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    As PP of time
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    The following elements can be used as relative pronouns of time:

    • the neutral subordinating complementiser dat that
    • the interrogative pronoun of time wannear when
    • the temporal complementiser of past reference doe when

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    Temporal nouns are the natural antecedents for the relative pronoun of time. The relative pronoun of time is spelled out as the neutral subordinating complementiser dat that, as in the examples below:

    1
    a. Sneon is de dei dat hy it gers meant
    Saturday is the day that he the grass mows
    Saturday is the day that he mows the grass
    b. De tiid dat minsken jit net sa jachtich wiene
    the time that people yet not so hurried were
    The time that people were not yet so much in a hurry

    The interrogative pronoun of time may also be used as a relative pronoun of time:

    2
    Sneon is de dei wannear't hy it gers meant
    Saturday is the day when.COMP he the grass mows
    Saturday is the day that he mows the grass

    This pronoun may not be used for past reference:

    3
    *De tiid wannear't minsken jit net sa jachtich wiene
    the time when.COMP people yet not so hurried were
    The time that people were not yet so much in a hurry

    The temporal complementiser of past reference may be used as a relative temporal pronoun in the latter example:

    4
    De tiid doe't minsken jit net sa jachtich wiene
    the time when.COMP people yet not so hurried were
    The time that people were not yet so much in a hurry

    Prefixing the relative R-pronoun to a temporal preposition is ungrammatical, as is illustrated by the two ungrammatical sentences in (5). The first ungrammatical sentence is formed with the complementiser cliticised to the relative R-pronoun. The second ungrammatical sentence below illustrates that the construction cannot be saved by dropping the cliticised complementiser:

    5
    a. Hy meant it gers altyd op deselde dei
    he mows the grass always on the.same day
    He always mows the grass on the same day
    b. *Sneon is de dei wêr-op-'t hy it gers meant
    Saturday is the day REL.R-on-COMP he the grass mows
    Saturday is the day that he mows the grass
    c. *Sneon is de dei wêrop hy it gers meant
    Saturday is the day REL.R.on he the grass mows
    Saturday is the day that he mows the grass

    Spelling out the complementiser in full does not result in a grammatical sentence either:

    6
    *Sneon is de dei wêrop dat hy it gers meant
    Saturday is the day REL.R.on that he the grass mows
    Saturday is the day that he mows the grass
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: relative pronouns of time
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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