told him that." (lit. my to-him is elder sister that say-''participle'') – standard and usual in many dialects 
* ''Moja starija sestra '''mu je''' to rekla.'' – common in many dialects

Clitics are however never inserted after the negative particle ''ne'', which always precedes the verb in Serbo-Croatian, or after prefixes (earlier preverbs), and the interrogative particle ''li'' always immediately follows the verb. Colloquial interrogative particles such as ''da li'', ''dal'', ''jel'' appear in sentence-initial position and are followed by clitics (if there are any).

Examples: 
* ''Ne vidim '''te'''.'' "I don't (or can't) see you." 
* ''Dovedite '''ih'''.'' "Bring them (over here)!" (a prefixed verb: ''do+vedite'') 
* ''Vidiš '''li me'''?'' "Do/can you see me?" 
* ''Vidiš '''li''' sestru?'' "Do you see the sister?" (It is impossible to say, e. g. **Sestru li vidiš?, although ''Sestru vidiš.'' "It's the sister that you see." is natural) 
* ''Jel '''(me)''' vidiš?'' "Do/Can you see (me)?" (colloquial)