/ instituut voor de Nederlandse taal / Taalportaal
bibliography glossary about
  • Dutch1
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
    Finite
    quickinfo

    Finite clauses can be subjects of a predication if they are linked to the anticipatory pronoun it it.

    readmore

    Finite clauses can be subjects of a predication if they are linked to the anticipatory pronoun it it. In such cases, the adjective is often evaluative:

    1
    a. It is moai datst komme koest
    it is nice that.2SG come could.2SG
    It is nice that you could come
    b. *Is moai datst komme koest?
    is nice that.2SG come could.2SG
    Is it nice that you could come?

    The anticipatory pronoun must be absent in case the sentential argument occurs at the beginning of the matrix clause:

    2
    Datst komme koest is moai
    that.2SG come could.2SG is nice
    It is nice that you could come

    The sentential argument cannot occur in any other position than the two shown above:

    3
    a. *Is datst komme koest moai?
    is that.2SG come could.2SG nice
    Is it nice that you could come?
    b. *Omdat datst komme koest moai is
    because that.2SG come could.2SG nice is
    Because It is nice that you could come

    The anticipatory pronoun can be absent in case these Adjective Phrases (APs) are preposed to the beginning of the sentence:

    4
    a. Minder moai is (it) dat er net komme koe
    less nice is it that he not come could
    It is less nice that he could not come
    b. Dúdlik is (it) dat er gewoanwei net woe
    clear is it that he simply not wanted
    It is clear that he simply did not want to

    Such examples decrease rapidly in acceptability in case more clause-internal material is present:

    5
    a. ?Dúdlik sil jim wêze dat er net woe
    clear will you.OBJ be that he not wanted
    It will be clear to you that he did not want to
    b. *Dúdlik sil jim om healwei fiven wêze dat er net woe
    clear will you.OBJ around half five be that he not wanted
    Around half past four it will be clear to you that he did not want to

    If the anticipatory pronoun it is present, such examples are acceptable:

    6
    a. It sil jim dúdlik wêze dat er net woe
    clear will you.OBJ clear be that he not wanted
    It will be clear to you that he did not want to
    b. It sil jim om healwei fiven dúdlik wêze dat er net woe
    it will you around half five clear be that he not wanted
    Around half past four it will be clear to you that he did not want to

    Elements from the embedded clause can be questioned by repeating the question word in the main clause, although not all speakers accept such examples:

    7
    a. Wat is leuk wat Maaike lêst?
    what is nice what Maaike reads
    What is nice that Maaike is reading?
    b. Wat fynst dúdlik wat Sytse krije sil?
    what find.2SG clear what Sytse get will
    What are you sure about that Sytse will get?

    The anticipatory pronoun must be absent in these cases:

    8
    a. *Wat is it leuk wat Maaike lêst?
    what is it nice what Maaike reads
    What is it nice what Maaike reads?
    b. *Wat fynst it dúdlik wat Sytse krije sil?
    what find.2SG it clear what Sytse get will
    What are you sure about it that Sytse will get?
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: finite clauseanticipatory pronoun
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
      printreport errorcite
      Jump to:
      X