The primeless examples in (341) are alternative ways of expressing the same relation as in (340a&b). In a sense, the located object has become an inherent part of the verb, and the function of the preposition has been taken over by the prefix be-. The reference object of (340) now acts as the direct object of the verb, which is clear from the fact that it functions as the subject of the clause in the passive construction in the primed examples.

Although the (a) and (b)-constructions in (340) and (341) are more or less synonymous, there is a striking difference between them: whereas the assertions in the primeless examples in (341) can be made more specific by adding a met-PP, the addition of such a PP leads to unacceptability in the constructions in (340a&b), as is shown in the primeless examples in (342). To express the more specific assertions, we have to substitute the noun phrase rozen/margarine for the direct object planten/boter, as in the primed examples of (342).

The examples in (343) show that the formation of be-verbs is not fully productive. The nouns in the primeless examples cannot act as stems of be-verbs, suggesting that the attested denominal be-verbs are listed in the lexicon.

A small sample of be-verbs of the type in (341) is given in Table 20. The first column provides the nominal stem of the verb with its English translation, the second column lists the derived verb, and the third column gives a translation or paraphrase of the derived form in English.

Another way of expressing an assertion similar to those in (340b&c) can be seen in the primeless examples in (344): the verb is prefixed with be-, the preposition opon is omitted, and the passive constructions in the primed examples show that the reference object has become the direct object of the construction; the located object may, but need not, be expressed overtly by a met-PP. The PP can be absent, but is then semantically implied, in the sense that the examples in (344) then imply a located object that is “smearable” or “pastable”, respectively.

There is, however, a difference in meaning between the examples in (340b&c) and (344): while the former are compatible with a reading in which the located object covers only part of the reference object, the latter imply that the reference object is completely (or at least largely) covered by the located object. This is relatively easy to see by comparing the singular counterparts of (340c) and (344b) in (345). Replacing the plural noun phrase de postersthe posters by a singular one is easily possible in the former case, but not in the latter.

Example (345b) is only possible in the (less likely) case that the poster completely covers the wall. In other words, the deverbal be-verb incorporates a sense of “completeness” or “even distribution”; the wall must end up completely covered with posters, or with posters more or less evenly distributed on it. That this is the case is perhaps also supported by the fact that, while the examples in (340) alternate with the primeless constructions in (346), where the notion of “total affectedness” is expressed by the adjective volfull, this adjective is not compatible with the deverbal be-verbs. This could be accounted for by claiming that the primed examples are tautologous: vol and the prefix be- perform more or less the same semantic function.

Table 21 provides a small sample of verbs of the type in (344). Observe that it is not always clear whether we are dealing with a denominal or a deverbal verb. Beplanten, for example may be denominal (cf. Jan zet planten in de tuin in (340a)) or deverbal (cf. Jan plant rozen in de tuinJan plants roses in the garden).

This subsection considers denominal verbs prefixed with ont-, such as ontharento depilate and ontkurkento uncork in (347). Such verbs are in a sense the opposite of the denominal verbs prefixed with be-. While the latter are related to change-of-location constructions in which the reference object is the new position of the located object, the former are related to change-of-location constructions such as (348) in which the reference object is the original position. As in the case of the denominal be-verbs, the reference object acts as the direct object of the verb prefixed by ont-, which is clear from the fact that it becomes the subject of the clause in the passive construction.

In Table 22, some more examples of denominal verbs prefixed by ont- are given.

Sometimes denominal be- and ont-verbs are in true opposition, as in bebossento afforest and ontbossento deforest, but in many other cases there are no antonym pairs. This shows again that the formation of be- and ont-verbs is not a productive process and that the attested cases must therefore be part of the lexicon.

In a very limited number of cases, a simple verb can also express a change of location. The clearest example is zadelento saddle in example (349b), which can be paraphrased by the construction in (349a). In Dutch, this process is not as productive as in English: for example, verbs like to shelve, to box, and to file cannot be translated by simple verbs in Dutch.

The cases in (351) are alternative ways of expressing the same assertions as in (350). The verb is prefixed with be-, and the postposition is dropped.

The stem of these directional be-verbs typically belongs to the class of unaccusative verbs. Some other examples are given in Table 23.

The examples in (352) illustrate the inability of transitive verbs (i.e. verbs with a complementive that is predicated of the accusative argument) to act as the stem of a directional be-verb.

The directional be-verbs differ in this respect from the be-verbs denoting a change of location, as can be seen from the difference between the (b)-examples in (352) and the examples in (353). In fact, the stems of the deverbal be-verbs discussed in Section 32.3.1.6, sub I, are typically transitive.

Section 32.3.3, sub I, will discuss that the notion of path is also applicable to non-spatial/temporal semantic fields. For instance, the examples in (354) denote a metaphorical “path” from one state of affairs to another. The referent of the noun phrase Krakras (a character from a Dutch series of childrenʼs books) changes from a state in which it has the form of an unappetizing-looking bird to a state in which it becomes a tasty duck that can be used as an ingredient for soup.

Here, it is important to note that constructions such as (354) often alternate with constructions headed by a denominal ver-verb. Some examples are given in (355); transitive examples, such as (355a'), are sometimes a bit awkward.

More examples are given in Table 24. Sometimes the meaning of the ver-verb has narrowed to the paraphrase given after the sign “⇒”.

For completeness, note that the deadjectival verbs prefixed by ver- in (356) express a meaning aspect similar to those in Table 24, but are related to (inchoative) copular or resultative constructions.

Occasionally, simple verbs inherently express the notion of a path: the primeless and primed examples in (357) are virtually synonymous. The only difference between the two sets of examples is that in the primeless examples the manner of motion (i.e. walking) is made explicit.