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    Type of relative pronoun
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    The pronoun wat what is characteristically used for non-restrictive relative clauses for which syntactic categories other than Noun Phrase (NP) function as antecedent. The pronoun dat cannot be used with a clausal antecedent. As a result, the use of the relative pronoun dat that triggers a restrictive reading in which the object NP is the antecedent for the relative clause. In the nineteenth-century and earlier, this pronoun could also be used for non-restrictive readings.

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    In the example below, the pronoun dat that triggers a restrictive reading:

    1
    Hy woe neat sizze dat de plysje kûgelsk makke
    he wanted nothing say that the police very.angry made
    He did not want to say things that would make the police very angry

    The pronoun wat what, in contrast, triggers a non-restrictive reading:

    2
    Hy woe neat sizze, wat de plysje kûgelsk makke
    he wanted nothing say what the police very.angry made
    He did not want to say things, which made the police very angry

    The pronoun wat what refers to an antecedent Adjective Phrase (AP) in the example below:

    3
    Hja wie benaud, wat hy ek west ha soe
    she was afraid which he also been have would
    She was afraid, which he would also have been

    However, the intended meaning would normally be expressed in a coordinate structure involving a topic pronoun, and that is clearly preferred in spoken language:

    4
    Hja wie benaud, en dat soe hy ek west ha
    she was afraid and that would he also been have
    She was afraid, which he would also have been
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      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: pronoun
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
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      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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