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    Modification of PPs
    quickinfo

    Two examples of adposition phrases which are modified appear below – one in which a noun phrase (NP) modifies an adposition phrase (PP), and the second in which an adverb modifies an PP:

    1
    ['n goeie vier meter] agter hulle aan
    a good four meter behind them on
    at least four meters behind them
    2
    [naby] aan die kerk
    close to the church

    Four types of modifiers are distinguished, namely:

    • NPs as PP modifiers
    • Adjectives as PP modifiers
    • Adverbs as PP modifiers
    • Adpositions as PP modifiers

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    [+]NPs as PP modifiers

    Modifiers which are NPs can be found in front of adposition phrases.

    3
    a. [drie dae] ná my bevalling
    three days after my giving.birth
    Three days after my giving birth
    b. ['n paar honderd meter] agter ons
    a couple hundred meter behind us
    a couple of hundreds of meters behind us

    Modifiers which are NPs can also be found in front of postpositional phrases.

    4
    a. ['n goeie vyf meter] tussen hulle
    a good five meter between them
    at least five meters between them
    b. ['n hele ent] in die tuin in
    a whole distance the garden in
    quite some distance into the garden

    Modifiers which are NPs can also be found in front of adposition phrases that do not contain a complement, or in other words, in front of intransitive adposition phrases.

    5
    Toe hy orentkom, is die oortreder hom ['n hele ent] voor.
    when he upright.come go.PST the offender him a whole distance before
    When he came to his feet, the offender was quite a distance before him.

    The modifying NP may be built around an exact measure noun such as meter or sekonde second, as in this example:

    6
    a. twee kilo bo sy normale gewig
    two kilo above his normal weight
    two kilos more than his normal weight

    The modifying noun may also be built around an inexact measure noun preceded by the indefinite article such as 'n entjie a short distance or 'n bietjie a little bit.

    7
    a. 'n entjie anderkant die afdraaipad
    a short.distance beyond the turnoff.road
    a short distance past the turnoff road
    b. Sy is 'n bietjie langer as hy.
    she be.PRS a little taller PTCL.SIMT him
    She is a little taller than him.
    [+]Adjectives as modifiers

    Modifiers such as diep deep, ver far and lank long are characteristically used as amplifiers, that is, they emphasise the high degree of the distance between two points or intervals. Some example are given below.

    8
    die spits dak wat ver bo die vrugteboorde uitsteek
    the steep roof that.REL far above the fruit.orchards out.juts
    the steep roof which juts out high above the orchards
    9
    beide hande diep in die sakke van sy reënjas
    both hands deep in the pockets of his raincoat
    both hands (buried) deep in the pockets of his raincoat

    The following examples make it clear that the adjectival modifier may be expanded by putting it in the equative degree. The equative adjective phrase is bracketed in each case:

    10
    Julle is nou nog [net so ver] as twee jaar gelede.
    you be.PRS now still [just PTCL.SIMT far] PTCL.SIMT two years ago
    You are now still just as far as two years ago.
    VivA-KPO
    11
    Ons is [ewe diep] in die gemors.
    we be.PRS equally deep in the mess
    We are equally deep in the mess.

    The adjectival modifier may also appear in the comparative degree:

    12
    Hoe verder in die somer, hoe langer die dae.
    how further in the summer how longer the days
    The further in summer, the longer the days.
    [+]Adverbs as modifiers

    Adverbs as modifiers come in four kinds, namely i) quantificational modifiers, ii) low degree modifiers, iii) exact modifiers, and iv) orientational modifiers.

    Quantificational modifier

    Quantificational discourse modifiers include presies, reg precisely, right, al all, or weer again, all of which refer to the discourse context. Some examples are given below.

    13
    Jesus het reg voor die skatkis gaan sit.
    Jesus have.AUX right before the treasure.chest go sit
    Jesus sat down right in front of the temple treasury.
    14
    al langs die wit muur van die gebou
    all along the white wall of the building
    all along the white wall of the building
    VivA-KPO

    Low degree modifiers

    Second, there are modifiers such as naby close, midde in in the middle of and te midde van among, amidst which are particular to PPs, more specifically to temporal or spatial PPs. They denote a relatively low degree of distance between two points. Examples are given below.

    15
    a. [naby] aan die kerk
    close to the church
    b. Hulle is midde in 'n groot gemors.
    they be.PRS mid in a big mess
    They are in the middle of a big mess.
    c. te midde van al sy werk
    to midst of all his work
    amidst all his work

    Exact modifiers

    The third type includes relatively precise interval modifiers like halfpad halfway and ten volle fully, completely, as exemplified below.

    16
    a. 'n oondbak wat halfpad met water gevul is
    an oven.dish that.REL halfway with water fill.PASS be.AUX.PASS.PST
    an oven dish filled halfway with water
    b. Ek vertrou ten volle op hom.
    I trust at fully on him
    I trust him completely.

    Orientation: left and right

    The fourth type refers more specifically to spatial orientation such as links left and regs right.

    17
    a. links van die gruispad na Perdeberg
    left of the gravel.road to Perdeberg
    left of the dirt road to Perdeberg
    b. Dit lê regs onder die diafragma.
    it lies right under the diaphragm
    It is situated on the right below the diaphragm.
    [+]Adpositions as modifiers

    Bare adpositions may be used to modify spatial PPs. They include modifiers derived from prepositions, such as agter to the back, and voor in the front. Adpositional modifiers combine with other prepositions to specify their spatial meaning.

    18
    a. agter in die yskas
    behind in the fridge
    in the back part of the fridge
    b. onder in die sak
    below in the bag
    in the bottom part of the bag
    c. regs onder op die bladsy
    right below on the page
    in the bottom part of the page on the right

    Temporal PPs tend to be modified by adjectives, as in the following examples:

    19
    a. vroeg in die herfs
    early in the autumn
    early in autumn
    b. laat in die lente
    late in the spring
    late in spring
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: adposition phrasemodifiernoun phrasepostpositional phrasemodifying noun phrasemodifieradjectiveadverbquantificational modifierlow degree modifierexact quantifierorientationadposition
      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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