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    2.2.3.2.Inf-nominalizations
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    This section discusses complementation of inf-nominalizations, which come in two types: bare-inf nominalizations like (226a), which are not preceded by a determiner, and det-inf nominalizations like (226b), which can be introduced by a variety of determiners. Section 1.3.1.2 has shown that there are only few restrictions on inf-nominalization; it is the most productive process of deriving nouns from verbs and accepts virtually any type of input verb.

    Example 226
    a. Wandelen van zieken moet worden aangemoedigd.
      walk  of sick  must  be  encouraged
      'Walking of sick people must be encouraged.'
    b. Het wandelen van zieken moet worden aangemoedigd.
      the walk  of sick  must  be  encouraged
      'The walking of sick people must be encouraged.'

    This section is organized as follows. Subsection I starts by presenting some general principles regarding the complementation of inf-nouns. Subsection II will be concerned with complementation of the most common types of inf-nouns. The discussion will be concluded in Subsection III by applying the adjunct/complement tests from Section 2.2.1 to the inherited arguments of the verbs that are realized as PPs within the noun phrase in order to show that they indeed function as complements.

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    [+]  I.  General principles of inf-nominalization

    This subsection discusses the characteristics of complementation shared by all types of inf-nouns in order to simplify the discussion of complementation which follows in Subsection II.

    [+]  A.  Choice of determiner

    The examples in (227) show that in det-inf nominalizations the determiner position can be filled by the definite article het, the demonstrative determiner dit'this' or dat'that', or a genitive noun phrase/possessive pronoun. Schoorlemmer (2001) distinguishes two types of inf-nominalization, the plain type in (227a&a') and the expressive type in (227b).

    Example 227
    a. Het klagen over het weer is irritant.
      the  complain  about the weather  is annoying
      'The complaining about the weather is annoying.'
    a'. ??Mijn vaders/?Zijn/(?)Dit klagen over het weer is irritant.
      my fatherʼs/his/this  complain  about the weather  is annoying
      'My fatherʼs/His complaining about the weather is annoying.'
    b. Dat klagen over het weer is irritant.
      that  complain  about the weather  is annoying
      'That/this complaining about the weather is annoying.'

    Expressive inf-nominalizations like (227b) often sound more natural than plain inf-nominalizations. They contain the (expressive) expressive demonstrative pronoun dat'that', and are characterized by the fact that they always convey a negative judgment, which is often reinforced by the use of an attributive adjective expressing frequency and/or value judgment. Some examples are given in (228).

    Example 228
    a. Dat eeuwige/voortdurende hoesten van hem werkt me op de zenuwen.
      that  eternal/continuous  cough  of him  works  me on the nerves
      'That eternal/continuous coughing of his gets on my nerves.'
    b. Dat afschuwelijke hoesten van hem werkt me op de zenuwen.
      that  terrible  cough  of him  works  me on the nerves
      'That terrible coughing of his gets on my nerves.'

    Plain and expressive inf-nominalizations differ in that the latter refer to ongoing events, whereas the former may also refer to past, completed events. This is shown by the contrast given in (229a). Furthermore, the contrast in (229b) shows that certain combinations of prenominal theme-NP and attributive adjective are perfectly acceptable in the expressive type but less so in the plain type.

    Example 229
    a. het/*dat nooit meer gebeld hebben van Tanja
      the/that  never again  called have  of Tanja
      'Tanjaʼs never having called us again'
    b. dat/??het afschuwelijke overlast veroorzaken van jou
      that/the  terrible  trouble  cause  of you
      'that terrible causing of trouble by you'

    Another important difference concerning complementation is that transitive expressive inf-nominalizations can be followed by two van-phrases expressing, respectively, the theme and the agent, whereas this is impossible with plain inf-nominalizations. Note that example (230b) is acceptable if the agent is expressed by means of an agentive door-phrase.

    Example 230
    a. dat eeuwige treiteren van hondenTheme van jullieAgent
      that  eternal  pester  of dogs of  you
      'that eternal pestering of dogs by you'
    b. het eeuwige treiteren van hondenTheme *van/door jullieAgent
      the  eternal  pester  of dogs    of/by  you

    In other respects, the two subtypes behave very much as one group, especially in comparison with the category of bare-inf nominalizations. Since including the distinction between expressive and plain inf-nominalizations in our discussion of inf-nominalizations may cause unnecessary confusion, the subsequent treatment of det-inf nominalizations will be restricted to one (the most appropriate) form only.

    [+]  B.  The genitive noun phrase/possessive pronoun

    Example (227a'), repeated here in slightly different form as (231a), shows that the agent argument can be expressed by means of a genitive noun phrase or possessive pronoun. The examples in (231b&c) show that this is never possible with the theme argument. In this respect, inf-nominalizations differ from many other nominalizations where this is easily possible.

    Example 231
    a. ??Mijn vaders/?ZijnAgent klagen over het weer is irritant.
      my fatherʼs/his  complain  about the weather  is annoying
      'My fatherʼs/His complaining about the weather is annoying.'
    b. * Mijn vaders/ZijnTheme behandelen (door de arts) kost veel tijd.
      my fatherʼs/his  treat  by the doctor  takes  much time
      Intended reading: 'My fatherʼs treatment by the doctor takes much time.'
    c. * Peters/ZijnTheme voorstellen aan SinterklaasRecipient
      Peterʼs/his  introduce  to Santa Claus
      Intended reading: 'the introduction of Peter to Santa Claus'
    [+]  C.  Specificity of the postnominal van-PP and the prenominal NPTheme

    The most natural use of bare-inf nominalizations seems to be a generic one, in the sense that they have a preference for determinerless (generic or nonspecific) arguments. This is especially the case if the postnominal van-PP corresponds to the subject of the corresponding verbal construction, that is, if the input verb is intransitive like wandelen'to walk' in (232a) or unaccusative like opstijgen'to take off' in (232b).

    Example 232
    a. Wandelen van (*de/*deze) ziekenAgent moet worden aangemoedigd.
      walk  of     the/these  sick  must  be  encouraged
      'Sick peopleʼs walking (in the park) ought to be encouraged.'
    b. Opstijgen van (*de/*deze) vliegtuigenTheme maakt te veel lawaai.
      take.off  of     the/these  planes  makes  too much noise
      'Taking off of (the/these) planes makes too much noise.'

    The results are better, although still marked, with the postnominal van-PP and the prenominal noun phrase in (233), which correspond to the theme argument/direct object of the corresponding verbal construction. Section 1.3.1.2, sub IID, has shown that realization of the theme as a prenominal noun phrase is always preferred with bare-inf nominalizations, but this is not indicated by the judgments given in (233), which only aim at expressing the effect of adding the relevant determiner. When not directly relevant for the discussion, the effect of the manner of realization of the theme argument in bare-inf nominalizations is also ignored in the examples given later in this subsection.

    Example 233
    a. Opbergen van (?de/?die/?mijn) mappenTheme kost veel tijd.
      put.away  of     the/those/my  files  costs  much time
      'Putting away of (the/those/my) files took a lot of time.'
    b. (?De/?Die/?Mijn) mappenTheme opbergen kost veel tijd.
      the/those/my  files  put.away  costs  much time
      'Putting away (the/those/my) files took a lot of time.'

    The acceptability of sentences such as (233) varies with the degree of genericity. This is shown by the fact illustrated by the examples in (234) that the choice between past and present tense affects the acceptability of the examples, which is of course due to the fact that the present tense makes a generic reading more readily available.

    Example 234
    a. Maken van deze somTheme *was/??is lastig.
      make  of this sum    was/is  difficult
    b. Behandelen van JanTheme *kostte/??kost veel tijd.
      treat  of Jan    took/takes  much time

    The use of a binominal construction involving a kind-noun like soort/type in the examples in (235) also improves the result due to the fact that these noun phrases, despite their definiteness, may trigger a generic reading.

    Example 235
    a. ? Maken van dit soort sommenTheme is lastig.
      make  of this kind of sums  is difficult
      'Doing this kind of sums is difficult.'
    b. ? Behandelen van dit type patiëntTheme kost veel tijd.
      treat  of this type of patient  takes  much time
      'Treating this patient takes a lot of time.'

          The examples in (236) show that det-inf nominalizations also seem to have a preference for nonspecific arguments that correspond to the subject of the corresponding verbal construction, although the effect is less strong than with bare-inf nominalizations.

    Example 236
    a. Het wandelen van (?de/?deze) ziekenAgent moet worden aangemoedigd.
      the walk  of    the/these  sick  must  be  encouraged
      'The walking of the/these sick people ought to be encouraged.'
    b. Het opstijgen van (??de/?deze) vliegtuigenTheme maakt te veel lawaai.
      the take.off  of      the/these  planes  makes  too much noise
      'The taking off of the/these planes makes too much noise.'

    If the postverbal van-PP corresponds to the object of the corresponding verbal construction, this preference disappears: example (237a) shows that in this case specific and nonspecific arguments give rise to equally acceptable results. However, if the object of the corresponding verbal construction is expressed by means of a prenominal noun phrase, as in (237b), the preference for a nonspecific argument reappears. Section 1.3.1.2, sub IID, has shown that realization of the theme as a postnominal van-PP is always preferred with det-inf nominalizations, but this is not indicated by the judgments given in (237), which only aim to express the effect of adding the relevant determiner. When not directly relevant for the discussion, the effect of the manner of realization of the theme in det-inf nominalizations is also ignored in the examples given later in this subsection.

    Example 237
    a. Het opbergen van (de/die/mijn) mappenTheme kost veel tijd.
      the put.away  of  the/those/my  files  costs  much time
      'This putting away of (the/those/my) files took a lot of time.'
    b. Het (?de/?die/?mijn) mappenTheme opbergen kost veel tijd.
      the    the/those/my  files  put.away  costs  much time
      'Putting away (the/those/my) files took a lot of time.'

    The examples in (238) show that the degraded status of (237b) is not due to the sequence of two determiners because it also arises with specific noun phrases that appear without a determiner, like proper nouns. This is illustrated in (238) by means of the proper noun Peter.

    Example 238
    a. Het behandelen van patiënten/PeterTheme door de artsAgent kost veel tijd.
      the treat  of patients/Peter  by the doctor  takes  much time
      'The treating of patients/Peter by the doctor takes much time.'
    b. Het patiënten/*PeterTheme behandelen door de artsAgent kost veel tijd.
      the  patients/Peter  treat  by the doctor  takes  much time
      'The treating of patients/Peter by the doctor takes much time.'

    The specificity effect also arises with inf-nominalizations of ditransitive verbs: (239a&a') and (239b) show this for respectively the theme and the recipient argument of a bare-inf nominalization.

    Example 239
    a. Winnaars (?de) prijzen uitreiken is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      winners     the prizes  present  is a festive occasion
      'Presenting winners with prizes is a festive occasion.'
    a'. (*?De) prijzen uitreiken aan de winnaars is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      the prizes  present  to the winners  is a festive occasion
    b. (??De) winnaars prijzen uitreiken is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      the winners  prizes  present  is a festive occasion

    Examples (240a&a') and (240b) present the corresponding det-inf nominalizations, and example (240c) shows that realizing the theme and recipient arguments as specific postnominal PPs gives rise to a fully acceptable result.

    Example 240
    a. Het winnaars (??de) prijzen uitreiken is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      winners     the prizes  present  is a festive occasion
      'Presenting winners with prizes is a festive occasion.'
    a'. Het (*de) prijzen uitreiken aan de winnaars is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      the     the prizes  present  to the winners  is a festive occasion
    b. Het (*?de) winnaars prijzen uitreiken is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      the     the winners  prizes  present  is a festive occasion
    c. Het uitreiken van de prijzen aan de winnaars is een feestelijke gelegenheid.
      the  present  of the prizes  to the winners  is a festive occasion
    [+]  D.  The agentive door-phrase

    Another general principle of inf-nominalizations concerns the position of agentive door-phrases, which may appear in plain inf-nominalizations derived from transitive and ditransitive verbs that can be passivized. Note that Subsection II will show that inf-nominalizations derived from intransitive verbs prefer the realization of the agent as a van-PP, despite the fact that intransitive verbs can also be passivized in Dutch. This is illustrated in example (241).

    Example 241
    a. Het lachen van/*?door Jan is gênant.
      that  laugh  of/by Jan  is embarrassing
      'That laughing of Jan is embarrassing.'
    b. Het treiteren van kleuters door/*van Jan is onaanvaardbaar.
      that  bully  of toddlers  by/of Jan  is unacceptable
      'That bullying of toddlers by Jan is unacceptable.'
    c. Het geven van cadeaus aan kinderen door/*van Sinterklaas is traditie.
      the  give  of presents  to children  by/of Santa Claus  is tradition
      'The giving of presents to children by Santa Claus is a tradition.'

    The agentive door-phrase typically occurs postnominally, following all other arguments. However, placement in other positions, either postnominally or prenominally, is also possible. The placement possibilities of the door-phrase depend on the form of the inf-nominalization (bare-inf or det-inf) and the position of the theme (postnominal or prenominal). Separate subsections will therefore be devoted to (i) det-inf nominalizations with a postnominal theme, (ii) bare-inf nominalizations with a postnominal theme, and (iii) det-inf and bare-inf nominalizations with the theme in prenominal position. Finally, some attention will be paid to det-inf nominalizations of causative constructions, as these turn out to be much more tolerant with regard to the placement of the door-PP.

    [+]  1.  det-inf with postnominal theme

    Example (242a) provides the typical, unmarked order of constituentsin det-inf nominalizations derived from a transitive verb with a postnominal theme: the door-PP follows the nominalized head and the theme argument realized as a van-PP. Placing the door-PP in some other position within the noun phrase, as in (242b&c), yields a marked result.

    Example 242
    a. Het behandelen van de patiëntenTheme door de artsAgent kost veel tijd.
      the  treat  of the patients  by the doctor  takes  much time
      'The treatment of the patients by the doctor takes a lot of time.'
    b. *? Het behandelen door de artsAgent van de patiëntenTheme kost veel tijd.
    c. ?? Het door de artsAgent behandelen van de patiëntenTheme kost veel tijd.

    The examples in (243) show, however, that the marked orders may arise under certain conditions. First, (243a) illustrates that the agentive door-PP may precede the theme PP if the latter is sufficiently heavy. Second, (243b) shows that placement of the door-PP in prenominal position is somewhat better in generic contexts; in formal generic contexts, such as (243b'), it is even fully acceptable.

    Example 243
    a. Het behandelen door de artsAgent van de patiënt van kamer 114Theme kost veel tijd.
      the  treat  by the doctor  of the patient from room 114  takes  much time
    b. ? Het door artsenAgent behandelen van patiëntenTheme kost veel tijd.
      the  by doctors  treat  of patients  costs  much time
    b'. Het door co-assistentenAgent behandelen van patiëntenTheme staat ter discussie.
      the  by interns  treat  of patients stands  at discussion
      'The treating of patients by interns is under discussion.'

          In the case of a ditransitive example such as (244), too, the door-PP typically follows the complements of the inf-nominalization, the alternative orders exhibiting a varying degree of unacceptability: the orders in (244a&b) both seem acceptable; the orders in (244c&d) are marginal at best, although they may become slightly more acceptable in generic contexts or in the case of heavy-PP shift.

    Example 244
    a. Het uitreiken van de prijzenTh aan de winnaarsRec door de voorzitter duurde lang.
      the  present  of the prizes  to the winners  by the chairman  took  long
      'This presenting of the prizes to the winners by the chairman took a long time.'
    b. ? Het uitreiken van de prijzenTh door de voorzitterAg aan de winnaarsRec duurde lang.
    c. *? Het uitreiken door de voorzitterAg van de prijzenTh aan de winnaarsRec duurde lang.
    d. ?? Het door de voorzitterAg uitreiken van de prijzenTh aan de winnaarsRec duurde lang.

    The fact that the door-phrase seems to prefer a peripheral position in the inf-nominalization may reflect the fact that agents of nominalized constructions are less closely associated with the head than themes or recipients.

    [+]  2.  Bare-inf with postnominal theme

    As was noted in Subsection C above, bare-inf nominalizations with the theme argument in postnominal position are only acceptable on a generic reading. Even so, word order variation is restricted: only the order in (245a), in which the door-phrase follows both the head and the theme argument, is fully acceptable; placing the door-phrase between the noun and the theme, as in (245b), yields a bad result even with a heavy theme; placing the door-phrase in front of the noun, as in (245c), is entirely impossible.

    Example 245
    a. Behandelen van patiënten (met hardnekkige kwalen)Th door artsenAg kost veel tijd.
      treat  of patients   with persistent ailments  by doctors takes  much time
      'The treating of patients by inexperienced doctor takes a lot of time.'
    b. *? Behandelen door artsenAg van patiënten (met hardnekkige kwalen)Th kost veel tijd.
    c. * Door artsenAg behandelen van patiënten (met hardnekkige kwalen)Th kost veel tijd.

    A similar pattern emerges with bare-inf nominalizations derived from ditransitive verbs. In (246) we give examples with a normal theme and recipient: (246b&c) show that placing the door-phrase in front of the recipient or the theme gives rise to a marginal result, and (246d) shows that placing the door-phrase in front of the noun is impossible.

    Example 246
    a. Uitreiken van prijzenTh aan winnaarsRec door voorzittersAg duurt altijd lang.
      present  of prizes  to winners  by chairmen  takes always long
      'Presenting prizes to winners by chairmen always takes a long time.'
    b. ? Uitreiken van prijzenTh door voorzittersAg aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    c. *? Uitreiken door voorzittersAg van prijzenTh aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    d. * Door voorzittersAg uitreiken van prijzenTh aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.

    The examples in (247) show that cases with a heavy theme or a heavy recipient argument do not give rise to better results.

    Example 247
    a. * Uitreiken aan winnaarsRec door voorzittersAg van prijzen voor de leukste bijdrageTh duurt altijd lang.
      present  to winners  by chairmen  of prizes  for the funniest  contribution  takes  always  long
    b. ? Uitreiken van prijzenTh door voorzittersAg aan winnaars van internationale wedstrijdenRec duurt altijd lang.
      present of prizes  by chairmen  to winners  of international  competitions  takes  always  long
    [+]  3.  Det-inf and bare-inf with prenominal theme

    If the theme appears prenominally as a noun phrase, as in the transitive constructions in (248) and (249), the distribution of the door-phrase is severely restricted. It can only occur postnominally, and even this leads to a marked result: the (a)-examples are certainly more marked than the corresponding examples in which the theme is expressed by a postnominal van-PP.

    Example 248
    a. ? Het patiëntenTh behandelen door artsenAg kost veel tijd.
      the  patients  treat  by doctors  takes  much time
      'The treating of patients by doctors takes a lot of time.'
    b. * Het door artsenAg patiëntenTh behandelen kost veel tijd.
    c. * Het patiëntenTh door artsenAg behandelen kost veel tijd.
    Example 249
    a. ?? PatiëntenTh behandelen door artsenAg kost altijd veel tijd.
      patients  treat  by doctors  takes  always  much time
      'Treating of patients by doctors takes a lot of time.'
    b. * Door artsenAg patiëntenTh behandelen kost altijd veel tijd.
    c. * PatiëntenTh door artsenAg behandelen kost altijd veel tijd.

    more or less the same pattern can be observed in the ditransitive constructions in (250) and (251): the (a)-examples show that expressing the door-phrase with a prenominal theme is somewhat marked compared to constructions in which the theme is expressed by a postnominal van-PP; the (b)-examples show that constructions with both the theme and the door-PP in prenominal position are unacceptable; the (c)-examples, finally, show that constructions with all three arguments in prenominal position are degraded, although they are perhaps marginally possible with det-infs if the indirect object takes the form of an aan-PP.

    Example 250
    a. (?) Het prijzenTh uitreiken aan winnaarsRec door voorzittersAg duurt altijd lang.
      the  prizes  present  to winners  by the chairman  takes always long
      'The presenting of prizes to winners by the chairman always takes a long time.'
    b. *? Het door voorzittersAg prijzenTh uitreiken aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    b'. * Het prijzenTh door voorzittersAg uitreiken aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    c. ?? Het door voorzittersAg prijzenTh aan winnaarsRec uitreiken duurt altijd lang.
    c'. * Het door voorzittersAg winnaarsRec prijzenTh uitreiken duurt altijd lang.
    Example 251
    a. (?) PrijzenTh uitreiken aan winnaarsRec door voorzittersAg duurt altijd lang.
      prizes  present  to the winners  by the chairman  takes always  long
      'Presenting prizes to winners by chairmen always takes a long time.'
    b. * Door voorzittersAg prijzenTh uitreiken aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    b'. * PrijzenTh door voorzittersAg uitreiken aan winnaarsRec duurt altijd lang.
    c. * Door voorzittersAg prijzenTh aan winnaarsRec uitreiken duurt altijd lang.
    c'. * Door voorzittersAg winnaarsRec prijzenTh uitreiken duurt altijd lang.
    [+]  4.  Det-inf nominalizations of causative constructions

    Placement of the door-PP in prenominal position is much easier in det-inf nominalizations derived from a causative verb like laten than in the other inf-nominalizations. This is true regardless of the position of the other arguments (prenominal or postnominal). Examples are given in (252).

    Example 252
    a. Het door artsen laten behandelen van patiënten is erg verstandig.
      the  by doctors  let  treat  of patients  is very wise
      'Having doctors treat patients is very wise.'
    b. Het door artsen patiënten laten behandelen is erg verstandig.
      the  by doctors  patients  let  treat  is very wise

    If the verb embedded under the causative verb is ditransitive, essentially the same pattern arises as in the case of the transitive verbs in (252). Example (253a) gives an example in which the theme is realized as a postnominal van-PP, and (253b&b') exemplify cases with a prenominal theme.

    Example 253
    a. Het door de voorzitter laten uitreiken van de prijzen aan de winnaars bleek geen goed idee.
      the  by the chairman  let  present  of the prizes  to the winners  proved  no good idea
      'Having the chairman present the prizes to the winners wasnʼt a good idea.'
    b. Het door de voorzitter prijzen laten uitreiken aan de winnaars ...
      the  by the chairman  prizes  let  present  to the winners
    b'. Het door de voorzitter prijzen aan de winnaars laten uitreiken ...
      the  by the chairman  prizes  to the winners  let  present

    The crucial difference with the other cases is that the door-phrase in these examples does not correspond to an argument of the nominalized causative verb laten, but to the subject of the verbs behandelen'to treat' and uitreiken'present' embedded under the causative verb. Note that the subject of the embedded verb can also be realized in the verbal causative construction, as is shown by (254b): the phrases between angle brackets indicate the alternative realizations of the agent argument of the infinitival clause.

    Example 254
    a. Zij laten <de dokter> de patiënten <door de dokter> behandelen.
      they  let    the doctor  the patients  treat
    b. Zij laten <de voorzitter> de prijzen <door de voorzitter> aan de winnaars uitreiken.
      they  let      the chairman the prizes  to the winner present
      'They let the chairman present the prizes to the winners.'

          The door-PP in (252) and (253) must precede the other arguments in prenominal position, which, just like the door-PP, are not arguments of the causative verb, but of the verb embedded under it. This is illustrated in the (a)-examples of (255) and (256). In postnominal position the door-phrase must follow the theme and preferably precedes the recipient, just as in the verbal construction in (254b). This is illustrated in the (b)-examples of (255) and (256).

    Example 255
    a. Het <door artsen> patiënten <??door artsen> laten behandelen is erg verstandig.
    b. Het laten behandelen <??door artsen> van patiënten <door artsen> is erg verstandig.
    Example 256
    a. Het door de voorzitter prijzen aan de winnaars laten uitreiken bleek ...
      the  by the chairman  prices  to the winners  let  present  proved
      'Having the prices being presented to the winners by the chairman was ...'
    a'. * Het prijzen door de voorzitter aan de winnaars laten uitreiken bleek ...
    a'. * Het prijzen aan de winnaars door de voorzitter laten uitreiken bleek ...
    b. ?? Het laten uitreiken door de voorzitter van prijzen aan de winnaars bleek ...
    b'. Het laten uitreiken van prijzen door de voorzitter aan de winnaars bleek ...
    b''. ? Het laten uitreiken van prijzen aan de winnaars door de voorzitter bleek ...

          The examples in (257) show that the agent of the embedded verb can also be realized in the form of a noun phrase. This possibility is related to the fact that the agent can be assigned accusative case in the verbal causative construction: the agentive noun phrases de dokter or de voorzitter in (254) can only be replaced by the object pronoun hem'him'. In (257), the agent must precede the other arguments in prenominal position: placing the agent after the theme (or the recipient) will give rise to an unacceptable result.

    Example 257
    a. Het artsen patiënten laten behandelen is erg verstandig.
      the  doctors  patients  let  treat  is very wise
      'Having doctors treat patients is very wise.'
    b. Het de voorzitter de prijzen laten uitreiken aan de winnaars bleek ...
      the  the chairman  the prizes  let  present  to the winners  proved
      'Having the chairman present the prizes to the winners was ...'
    b'. Het de voorzitter de prijzen aan de winnaars laten uitreiken bleek ...

          Example (258a) finally shows that door-PPs are excluded with det-inf nominalizations if the embedded verb is intransitive. This is clearly related to the fact that their subject cannot be realized as a door-phrase in the verbal construction either; see Section V5.2.3.4, sub V, for discussion.

    Example 258
    a. * Het <door Peter> laten wachten <door Peter>.
      the    by Peter  let  wait
    b. Jan laat (door) Peter wachten.
      Jan let  by  Peter wait
    [+]  II.  Complementation

    The previous subsection has discussed some general considerations concerning complementation of inf-nominalizations. This subsection continues by giving a more detailed discussion of complementation of the types of inf-nominalizations illustrated in (259). These examples involve bare-inf nouns; the corresponding examples with det-inf nouns will be given later in this subsection.

    Example 259
    a. Wandelen van zieken moet worden aangemoedigd.
    intransitive
      walk  of sick  must  be  encouraged
      'Walking of sick people must be encouraged.'
    b. Vallen kan pijnlijk zijn.
    unaccusative
      fall  can painful  be
      'Falling can be painful.'
    c. Een goede baan vinden is moeilijk.
    transitive
      a good job  find  is difficult
      'Finding a good job is difficult.'
    d. Kinderen cadeaus geven is leuk.
    ditransitive
      children  presents  give  is nice
      'Giving presents to children is nice.'
    e. Jagen op groot wild roept veel protesten op.
    PP-theme
      hunt  on big game  calls  many protests  up
      'Hunting big game evokes a lot of protest.'
    f. De deur rood schilderen bleek niet zoʼn goed idee.
    complementive