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Verb phrase adverbials

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Five types of verb phrase (VP) adverbials will be discussed in the following subsections:

Process adverbials, expressing manner, instrument, means and volition or referring to domain, e.g.

Johan speel die viool met mening.

Johan play the violin with intent

Johan plays the violin with intent.

Agentive adverbials, which combine with the long passive, and are expressed by a PP headed by deur by, e.g.

Die viool word deur Johan gepeel.

the violin be.AUX.PASS.PRS by Johan play.PST.PTCP

The violin is played by Johan.

Spatio-temporal adverbials which refer to place/location or time, e.g.

Hy speel die viool saans in die kombuis.

he play the violin evenings in the kitchen

In the evenings he plays the violin in the kitchen.

Contingency adverbials, relating to cause, reason, purpose, result or concession, e.g.

Hy speel die viool teen 'n fooitjie.

he play the violin at a fee

He plays the violin for a fee.

Predicate-degree adverbials, such as erg, baie very and 'n bietjie a bit.

Hy oefen sy toonlere net 'n bietjie.

he practice his scales only a little

He practices his scales only a little.

In most cases the adverbials to be discussed here can be identified as VP adverbials by means of tests such as (a) the do extension test and (b) the entailment test, as illustrated by the examples in (6).

Frik spring ligvoets oor die hekkie > Frik spring oor die hekkie en hy doen dit ligvoets.

Frik jump gingerly over the hurdle > Frik jump over the hurdle and he do.PRS so gingerly

Frik jumps over the hurdle gingerly > Frik jumps over the hurdle and he does so gingerly.

Frik spring ligvoets oor die hekkie > Frik spring oor die hekkie.

Frik jump gingerly over the hurdle > Frik jump over the hurdle.

Frik jumps over the hurdle gingerly > Frik jumps over the hurdle.

Process adverbials
Agentive adverbials
Spatio-temporal adverbials
Contingency adverbials
Predicate-degree adverbials

[+]Process adverbials

Process adverbials modify the verb phrase, action, event or process itself, rather than the clause as a whole, and can be questioned by means of a WH-phrase, generally with hoe how, as in (b), and in some cases also with waarmee with what, as in (c), as interrogative pronouns.

Manner

Ronél het die dokument met sorg geliasseer.

Ronél have.AUX the document with care file.PST.PTCP

Ronél filed the document with care.

Hoe het Ronél die dokument geliasseer?

how have.AUX Ronél the document file.PST.PTCP

How did Ronél file the document.

*Waarmee het Ronél die dokument geliasseer?

what.with have.AUX Ronél the document file.PST.PTCP

With what did Ronél file the document?

Other examples are: deeglik thoroughly, tydsaam leisurely, and slordig slovenly.

Instrument

Chantal het die korpus met die rekenaar deursoek.

Chantal have.AUX the corpus with the computer through.search.PST.PTCP

Chantal searched the corpus with the computer.

Hoe het Chantal die korpus deursoek?

how have.AUX Chantal the corpus through.search.PST.PTCP

How did Chantal search the corpus?

Waarmee het Chantal die korpus deursoek?

what.with have.AUX Chantal the corpus through.search.PST.PTCP

With what did Chantal search the corpus?

Other examples are: per hand by hand, and met die oog with the eye.

Means in general

Sarel het sy salaris met oortyd aangevul.

Sarel have.AUX his salary with over.time supplement.PST.PTCP

Sarel supplemented his salary by means of overtime.

Hoe het Sarel sy salaris aangevul?

how have.AUX Sarel his salary supplement.PST.PTCP

How did Sarel supplement his salary?

Waarmee het Sarel sy salaris aangevul?

what.with have.AUX Sarel his salary supplement.PST.PTCP

With what did Sarel supplement his salary?

Other examples are energiek with energy, or met sy spaargeld with his savings.

Means of transportation

Jan het met die trein Kaap toe gegaan.

Jan have.AUX with the train Cape to.POSTP go.PST.PTCP

Jan went to the Cape by train.

Hoe het Jan Kaap toe gegaan?

how have.AUX Jan Cape to.POSTP go.PST.PTCP

How did Jan go to the Cape?

Waarmee het Jan Kaap toe gegaan?

what.with have.AUX Jan Cape to.POSTP go.PST.PTCP

With what did Jan go to the Cape?

Other examples: per fiets by cycling, or te perd on horseback.

Means of communication

Charl het Chantal per e-pos genader.

Charl have.AUX Chantal by email approach.PST.PTCP

Charl approached Chantal by email.

Hoe het Charl vir Chantal genader?

how have.AUX Charl for Chantal approach.PST.PTCP

How did Charl approach Chantal?

Waarmee het Charl vir Chantal genader?

what.with have.AUX Charl for Chantal approach.PST.PTCP

With what did Charl approach Chantal?

Other examples: telefonies by phone, or skriftelik in writing.

Volitional adverbials

Sarie het Chantal vrywillig bygestaan.

Sarie have.AUX Chantal voluntarily by.stand.PST.PTCP

Sarie assisted Chantal voluntarily.

Hoe het Sarie vir Chantal bygestaan?

how have.AUX Sarie for Chantal by.stand.PST.PTCP

How did Sarie assist Chantal?

Waarmee het Sarie vir Chantal bygestaan?

what.with have.AUX Sarie Chantal by.stand.PST.PTCP

With what did Sarie assist Chantal?

Other examples: met opset on purpose, noodgedwonge by necessity, or per ongeluk by accident.

Domain adverbials

Sy vriendin is polities bedrywig.

his friend is politically active

His friend is politically active.

Hoe is sy vriendin bedrywig?

how is his friend active

How is his friend active?

?Waarmee is sy vriendin bedrywig?

what.with is his friend active

?What is his friend active with?

Other examples include digitaal digitally, geestelik spiritually, or verstandelik mentally.

[+]Agentive adverbials

Agentive adverbials form a very small set, virtually restricted to the deur by PP as used in the passive, as in (14), and comitative(saam) met together, in the company of PP, as in example (15). In both cases the doen extension test holds, and in the first the adverbial is replaceable by interrogative how how, as in (c), and deur wie by whom, as in (d):

Ons pos word deur 'n briewebesteller afgelewer.

our post be.AUX.PASS.PRS by a postman deliver.PST.PTCP

Our post is delivered by a postman.

Ons pos word afgelewer en dit word deur 'n briewebesteller gedoen.

our post be.AUX.PASS.PRS deliver.PST.PTCP and it be.AUX.PASS.PRS by a postman do.PST.PTCP

Our post is delivered and it is done by a postman.

Hoe word ons pos afgelewer?

how be.AUX.PASS.PRS our post deliver.PST.PTCP

How is our post delivered?

Deur wie word ons pos afgelewer?

by whom be.AUX.PASS.PRS our post deliver.PST.PTCP

By whom is our post delivered?

Jannie het (saam) met sy vriende gaan swem.

Jannie have.AUX together with his friends go.LINK swim.INF

Jannie went swimming with his friends.

Jannie het gaan swem en dit (saam) met sy vriende gedoen.

Jannie have.AUX go.LINK swim.INF and it together with his friends do.PST.PTCP

Jannie went for a swim and did so together with his friends.

[+]Spatio-temporal adverbials

Spatio-temporal VP adverbials situate an event in a certain location / space or at a given moment in time (i.e. punctual), as in (16a), or in its movement through space or time (i.e. expressing duration), as in (16b).

Frieda speel in die middag tennis.

Frieda play in the afternoon tennis

Frieda plays tennis in the afternoon.

Fanie werk deurentyd aan sy verslag.

Fanie work continuously on his report

Fanie works continuously on his report.

Space

If the VP adverbial is a PP, the preposition plus NP generally expresses a static positioning in space, as in (17a), while NP plus post-position or an NP with both pre- and post-position, expresses movement, as in (17b). Note that in some varieties the latter structure, with in in as circumposition, also expresses static positioning, as in (17c).

Diana swem in die nuwe swembad.

Diana swim in the new swim.pool

Diana swims in the new swimming pool.

Diana hardloop (teen) die steiltes uit.

Diana run against the cliffs out.POSTP

Dina runs up against the cliffs.

Diana werk in die stad in.

Diana work in the city in.POSTP

Diana works in the city.

Complementive PPs resemble spatio-temporal adverbials in indicating location or time, but refer to the subject (or logical subject) of the clause rather than the event, as in (18a). Note that they do not pass the tests for VP adverbials, as in (18b) and (18c).

Diana is in die swembad.

Dina is in the swim.pool

Diana is in the swimming pool.

*Diana is en sy doen dit in die swembad.

Diana is and she do so in the swim.pool

To mean: Diana is and she does so in the swimming pool.

Diana is in die swembad > *Diana is.

Diana is in the swim.pool > Diana is

To mean: Diana is in the swimming pool.

Temporal adverbial phrases

Aspectually, temporal VP adverbials may be punctual, as in (19a), or durative, as in (19b). Both types are in accordance with the VP adverbial test.

Miemie het teen die aand langs die see gaan stap.

Miemie have.AUX at the evening along the sea go.LINK walk.INF

Towards the evening Miemie went walking on the beach.

Miemie het die hele nag goed geslaap.

Miemie have.AUX the whole night well sleep.PST.PTCP

Miemie slept well all night.

Temporal adverbials, which are typically PPs, as in (20a), or temporal clauses, may be relational, i.e. replaceable by toe then, as in (20b), or non-relational, i.e. replaceable by daar there plus preposition, as in (20bi).

Miemie het ná die vakansie gaan werk.

Miemie have.AUX after the vacation go.LINK work.INF

Miemie went to work after the vacation.

b.	Miemie het toe gaan werk.
	Miemie have.AUX then go.LINK work.INF
	Miemie went to work then.

b.'	Miemie het daarna gaan werk.
	Miemie have PN.after go.LINK work.INF
	Miemie went to work afterwards.

In the case of durative PPs or temporal clauses, the pronominalisation should reflect the durative aspect:

Miemie het sedert die ongeluk goed herstel.

Miemie have.AUX since the accident well recover.PST.PTCP

Miemie recovered well after the accident.

Miemie het toe/sedertdien/van toe af goed herstel.

Miemie have.AUX then/since.then/from then on.POSTP well recover.PST.PTCP

Miemie recovered well then / since then / from then on.

Sedertdien since consists historically of preposition plus NP and is therefore suitable to express relational reference. In some temporal PPs, a relational pronominalisation is ruled out, e.g. in (22a), but not in (22b):

a.	Sy gaan haar tydens haar siekte stil gedra.
	she go.AUX.MOD her.REFL during her illness quietly behave.INF
	She is going to comport herself quietly during her illness.

a.'	Sy gaan haar dan/ daartydens stil gedra.
	she go.AUX.MOD her.REFL then / PN.during quietly behave.INF
	She is going to comport herself quietly then.

b.	Sy gaan in 2020 verder studeer.
	she go.AUX.MOD in 2020 further study.INF
	She is going to study further in 2020.

b.'	Sy gaan dan/ *daarin verder studeer.
	she go.AUX.MOD then/PN.in further study
	She is going to study further then / *in it.

Locative adverbial phrases

The following clauses all contain VP adverbials as both tests are satisfied. While the adverbial in (23a) indicates the location at which certain actions take place, those in (23b) and (23c) indicate distance. Example (23c) differs from (23b) in that the adverbial in (23c) also has a complementive function, as a result of the semantic affinity between distance and running as a means of locomotion.

Jan het op die muur gespring en gedans.

Jan have.AUX on the wall jump.PST.PTCP and dance.PST.PTCP

Jan jumped and danced on the wall.

Jan het die hele pad huis toe gefluit.

Jan have.AUX the whole way home to.POSTP whistle.PST.PTCP

Jan whistled all the way home.

Jan het die hele pad huis toe gehardloop.

Jan have.AUX the whole way home to.POSTP run.PST.PTCP

Jan ran all the way home.

The following directional clauses differ from VP adverbials in that only the entailment test, not the do-test, is satisfied. There is, however, no reason to not consider them as VP adverbials.

a.	Jan het teen die muur op gespring en weer afgespring.
	Jan have.AUX against the wall up.POSTP jump.PST.PTCP and again off.jump.PST.PTCP
	Jan jumped up against the wall and jumped down again.

a.'	?Jan het gespring en hy het dit teen die muur op gedoen.
	Jan have.AUX jump.PST.PTCP and he have.AUX so against the wall up.POSTP do.PST.PTCP
	Jan jumped and he did so up against the wall.

b.	Jan het huis toe gehardloop.
	Jan have.AUX home to.POSTP run.PST.PTCP
	Jan ran home.

b.'	?Jan het gehardloop en hy het dit huis toe gedoen.
	Jan have.AUX run.PST.PTCP and he have.AUX so home to.POSTP do.PST.PTCP
	To mean: Jan ran and he did so to home.

c.	Jan het (in) die huis in gehardloop.
	Jan have.AUX in the house in.POSTP run.PST.PTCP
	Jan ran into the house.

c.'	*Jan het gehardloop en hy het dit (in) die huis in gedoen.
	Jan have.AUX run.PST.PTCP and he have.AUX so in the house in.POSTP do.PST.PTCP
	Jan ran and he did so into the house.

Copula predicates, although they may resemble adverbials, do not satisfy either of the tests, as illustrated by (25a), nor does the complement of the mutative isto be construction, as shown by (25b). Stadiger more slow(ly) is an adjective rather than an adverbial, which is also apparent from the fact that it has comparative morphology.The directional phrase huis toe in (25b) is a VP a directional adverbial as (in) die huis in into the house in example (24c) above, but triggers a mutative construction in combination with is, which has the function of auxiliary here.

a.	Jan raak stadiger.
	Jan get slow.ADJ.CMPR
	Jan is getting slower.

a.'	*Jan raak en hy doen dit stadiger.
	Jan get and he do so slow.ADJ.CMPR
	To mean: Jan gets and he does so slower.

a.''	*Jan raak stadiger\|\|> Jan raak .
	Jan get slow.ADJ.CMPR Jan get
	Jan gets slower > *Jan gets.

b.	Jan is huis toe.
	Jan be.AUX.PST home to.POSTP
	Jan has gone home.

b.'	*Jan is en hy doen dit huis toe.
	Jan is and he do so home to.POSTP
	*Jan is and he does so towards home.

b.''	*Jan is huis toe\|\|> Jan is.
	Jan be.AUX.PST home to.POSTP Jan is
	Jan has gone home > *Jan is.

Pronominal reference to VP adverbial PPs may be either non-relational, by means of deictic daar there, or relational, by including a preposition or other particle, e.g. daarop PN.on on that or daarheen it.to there (directional), thither. Locational adverbials are pronominalised by daar, as in (26ai) and (26bi) and sometimes relationally, i.e. through the addition of a preposition or particle, as in (26ai). The latter form of pronominalisation is, however, excluded in instances such as (26b). Directional adverbials are only pronominalised in the latter way, i.e. through the addition of a preposition or particle, as in (26c) and (26d). Here Afrikaans differs from English, where there would have been appropriate.

a.	Die vliegtuig vlieg bokant die wolke.
	the aeroplane fly above the clouds
	The aeroplane flies above the clouds.

a.'	Die vliegtuig vlieg daar/ daarbokant.
	the aeroplane fly there/PN.above
	The aeroplane flies there / above it.

b.	Die vliegtuig vlieg op 'n groot hoogte.
	the aeroplane flies on a great height
	The aeroplane flies at a great height.

b.'	Die vliegtuig vlieg daar/ *daarop.
	the aeroplane fly there / PN.above
	The aeroplane flies there / above it.

c.	Die vliegtuig vlieg deur die wolke.
	the aeroplane fly through the clouds
	The aeroplane flies through the clouds.

c.'	Die vliegtuig vlieg daardeur/ *daar.
	the aeroplane fly PN.through / there
	The aeroplane flies through it / there.

d.	Die vliegtuig vlieg Johannesburg toe.
	the aeroplane fly Johannesburg to.POSTP
	The aeroplane flies to Johannesburg.

d.'	Die vliegtuig vlieg daarheen/ *daar.
	the aeroplane fly there.to / there
	The aeroplane flies to there / there.

Broekhuis et al. (2015: 1136) reach the provisional conclusion "that adverbial locational PPs (as well as complementive PPs denoting a location) prototypically allow both a relational and non-relational reading, while complementive PPs denoting a change of location normally receive a relational reading only".

[+]Contingency adverbials

Contingency adverbials express, for instance, the reason or cause of an event (cf. the following examples). Semantically, the border between these two contingencies is fuzzy. Broekhuis et al. (2015: 1136) suggest that they differ in that cause can be established objectively, while reason may involve a subjective or personal assessment.

It is evident from the relevant tests that contingency adverbials may function as VP adverbials, e.g.

Die blomme ontluik oor die reën.

the flowers bud because.of the rain

The flowers are budding because of the rain.

Die blomme ontluik en hulle doen dit oor die reën.

the flowers bud and they do so because.of the rain

The flowers are budding and they do so because of the rain.

Die blomme ontluik oor die reën. > Die blomme ontluik.

the flowers bud because.of the rain

The flowers are budding because of the rain. > The flowers are budding.

Contingency adverbials are generally pronominalised by waarom/ hoekom why, and in the case of causal contingency, more specifically by waardeur through what. As pronominals, waarom/ daarom for what/that reason and waardeur/ daardeur because of what / because of that are intrinsically relational. In (28a), reason is expressed, and in (28b) cause.

a.	Waarom ontluik die blomme?
	why bud the flowers
	Why are the flowers budding?

a.'	Die blomme ontluik oor die reën.
	the flowers bud because.of the rain
	The lowers are budding because of the rain.

a.''	Dit is daarom dat / waarom die blomme ontluik.
	it is therefore that.COMP / why the flowers bud
	Therefore the flowers are budding./ That is why the flowers are budding.

b.	Waardeur vergaan die bome?
	what.through perish the trees
	Through what are the trees perishing?

b.'	Die bome vergaan deur 'n klein kewertjie.
	the trees perish through a small beetle.DIM
	The trees are perishing because of a small beetle.

b.''	Dit is daardeur dat die bome vergaan.
	it is PN.through that.COMP the trees perish
	Therefore the trees are perishing.

As reason may overlap with cause, it may also overlap with contingencies such as purpose or result, with the wider context shedding more light on the intended interpretation. Thus the proposition in (29) may be viewed as expressing purpose, result or, more generally, reason.

Gerrie werk oortyd vir meer geld.

Gerrie work over.time for more money

Gerrie works overtime with a view to earning more money. [purpose]

Gerrie works overtime to generate more money. [result]

Gerrie works overtime because he is in need of more money.[reason]

A concessive adverbial headed by ondanks despite refers to the potential cause of an event which has not materialised:

Misdaad gedy ondanks beter polisiëring.

crime flourish despite better policing

Crime is flourishing in spite of better policing.

[+]Predicate-degree adverbials

A set of adjectival adverbials, such as baie very, erg badly, severely and kwaai seriously, are employed as modifiers of adjectives. It is not always clear why a particular adverbial is selected by a particular adjective, but there are subtle differences in semantic prosody and hance in collocational possibilities that require further investigation.

Die nuwe bure lawaai erg/baie/kwaai.

the new neighbours make.a.racket badly

The new neighbours are making a severe racket.

Sy het die partytjie ?erg/baie/*kwaai geniet.

she have.AUX the party.DIM very.much enjoy.PST.PTCP

She enjoyed the party immensely.

Petrus het ?erg/baie/kwaai gedrink.

Petrus have.AUX heavily drink.PST.PTCP

Petrus drank heavily.

Some adverbials modifying adjectives are employed as downtoners or mitigators:

Die boemelaar het nogal aanddrag aangetrek.

the tramp have.AUX suprisingly evening.dress on.put.PST.PTCP

Surprisingly, the tramp put on evening dress.

Die prentjie is darem mooi, nè.

the picture is rather nice not.so

The picture is rather nice, isn't it?

Die kleintjie was bitter soet gewees.

the kid was really well.behaved be.PST.PTCP

The kid was really well behaved, wasn't he?

References

Broekhuis, Hans, Corver, Norbert & Vos, Riet2015Syntax of Dutch. Verbs and verb phrasesComprehensive grammar resourcesAmsterdam University Press
Broekhuis, Hans, Corver, Norbert & Vos, Riet2015Syntax of Dutch. Verbs and verb phrasesComprehensive grammar resourcesAmsterdam University Press

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About this article

Author(s): Jac Conradie

Category: Afrikaans Syntax

Keywords: agentive adverbialcirumpositioncontingency adverbialinterrogative pronounpostpositionpredicate-degree adverbialprepositionprocess adverbialspatio-temporal adverbialWH-phrase

Version: 1.0, May 2020

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Jac Conradie	May 2020

This is a beta version.

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