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The 2SG subject pronoun
quickinfo

The subject form of the 2SG pronoun do [do:] you behaves differently from the other pronouns. This is presumably due to the nature of its relation with the inflected, tensed verb.

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In case the pronoun do 2SG follows the verb in a tensed clause, it cannot be independently present. Instead, it must cliticise onto the verb:

1
a. *Dan moatst do op bêd
then must.2SG you on bed
Then you'll have to go to bed
b. Dan moatsto op bêd
then must.2SG.you on bed
Then you'll have to go to bed

The grammatical example could be the result of assimilation of the voiced /d/ of the full form do you to the voiceless ending of the verb. However, that does not explain why the presence of the full form, which could otherwise occur in slow or emphatic speech, is forbidden even in slow or emphatic speech. Furthermore, pronouns can ordinarily be premodified by certain adverbial elements like sels even. An example is given below:

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Dan moat sels hy op bêd
then must even he on bed
Then even he must go to bed

This is excluded in the case of the 2SG subject pronoun:

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*Dan moatst sels do op bêd
then must even you on bed
Then even you must go to bed

The same pattern of facts is found in case the pronoun follows the complementiser:

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a. Omdat sels hy op bêd moat
because even he on bed must
Because even he must go to bed
b. *Omdatst sels do op bêd moatst
because.2SG even you on bed must.2SG
Because even you must go to bed

These facts may be related to the fact that the 2SG agreement ending -st 2SG is the only ending that must appear on the complementiser (if present) and on the tensed verb. Hence an embedded clause has an agreement ending both on the complementiser and on the verb, as shown in the example below:

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Omdatst op bêd moatst
because.2SG on bed must.2SG
Because you have to go to bed

In case the pronoun precedes the verb in a main clause, the pronoun may be absent altogether. This phenomenon is also referred to as pro-drop:

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a. Do moatst op bêd
you must on bed
You must go to bed
b. Moatst op bêd
must.2SG on bed
You must go to bed

In case the pronoun follows the verb or the complementiser, the pronoun may also remain absent:

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Dan moatst dat boek sels skriuwe
then must.2SG that book yourself write
Then you must write that book yourself

Alternatively, the pronoun may be cliticised onto the verb or complementiser. The pronoun may retain its full vowel or it may be weakened to a schwa:

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a. Dan moatst-o / moatst-e dat boek sels skriuwe
then must.2SG.you must.2SG.you that book yourself write
Then you must write that book yourself
b. Omdatsto / Omdatste dat boek sels skriuwe moatst
because.2SG.you because.2SG.you that book yourself write must.2SG
Because you must write that book yourself

Weakening to schwa was common in older Frisian, but it sounds old-fashioned nowadays. Nowadays, either the full vowel is retained or the pronoun is altogether absent. In case the pronoun is embedded in a coordination structure, it cannot be completely absent. Instead, it must cliticise onto the complementiser:

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a. Omdatsto en Lutske te let wiene
because.2SG.you and Lutske too late were.PL
Because you and Lutske were too late
b. *Omdatst en Lutske te let wiene
because.2SG and Lutske too late were.PL
Because you and Lutske were too late

extra
Literature

More details about the 2SG pronoun can be read in De Haan (1997), Hoekstra (2010: 215. 231), Hoekstra (1994), De Haan (1997) and Van der Meer (1991).

References
  • Haan, Germen J. de1997Voegwoordcongruentie in het FriesHoekstra, E. & Smits, C. (eds.)Vervoegde voegwoorden: lezingen gehouden tijdens het Dialectsymposion 1994Cahiers van het P.J. Meertens-Instituut 9Amsterdam50-67
  • Haan, Sies de1997Grammaticale status en betekenis van het voltooid deelwoord in het Nederlands: een probleemverkenningElffers, Els, Horst, Joop M. van der & Schermer-Vermeer, Ina C. (eds.)Grammaticaal spektakel: artikelen aangeboden aan Ina Schermer-Vermeer bij haar afscheid van de Vakgroep Nederlandse Taalkunde aan de Universiteit van AmsterdamVakgroup Nederlandse Taalkunde, Universiteit van Amsterdam89-101
  • Hoekstra, Eric1994Agreement and the Nature of SpecifiersGroninger Arbeiten zur Germanistischen Linguistik37159-168
  • Hoekstra, Jarich, Visser, Willem & Jensma, Goffe2010More is going on upstairs than downstairs: Embedded root phenomena in FrisianHaan, Germen J. de, Hoekstra, Jarich, Visser, Willen & Jensma, Goffe (eds.)Studies in West Frisian Grammar. Selected papers by Germen J. de HaanJohn Benjamins99-129
  • Meer, Geart van der1991The 'conjugation' of subclause introducers : Frisian -stNOWELE : North-Western European language evolution Nowele1763-84
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