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Complementive predicative
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Predicative te-infinitives, on the whole, have an ability reading only, whereas attributive ones can either have an ability reading or a necessity reading.

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Predicative te-infinitives, on the whole, have the ability reading only, whereas attributive ones can either have an ability reading or a necessity reading:

1
Ajax is (maklik) te ferslaan
Ajax is easy to defeat
Ajax can (easily) be defeated
*Ajax is to be defeated

In embedded clauses, the modal infinitive must occur to the left of the tensed verb:

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Omdat Ajax (maklik) te ferslaan is
because Ajax easy to defeat is
As Ajax can (easily) be defeated
*Ajax is to be defeated

Some specific idioms fail to exhibit an ability reading:

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a. Dat is te hoopjen
that is to hope
One would hope so
Hopefully
Let's hope so
b. Dat is te sizzen
that is to say
Put differently
Or rather

The modal construction with an ability reading often occurs with the adjective maklik easy. It may have been less common in the past, though there are also older examples like the following:

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It is er macklick oon te sjen…
it is R easy from to see
It can easily be seen (concluded) from it… (1734c)

Only transitive verbs are allowed in the construction, of the type which can occur in a passive construction with wurde become (verb of the passive voice). So, the same verbs showing up in the attributive construction also show up in the predicative construction. There is, however, an exception. The predicative construction may also feature intransitive verbs. So, activity verbs like laitsje laugh may occur in the construction, but, surprisingly, also the verb wêze be may be found:

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a. Der is hjir net te wêzen
R is here not to be
I / we / people in general cannot stand being here
b. Der is net folle te laitsjen
R is not much to laugh
This is no laughing matter

A personal subject may be added in the form of an Adposition Phrase (PP) headed by foar for, whereas a PP headed by troch by is ungrammatical:

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a. Der is hjir net te wêzen foar in fatsoenlik minske
R is here not to be for a decent person
I / we / people in general cannot stand being here
b. *Der is hjir net te wêzen troch in fatsoenlik minske
R is here not to be by a decent person
I / we / people in general cannot stand being here
c. Der is foar him net folle te laitsjen
R is for him not much to laugh
There is no laughing matter to him
d. *Der is troch him net folle te laitsjen
R is by him not much to laugh
There are not many laughing matters to him

For the verb wêze be, the presence of a locative phrase seems obligatory, whereas for activity verbs the presence of an evaluative phrase like goed good seems obligatory. The construction is not negatively polar:

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a. Yn Rome is goed te wêzen
in Rome is good to be
Rome is a good place to be
b. Der is in protte te laitsjen yn it libben
R is a lot to laugh in the life
There are a lot of reasons for laughing in life

Relatively recent is the following idiom (also in Dutch), which must have postdated the advent of television:

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Net te filmjen
Not to film
Extreme!

The phrase is often used as a comment on an extreme situation, though it may also be used in a complete sentence:

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It wie net te filmjen wat der barde
it was not to film what R happened
What happenend was extreme
References
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