- Dutch
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- Saterfrisian
- Afrikaans
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- Syntax
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of verb phrases I:Argument structure
- 3 Projection of verb phrases II:Verb frame alternations
- Introduction
- 3.1. Main types
- 3.2. Alternations involving the external argument
- 3.3. Alternations of noun phrases and PPs
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.3.1.1. Dative alternation with aan-phrases (recipients)
- 3.3.1.2. Dative alternation with naar-phrases (goals)
- 3.3.1.3. Dative alternation with van-phrases (sources)
- 3.3.1.4. Dative alternation with bij-phrases (possessors)
- 3.3.1.5. Dative alternation with voor-phrases (benefactives)
- 3.3.1.6. Conclusion
- 3.3.1.7. Bibliographical notes
- 3.3.2. Accusative/PP alternations
- 3.3.3. Nominative/PP alternations
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.4. Some apparent cases of verb frame alternation
- 3.5. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of verb phrases IIIa:Selection of clauses/verb phrases
- 5 Projection of verb phrases IIIb:Argument and complementive clauses
- Introduction
- 5.1. Finite argument clauses
- 5.2. Infinitival argument clauses
- 5.3. Complementive clauses
- 6 Projection of verb phrases IIIc:Complements of non-main verbs
- 7 Projection of verb phrases IIId:Verb clusters
- 8 Projection of verb phrases IV: Adverbial modification
- 9 Word order in the clause I:General introduction
- 10 Word order in the clause II:Position of the finite verb (verb-first/second)
- 11 Word order in the clause III:Clause-initial position (wh-movement)
- Introduction
- 11.1. The formation of V1- and V2-clauses
- 11.2. Clause-initial position remains (phonetically) empty
- 11.3. Clause-initial position is filled
- 12 Word order in the clause IV:Postverbal field (extraposition)
- 13 Word order in the clause V: Middle field (scrambling)
- 14 Main-clause external elements
- Nouns and Noun Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of noun phrases I: complementation
- Introduction
- 2.1. General observations
- 2.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 2.3. Clausal complements
- 2.4. Bibliographical notes
- 3 Projection of noun phrases II: modification
- Introduction
- 3.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 3.2. Premodification
- 3.3. Postmodification
- 3.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 3.3.2. Relative clauses
- 3.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 3.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 3.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 3.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 3.4. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of noun phrases III: binominal constructions
- Introduction
- 4.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 4.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 4.3. Bibliographical notes
- 5 Determiners: articles and pronouns
- Introduction
- 5.1. Articles
- 5.2. Pronouns
- 5.3. Bibliographical notes
- 6 Numerals and quantifiers
- 7 Pre-determiners
- Introduction
- 7.1. The universal quantifier al 'all' and its alternants
- 7.2. The pre-determiner heel 'all/whole'
- 7.3. A note on focus particles
- 7.4. Bibliographical notes
- 8 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- 2 Projection of adjective phrases I: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adjective phrases II: Modification
- 4 Projection of adjective phrases III: Comparison
- 5 Attributive use of the adjective phrase
- 6 Predicative use of the adjective phrase
- 7 The partitive genitive construction
- 8 Adverbial use of the adjective phrase
- 9 Participles and infinitives: their adjectival use
- 10 Special constructions
- Adpositions and adpositional phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Introduction
- 1.1. Characterization of the category adposition
- 1.2. A formal classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3. A semantic classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3.1. Spatial adpositions
- 1.3.2. Temporal adpositions
- 1.3.3. Non-spatial/temporal prepositions
- 1.4. Borderline cases
- 1.5. Bibliographical notes
- 2 Projection of adpositional phrases: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adpositional phrases: Modification
- 4 Syntactic uses of the adpositional phrase
- 5 R-pronominalization and R-words
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Coordination and Ellipsis
- Nouns and noun phrases (JANUARI 2025)
- 15 Characterization and classification
- 16 Projection of noun phrases I: Complementation
- 16.0. Introduction
- 16.1. General observations
- 16.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 16.3. Clausal complements
- 16.4. Bibliographical notes
- 17 Projection of noun phrases II: Modification
- 17.0. Introduction
- 17.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 17.2. Premodification
- 17.3. Postmodification
- 17.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 17.3.2. Relative clauses
- 17.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 17.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 17.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 17.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 17.4. Bibliographical notes
- 18 Projection of noun phrases III: Binominal constructions
- 18.0. Introduction
- 18.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 18.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 18.3. Bibliographical notes
- 19 Determiners: Articles and pronouns
- 19.0. Introduction
- 19.1. Articles
- 19.2. Pronouns
- 19.3. Bibliographical notes
- 20 Numerals and quantifiers
- 20.0. Introduction
- 20.1. Numerals
- 20.2. Quantifiers
- 20.2.1. Introduction
- 20.2.2. Universal quantifiers: ieder/elk ‘every’ and alle ‘all’
- 20.2.3. Existential quantifiers: sommige ‘some’ and enkele ‘some’
- 20.2.4. Degree quantifiers: veel ‘many/much’ and weinig ‘few/little’
- 20.2.5. Modification of quantifiers
- 20.2.6. A note on the adverbial use of degree quantifiers
- 20.3. Quantitative er constructions
- 20.4. Partitive and pseudo-partitive constructions
- 20.5. Bibliographical notes
- 21 Predeterminers
- 21.0. Introduction
- 21.1. The universal quantifier al ‘all’ and its alternants
- 21.2. The predeterminer heel ‘all/whole’
- 21.3. A note on focus particles
- 21.4. Bibliographical notes
- 22 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- 23 Referential dependencies (binding)
- Syntax
-
- General
Suffixation of nouns to form new nouns can be achieved by means of a number of endings, both Germanic and non-Germanic. We start with a description of diminutive formation, which is followed by the discussion of several suffixes by means of which person nouns can be derived.
The diminutive suffix -je and its allomorphs is probably the most productive nominal affix (apart from the plural affixes discussed in 1.1.1). The precise phonetic realization of the diminutive suffix depends on phonological properties of the stem.
| a. | The suffix -etje is used after the nasal consonants /n/, /m/ or /ŋ/ or the liquids /l/ or /r/, if they are immediately preceded by a short vowel carrying stress. |
| b. | The suffix -tje is used with words ending in /n/ or a liquid, provided that they are not preceded by a short stressed vowel; it also attaches to words ending in a long vowel, a diphthong or a schwa. |
| c. | The suffix -pje is only found after words ending in /m/, again provided that the latter are not immediately preceded by a stressed short vowel. |
| d. | The suffix -kje is found after the unstressed suffix-like ending -ing, which is pronounced as /ɪŋ/ (koning/kóninkje'little king'). Exceptions are cases in which the syllable preceding -ing is unstressed (cf. wándelingetje'little walk') and person nouns derived by the affix -ling (léerlingetje'little pupil'); these always get the ending -etje. |
| e. | In the remaining cases, the suffix -je is used. |
Examples are given in Table 21; for further details on the formation of diminutives, we refer the reader to De Haas & Trommelen (1993) and Haeseryn et al. (1997).
| suffix | nominal stem | derived form | translation |
| -etje | kam | kammetje | little comb |
| pen | pennetje | little pen | |
| bel | belletje | little bell | |
| kar | karretje | little cart | |
| slang | slangetje | little snake | |
| -tje | tuin | tuintje | little garden |
| zaal | zaaltje | little hall | |
| deur | deurtje | little door | |
| la | laatje | little drawer | |
| kooi | kooitje | little cage | |
| tante | tantetje | little aunt | |
| -pje | dakraam | dakraampje | little skylight |
| geheim | geheimpje | little secret | |
| storm | stormpje | little storm | |
| -kje | haring | harinkje | little herring |
| koning | koninkje | little king | |
| -je | dak | dakje | little roof |
| aap | aapje | little monkey |
Some of the person suffixes discussed in Section 1.3.1.5 can also take a nominal base: the suffix -er, for example, can be added to a (typically non-human) noun to form another noun denoting a person; cf., e.g., Van Santen (1992). We will call these derived nouns “neutral” person nouns, as opposed to the feminine person nouns that will be discussed shortly. Both the type of input noun and the semantic relation between the input noun and the derived noun vary.
The input noun of the “neutral” person names can be abstract like wetenschap'science', concrete like kluis'hermitage' or molen'mill', and it can even be an abbreviation like PvdA (political party) or AOW (pension law). The referents of these derived nouns are all in some relation with the denotation of the base noun. The noun wetenschapper denotes the set of persons practicing science, kluizenaar'hermit' denotes the set of persons living in a secluded environment, and an AOW-er is someone who is getting a pension on the basis of the old age pension law.
A more systematic set is constituted by the geographical person names derived from geographical place names. Here we give examples derived by means of the suffixes -aan and -ees; see Section A1.3.3 sub II for a complete overview of the affixes deriving geographical person nouns. Another systematic group is the group of feminine person nouns derived from “neutral” person nouns by means of the suffixes -in, -e, and -es (among others).
| person noun | nominal stem | derived form |
| “neutral” -er/aar | wetenschap ‘science’ | wetenschapper ‘scientist’ |
| kluis ‘hermitage’ molen ‘mill’ | kluizenaar ‘hermit’ molenaar ‘miller’ | |
| PvdA ‘labor party’ AOW ‘old age pension’ | PvdA-er ‘labor party politician’ AOW-er ‘old age pensioner’ | |
| geographical-er/aan/ees | Amsterdam Holland | Amsterdammer Hollander ‘Dutchman’ |
| Amerika ‘America’ Afrika ‘Africa’ | Amerikaan ‘American’ Afrikaan ‘African’ | |
| Vietnam China | Vietnamees ‘Vietnamese’ Chinees ‘Chinese’ | |
| feminine -in/es/e | vriend ‘friend’ keizer ‘emperor’ | vriendin ‘girl-friend’ keizerin ‘empress’ |
| voogd ‘guardian’ baron ‘baron’ | voogdes ‘(woman) guardian’ barones ‘baroness’ | |
| agent ‘policeman’ student ‘student’ | agente ‘policewoman’ studente ‘female student’ |
In addition to the more productive affixes discussed above, there are a number of nonproductive endings, each effecting a specific semantic change. The most frequent of these endings are listed in the following subsections.
Derived nouns ending in -dom denote a group of entities each of which belongs to the denotation of the input noun, as in example (232a&b), or to an area (historically) reigned by or governed by the entity denoted by the input noun, as in example (232c&d).
| a. | mens | 'human being' |
| a'. | mensdom | 'human race' |
| b. | priester | 'priest' |
| b'. | priesterdom | 'priesthood' |
| c. | prins | 'prince' |
| c'. | prinsdom | 'principality' |
| d. | bisschop | 'bishop' |
| d'. | bisdom | 'bishopric' |
A noun followed by the ending -schap can refer either to a certain capacity, function or rank, as in the examples in (233a-c), or to a branch of industry, as in (233d-g).
| a. | moederschap | 'motherhood' |
| b. | vijandschap | 'enmity' |
| c. | leiderschap | 'leadership' |
| d. | agentschap | 'branch office' |
| e. | genootschap | 'society' |
| f. | landbouwschap | 'agricultural board' |
| g. | waterschap | 'district water board' |
This compound affix typically changes an individual noun, denoting a particular entity, into a mass noun, denoting a group of such entities.
| a. | berg | 'mountain' |
| a'. | gebergte | 'mountain range' |
| b. | boef | 'villain' |
| b'. | geboefte | 'scum' |
| c. | been | 'bone' |
| c'. | gebeente | 'bones/skeleton' |
| d. | steen | 'stone' |
| d'. | gesteente | 'rock' |
| e. | vogel | 'bird' |
| e'. | gevogelte | 'fowl' |
- 1993Morfologisch handboek van het Nederlands. Een overzicht van de woordvormingSDU Uitgeverij
- 1997Algemene Nederlandse spraakkunstGroningenNijhoff
- 1992Semantische factoren bij de vorming van denominale persoonsnamen op -<i>er</i>Spektator21189-201
