• Dutch1
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
2.3 Quantificational nature of the argument and linear order
quickinfo

The order of the complement Adposition Phrase (PP) with respect to the adjective may depend upon the quantificational nature of the Noun Phrase (NP) inside the complement PP.

readmore

The PP argument can show up on either side of the adjective.

1
Hie is skäärp ap dät Wucht.
he is sharp on that girl
He is in love with that girl.
2
Hie is in dät Wucht heel fersketen.
he is in that girl very enamoured
He is very much in love with that girl.

It should be further investigated whether the following factors play a role:

  • The nature of the adjective: simple as in (1) or deverbal as in (2).
  • The positioning of the internal argument in relation to non-tensed verbal material in main clauses and in relation to tensed verbs in embedded clauses.

The following example shows that a preposition occurs between the minorative function word and the AP:

3
Wät dät Fäi anbeloanget, deer bän iek minner mäd toufree.
what the cattle concerns it am I less with content
The cattle, I am less concerned with.

The stranded Preposition occurs on the left of the AP. In West Frisian, the generalisation seems to be that referential NPs (including gaps) are preferably placed to the right of the adjective (though this also depends on the lexical item involved), whereas other NPs are preferably placed to the left of the adjective, such as questioned NPs, negative NPs, universal NPs and R-pronouns. The question arises whether this also holds of Saterland Frisian.

References
    printreport errorcite