• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Position
quickinfo

Complements of a noun occur after the noun, as in the example below:

1
De hope op in nije takomst
the hope for a new future
The hope for a new future
readmore

Complements of a noun cannot occur before the noun:

2
a. De hope op in nije takomst
the hope for a new future
The hope for a new future
b. *De op in nije takomst hope
the for a new future hope
The hope for a new future
c. *Op in nije takomst de hope
for a new future the hope
The hope for a new future

In fact, regardless of whether a Adposition Phrase (PP) is a complement or not, it must follow the noun. So, PPs containing the agent of an event also follow the noun, as in the examples below. In the first example, the agent is expressed in a troch by phrase. In the second example, the agent is expressed in a fan of phrase:

3
a. De ferneatiging fan Carthago troch Scipio
the destruction of Carthage by Scipio
The destruction of Carthage by Scipio
b. Dat ferhaal fan dy âldman oer syn jeugd
the story of that old.man about his youth
The story of that old man about his youth

Similarly, a PP containing a possessor follows the noun, as shown by the following two examples:

4
a. De pleats fan Andrys Keizer
the farmhouse of Andrys Keizer
The farmhouse of Andrys Keizer
b. De kollektive trauma's fan 'e moderne minske
the collective traumas of the modern man
The collective traumas of modern man
References
    printreport errorcite