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    9.3 To-infinitives containing an object gap
    quickinfo

    Clauses built on to-infinitives can be used in positions in which adjectives are found, just like present and past participles. An examples is given below:

    1
    Die buur was nit tou bruken.
    the farmer was not to use
    The farmer was extremely unpleasant.

    The construction must feature negation. If an affirmative equivalent is to be constructed, then the adjective goud ‘good’ must be present, suggesting that the negative cases may feature a silent AP. It should be investigated whether this negative VP can also be used prenominally.

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    An infinitival clause with an object gap can be predicated directly of a subject, without there being an AP present. Two examples are given below:

    2
    Deeruum bääst du nit tou undskeeldigjen.
    therefore are you not to excuse
    Therefore you cannot be excused.
    3
    Wieruum mene jie, dät et nit tou leeuwen is?
    why think you that it not to believe is
    Why do you think that it cannot be believed?

    Here the infinitival clause with its object gap behaves as an AP predicated of the subject of the tensed verb, even though there is no AP present. The subject gets the thematic role of the object of the infinitival verb. This type of example is often accompanied by negation, suggesting that the construction is a case of negative polarity. This type of example can semantically be characterised as negative possibility, as is evidenced in the translation by the use of the modal ‘cannot’. Put differently, the construction features deontic aspect.

    In specific constructions the subject of the infinitival can also be predicated of an object, as in the following example which involves causation:

    4
    Oachtjet deer ap dät du din Bruur nit tou läzen brangst.
    take.care it on that you your brother net to lie bring
    Be careful that you don’t cause your brother to fall.

    This example is different from all previous examples which we discussed. Here there is no object gap in the infinitive, just a subject gap. The direct object of the embedded tensed verb is interpreted as if it was the subject of the infinitive, as the result of predication. This example is also atypical in failing to have the deontic aspect.

    In most cases, however, it is the object of the infinitival which is predicated of the subject of the tensed verb, as below:

    5
    Jo wieren nit tou tällen.
    they were not to count
    They could not be counted.

    The question arises whether the gap inside the infinitival clause may also be an adpositional object, such as the one constructed (#) below:

    6
    #Deer is nit uur tou balen.
    it is not about to talk
    That cannot be talked about.

    We haven’t found such examples, but gaps in the prepositional complement are found in infinitival clauses of purposes. An example has been given below:

    7
    Dät wuud fröier ferwoand uum Brillegleze [fon - ] tou sliepen.
    that was earlier used for glasses of to sharpen
    It was used earlier to fashion glasses out of (it).

    Here the prepositional complement corefers with the subject of the main clause verb, while the infinitival clause functions as a purpose adverbial. In this case, it is also possible to put in an overt pronoun in the embedded clause (in bold in the examples below):

    8
    Dät wuud fröier ferwoand uum deer Brillegleze [fon - ] tou sliepen.
    that was earlier used for it glasses of to sharpen
    It was used earlier to fashion glasses out of it.
    9
    Dät wuud fröier ferwoand uum Brillegleze [deerfon] tou sliepen.
    that was earlier used for glasses it.of to sharpen
    It was used earlier to fashion glasses out of it.

    There is another construction in which a clause containing a gap in the position of an adpositional complement is predicated of an argument outside the clause. Consider also the following contrast:

    10
    (Deer is) nit mäd um tou gungen.
    there is not with around to go
    Impossible to deal with.
    11
    *Hie is nit mäd um tou gungen.
    he is not with around to go
    He is impossible to deal with.

    This does not involve predication, but a case in which the R-pronoun has been preposed to the beginning of the sentence, although it looks as if a clause has been predicated of the R-pronoun. This becomes clear from the following sentence:

    12
    Mäd him is nit um tou gungen.
    with him is not around to go
    He is impossible to deal with.

    Returning to infinitives with a direct object gap, it is also possible to coordinate the two infinitives, with the external argument of the predication occurring outside the coordination, as in the following example:

    13
    Dät waas toufoarne in uus Täärp nit tou sjoon un nit tou kriegen.
    that was earlier in our village not to see and not to get
    Such things were not to be seen or to be gotten in our village.

    To sum up, infinitival clauses with an object gap can be predicated of subjects outside the infinitival clause, and, more rarely, of objects outside the infinitival clause. See also 6.6 Infinitival clauses with a gap appearing in an AP predication.

    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra, Bouke Slofstra
      Category: Saterfrisian Syntax
      Version: 1.0, December 2023
      Version history:
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      1.0 Eric Hoekstra, Bouke Slofstra December 2023
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