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    As prepositional complement
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    Free relative clauses may function as prepositional complements.

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    The following two sentences below involve a free relative clause functioning as a prepositional complement:

    1
    a. Om har sa min mooglik lykje te litten op wa't se winlik wie
    for her as little possible resemble to let on who she in.fact was
    To make her look as little as possible like the person who she actually was
    b. It is sa tasnien op wat westerske minsken ferwachtsje te finen
    it is so tailored to what western people expect to find
    It is so much tailored to what western people expect to find

    In the sentences above, the preposition op on has a function in the containing clause, but not in the relative clause. It is possible for the combination of preposition and relative pronoun to function both in the relative clause and the containing clause, provided that both clauses have the same main verb, as shown below:

    2
    a. Ik wachtsje op wa't hy wachtet
    I wait for who he waits
    I am waiting for whom he is waiting
    b. Ik stim op wa'tsto stimst
    I vote for who.2SG vote.2SG
    I vote for whom you vote

    The result is odd in case different main verbs are used, even if they subcategorise for the same preposition, as in the example below:

    3
    *Ik fertrou op wa'tsto stimst
    I trust on who.2SG vote.2SG
    I trust the person whom you vote for

    Changing the structure by adding the preposition in the relative clause does not result in a grammatical sentence:

    4
    ?*Ik fertrou op wa'tsto op stimst
    I trust on who.2SG on vote.2SG
    I trust the person whom you vote for

    The ungrammaticality of this sentence is at least partly due to the fact that the pronoun wa who cannot be separated from the preposition:

    5
    ?*Wa stimsto op?
    who vote.2SG for
    Whom do you vote for?

    Furthermore, free relatives fail to trigger the process licensing R-pronouns, in case a pronoun with non-personal reference is involved. This is illustrated by the contrast below:

    6
    a. It is sa tasnien op wat westerske minsken ferwachtsje te finen
    it is so tailored to what western people expect to find
    It is so much tailored to what western people expect to find
    b. *It is sa tasnien wêrop westerske minsken ferwachtsje te finen
    it is so tailored R.to western people expect to find
    It is so much tailored to what western people expect to find

    In main clause questions, this process must take place, and the grammaticality judgments are reversed:

    7
    a. ?*Op wat is it tasnien?
    to what is it tailored
    To what is it tailored?
    b. Wêr is it op tasnien?
    What.R is it to tailored
    What is it tailored to?

    Such facts indicate that free relatives have a structure in which the free relative pronoun is not the complement of the preposition.

    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: prepositional complement
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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