• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Stacking of partitive adjectives
quickinfo

Partitive adjectives may not be stacked. In this respect, the partitive adjective construction resembles the predicative construction rather than the attributive construction.

readmore

Stacking of partitive adjectives is not allowed in the partitive construction, nor in the predicative construction:

1
a. *It is grut goedkeap
it is big cheap
It is big cheap
b. *Wat gruts goedkeaps
something big cheap
Something big cheap

Stacking of adjectives is allowed in the attributive construction:

2
In grutte goedkeape pleats
a big cheap farmhouse
A big cheap farmhouse

When stacking is not allowed, conjunctions are needed to make stacking possible in the partitive construction and the predicative construction:

3
a. It is grut en goedkeap
it is big and cheap
It is big and cheap
b. Wat gruts en goedkeaps
something big and cheap
Something big and cheap

As in attributive position, the adjective is inflected, although it bears an inflection different from the one appearing in attributive position, whereas adjectives in predicative position are never inflected. Put differently, there is no relation between stacking and overt inflection.

References
    printreport errorcite