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Relational nouns
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Relational nouns do not involve an event but an inherent relation. In the example below, the noun designates the relation of 'being a brother of':

1
Joast is in broer fan Eeltsje
Joast is a brother of Eeltsje
Joast is a brother of Eeltsje
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Relational nouns involve an inherent and permanent relation. The relation usually involves two animate entities, as in the example below:

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De heit fan Jouke
the father of Jouke
Jouke's father

A relational noun like heit father differs from an ordinary noun like boek book, which does not involve inherent and permanent (inalienable) possession. Other examples of relational nouns may involve a thing and a unique subpart, as in the examples below:

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a. It dak fan it hûs
the roof of the house
The roof of the house
b. De kaft fan it boek
the cover of the book
The cover of the book

Other examples of relational nouns may involve a thing and a property, as in the examples below:

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a. De foarm fan 'e terp
the shape of the mound
The shape of the mound
b. De hichte fan 'e terp
the height of the mound
The height of the mound

In all these examples, the Adposition Phrase (PP) contains the inalienable possessor of the property or of the subpart denoted by the noun. As the PP is indispensable to the interpretation of the noun, it is usually obligatorily present, unless it can be inferred from the context. The inalienable PP is therefore a complementive PP. As a result, it cannot be used in a predicative construction:

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a. *De heit is fan Jouke
the father is of Jouke
The father belongs to Jouke
b. *It dak is fan it hûs
the roof is of the house
The roof is of the house
c. *De hichte is fan 'e terp
the height is of the mound
The height of the mound

The preposition of inalienable PPs may be stranded, and the prepositional complement may be found outside the PP, in which it is normally contained.

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a. It jonkje dêr't ik de heit fan sjoen ha
the boy that.R I the father of seen have
The boy whom I saw the father of
b. It hûs dêr't Harke it dak fan reparearre hat
the house that.R Harke the roof of repaired has
The house which Harke repaired the roof of
c. De terp dêr't er de hichte fan berekkene hie
the mound that.R he the height of calculated had
The mound which he had calculated the height of
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