• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Unergative subjects
quickinfo

Unergative subjects typically occur with verbs denoting a process with a relatively active participant, as is the case with verbs of activity, such as laughing or jumping. The perfect tense of such verbs is formed with hawwe have.

readmore

The perfect tense of unergative verbs is formed with the aspectual verb hawwe have and not with wêze be:

1
a. De jongfeinten hawwe hurd lake
the lads have loud laughed
The lads have laughed loudly
b. *De jongfeinten binne hurd lake
the lads are loud laughed
The lads laughed loudly
c. De fammen hawwe de ien noch heger as de oar sprongen
the girls have the one yet higher than the other jumped
The girls have jumped quite high, the one even higher than the other
d. *De fammen binne de ien noch heger as de oar sprongen
the girls are the one yet higher than the other jumped
The girls jumped quite high, the one even higher than the other

The perfect participle of unergative verbs cannot be used as an attributive modifier of a noun:

2
a. *De hurd lake jongfeinten
the loud laughed lads
The lads who laughed loudly
b. *De heech sprongen fammen
the high jumped girls
The girls who jumped highly
References
    printreport errorcite