• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Order of PPs
quickinfo

The word order of various Adposition Phrases (PPs) following the noun is essentially free, though certain orders may be less marked than others.

readmore

In the example below, any permutation of fan of PPs is grammatical. The order as given in the example seems to be the unmarked order, with the theme first, then the agent and then the possessor, although such intuitions are somewhat unreliable, being affected by the (imagined) discourse context:

1
It skilderij 'It Tepidarium' fan dy bleate frou fan Alma Tadema fan 'e firma Pears
the painting 'the Tepidarium' of that naked woman of Alma Tadema of the company Pears
The painting 'The Tepidarium' of a naked woman by Alma Tadema belonging to Pears Ltd

The same holds for cases involving different prepositions, as in the two examples below, in which the theme comes first in the unmarked order, though any permutation is essentially allowed:

2
a. De ferneatiging fan Carthago troch Scipio
the destruction of Carthage by Scipio
The destruction of Carthage by Scipio
b. De donaasje fan dat jild oan de Carthagers troch de Romeinen
the donation of that money to the Carthaginians by the Romans
The donation of that money to the Carthaginians by the Romans
References
    printreport errorcite