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    Predicate
    quickinfo

    Some adjectives cannot be used attributively, such as gereed ready and verby gone / over.

    1
    Die ete is gereed.
    the meal be.PRS ready
    The meal is ready.
    2
    *die gerede ete
    the ready meal
    3
    Daardie jare is verby.
    the years be.PRS over
    Those years are gone.
    4
    *die verbye jare
    the gone years

    Certain of these non-attributive adjectives can only be used as complementive predicates (as in example (3) above), others can be used as complementive and appositive predicates.

    5
    Renata, bewend in die ysige aandlug
    Renata, shivering in the icy evening.air
    Renata, shivering in the icy night air

    There are also complex predicates consisting of an AP and an infinitival clause, in which an argument of the infinitival clause is related to the argument of the adjectival predication:

    6
    Die som is maklik om op te los.
    the sum be.PRS easy for.COMP up PTCL.INF leave.INF
    The sum is easy to solve. / The sum can easily be solved.
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    Non-attributive adjectives

    There are some idiomatic non-attributive cases, in which the AP is restricted to complementive use only, such as verby over, past, gereed ready, haaks at odds, etc. Illustrative sentences follow below:

    7
    Die wedstryd is verby.
    the game be.PRS over
    The game is over.
    8
    *die verbye wedstryd
    the over game
    9
    Die mielies is gereed.
    the maize be.PRS ready
    The maize is ready.
    10
    *die gerede mielies
    the ready maize
    11
    Die bure is al weer haaks.
    the neighbours be.PRS yet again at.odds
    The neighbours are at odds again.
    12
    *die haakse bure
    the at odds neighbours

    A probable explanation for the restricted position of such attributive adjectives is that they often form part of fixed expressions, and are used informally, as in the case of the following adjectives:

    • disnis out cold
    • kapot in tatters, exhausted
    • katswink dazed
    • flenters in smithereens
    • pluis in order
    • spyt sorry
    • gekonfyt skilled, an old hand

    Predicates as infinitival clauses

    Relation to modal infinitives:

    The infinitival clause forms a complex predicate with the adjective, and the combination is predicated of the argument:

    13
    Dit is gaaf om jou te ontmoet.
    it be.PRS pleasant for.COMP you PTCL.INF meet.INF
    It is pleasant meeting you.

    The construction is closely related to the one involving modal infinitives:

    14
    Hy is moeilik om te klop.
    he be.PRS difficult for.COMP PTCL.INF beat.INF
    It is difficult to beat him.

    Selection restrictions:

    Infinitival clauses forming a complex predicate with an AP must contain an unexpressed object argument that is co-referential with the argument of the complex predication, as in this example:

    15
    Die som is maklik om op te los.
    the sum be.PRS easy for.COMP up PTCL.INF solve.INF
    The sum is easy to solve / can easily be solved.

    The argument of the complex predication (the sum) must also satisfy the selection restrictions of the unexpressed object argument in the infinitival clause, that is, it must be something solvable, but it seems that it must also meet the selection restrictions of the adjective. Hence, arguments are excluded which fail to meet the selection restrictions of the adjective. In the example below, die gek the fool forms an idiom with skeer shave, meaning 'make fun of, to ridicule'. In such cases, the construction is ungrammatical, because the idiomatic NPdie gek the fool cannot be interpreted as a legitimate argument of the adjective maklik easy:

    16
    *Die gek is maklik om met Floris te skeer.
    the fool be.PRS easy for.COMP with Floris PTCL.INF shave.INF
    Fun is easy to make of Floris.

    The expression does not select a grammatical object, die gek the fool, and is to be assumed as a verbal unit, as in this example:

    17
    Dit is maklik om die gek te skeer met Floris.
    it be.PRS easy for.COMP the fool PTCL.INF shave.INF with Floris
    It is easy to make fun of Floris.

    An alternative expression, which represents a syntactic reduction of the full form, namely gekskeer make fun of, confirms this interpretation:

    18
    Dit is maklik om met Floris gek te skeer.
    it is easy for.COMP with Floris fool PTCL.INF shave.INF
    It is easy to make fun of Floris.

    Position in the clause:

    Infinitival clauses forming a complex predicate with an AP can be preposed as a whole, indicating that is forms a constituent. The AP may also be preposed on its own, but the infinitival clause by itself may not:

    19
    Maklik om te klop is hy nie.
    easy for.COMP PTCL.INF beat.INF be.PRS he not
    He is not easy to beat.
    20
    *Om te klop, is hy nie maklik nie.
    for.COMP PCLT.INF beat.INF be.PRS he not easy PTCL.NEG
    To beat him, is not easy.

    The unexpressed argument in the infinitival clause :

    The unexpressed object argument in the infinitival clause is co-referential with the argument of the predication. This unexpressed argument must have the function of direct object inside the infinitival clause, as can be seen from these example:

    21
    Floris is maklik om die gek mee te skeer.
    Floris be.PRS easy for.COMP the fool with PTCL.INF shave.INF
    It is easy to make fun of Floris.

    The unexpressed subject:

    The subject of infinitives in general is never expressed in Afrikaans; it must be covert, or implied by the context:

    22
    Hy speel met die doel om te wen.
    he play with the object for.COMP PTCL.INF win.INF
    He is playing with the object of winning.

    In the example above, the unexpressed subject of the infinitival clause is co-referential with (and controlled by) the experiencer argument of the complex predicate. The experiencer argument may be unexpressed or expressed (covert or overt) as a PP, viz vir for + N.

    23
    Die wedstryd was (vir hom) maklik om te wen.
    the match be.PRT (for him) easy for.COMP to win
    The match was easy for him to win.

    With om:

    Infinitival clauses introduced by a complementiser (in this case the infinitive particle om) can form a complex predicate with an evaluative adjective. The infinitival clause must contain an unexpressed argument that is co-referential with the argument of the complex predication. The unexpressed argument inside the infinitival clause may fulfill the function of subject, direct object or prepositional object.

    The infinitival clause forms a complex predicate with the adjective, and the combination is predicated of the argument, in this case fulfilling the function of object:

    24
    Die blokkiesraaisel is maklik om in te vul.
    the crossword.puzzle be.PRS easy PCTL.INF in to fill
    The crossword puzzle is easy to fill in.

    In the next example, the construction with the complementiser om for.COMP'for' is different from the one without it, though the APinteressant easy allows both constructions.

    25
    Die boek is interessant om te lees en om van te leer.
    the book be.PRS interesting for.COMP PTCL.INF read.INF and for.COMP from PTCL.INF learn.INF
    The book is interesting to read and to learn from.

    The predication without om must target the unexpressed direct object of the infinitival. As can be seen in the second conjunct, such a predication can target subjects and objects of prepositions as well.

    Prepositional arguments can also be targeted for co-reference with the argument that the complex predication is predicated of:

    26
    Die wedstryd was mooi om na te kyk.
    the match be.PRT beautiful for.COMP at PTCL.INF look.INF
    The match was beautiful to look at.
    27
    Langpraters is vervelend om mee te praat.
    long.talkers be.PRT boring for.COMP with PTCL.INF speak.INF
    Chatterboxes are boring to speak to.
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: non-attributeinfinitivalconversion constructionidiomatic intransitive predicationattributivesupplementiveappositiveinfinitival clausecomplex predicate with APmodal infinitiveunexpressed object argumentcomplex AP + infinitivalunexpressed object argumentargument of the predicationunexpressed subjectexperiencer argument of the adjectivecomplementiser with "om"
      Version: 1.0, May 2020
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed May 2020
      This is a beta version.
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