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Prepositional + postpositional phrase
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Prepositions may combine with postpositional complements.

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Two examples are given below, in which the postpositional phrase functioning as prepositional complement has been bracketed. In these cases, no preposition or postposition can be left out without causing a change in meaning.

1
Se ha in gat foar de metro boarre oant [ûnder it IJ troch]
they have a hole for the metro dug until beneath the IJ through
They bored a hole for the metro beneath and past the IJ

Leaving out the postposition results in the following sentence:

2
Se ha in gat foar de metro boarre oant [ûnder it IJ]
they have a hole for the metro dug until beneath the IJ
They bored a hole for the metro beneath the IJ

As the translation indicates, the meaning has changed. However, there are also examples where the postposition can be left out without causing any apparent change in meaning, as in the following example:

3
a. Jo moasten dûnsje en springe [oant boppe de huzen] ta!
you should dance and jump until above the houses to
You should dance and jump higher than the houses!
b. Jo moasten dûnsje en springe [oant boppe de huzen]!
you should dance and jump until above the houses
You should dance and jump higher than the houses!

In these examples, the postposition ta to does not seem to add semantic content to the preposition oant until. Such differences are presumably due to the interaction of the meaning of the postpositions involved with the preposition inside the prepositional complement and with the verbal aspect. Two more examples are supplied below:

4
a. In brief fan [efter Ljouwert wei]
a letter from behind Ljouwert away
A letter from behind Ljouwert
b. It ferskuorrende lûd dat fan [ûnder de motorkap wei] ta harren trochkrong
the devastating noise which from below the hood away to them transpired
The devastating noise which reached them from below the hood

In the examples above, the postposition wei away can be left out without causing any apparent change in meaning. The postpositions ta to and wei away may be considered to be opposites:

5
Nei Arum ta is it tsjinoerstelde fan út Arum wei
to Arum to is the opposite of from Arum away
To Arum is the opposite of out of Arum
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