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Stress in verbal compounds
quickinfo

Verbal compounding is unproductive in Dutch (as argued in Booij 2002). Still, verbal compounds are not absent in Dutch and always have initial compound stress. Many NV compounds are defective: they only occur as infinitives. The first constituent can be

  1. a noun (N),
  2. a verb (V),
  3. an adjective (A), or
  4. a preposition (P).

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[+]NV compounds
1
N
liplezen [[lip][lezen]] [ˈlɪp.ˈle.zən] to read lips
bloedvergieten [[bloed][vergieten]] [ˈblut.vər.ˈxi.tən] to shed blood
stofzuigen [[stof][zuigen]] [ˈstɔf.ˈzœy.ɣən] to vacuum clean
gewichtheffen [[gewicht][heffen]] [xə.ˈʋɪxt.ˈhɛ.fən] to lift weights
voetballen [[voet][ballen]] [ˈvut.ˈbɑ.lən] to play football
[+]AV compounds

AV compounds always result in separable verbs. As with all verbal compounds, stress is on the initial constituent.

2
A
diepvriezen [[diep][vriezen]] [ˈdip.ˈvrizən] to deep-freeze
hardlopen [[hard][lopen]] [ˈhɑrd.ˈlopən] to jog
losmaken [[los][maken]] [ˈlɔs.ˈmakən] to unloose
liefhebben [[lief][hebben]] [ˈliv.ˈhɛbən] to love
[+]VV compounds

Compounds created by combining two verbs are very rare. Some examples are provided below; all relevant forms have initial stress:

3
V
zweefvliegen [[zweef][vliegen]] [ˈzʋev.ˈvlixən] to glide
donderjagen [[donder][jagen]] [ˈdɔn.dər.ˈjaxən] to be a nuisance
brandmerken [[brand][merken]] [ˈbrɑnd.ˈmɛrkən] to stigmatize
hinkstappen [hink][stappen]] [ˈhɪŋk.ˈstɑpən] to triple jump
[+]PV compounds
4
P
voorzien [[voor][zien]] [ˈvor.ˈzin] to provide
aanvaarden [[aan][vaarden]] [ˈan.ˈvardən] to accept
doorboren [[door][boren]] [ˈdor.ˈborən] to drill through
achterhalen [[achter][halen]] [ˈɑx.tər.ˈhalən] to catch up with
extra
Stress in separable vs. non-separable complex verbs

Complex verbs can be divided into two groups, separable and non-separable words. While separable verbs have stress on their initial constituent, non-separable ones have main stress on their second constituent. Consider the following examples for the separable verb doorlopen vs. the non-separable verb doorlopen:

i
a. Separable complex verb
      doorlopen [[door][lopen]] [ˈdor.ˈlo.pən] walk through
      example: Hij loopt door de woestijn He walks through the dessert but: *Hij doorloopt de woestijn
b. Non-separable complex verb
      doorlopen [doorlopen] [dor.ˈlo.pən] to undergo
      example: Hij doorloopt een beroepsopleiding He undergoes a job training but: *Hij loopt door een beroepsopleiding

Following Booij (1995), we consider separable verbs as compounds, and non-separable verbs to be prefixed verbs. This categorization is in line with the above-mentioned stress behavior of the relevant items: separable verbs, like other verbal compounds, are stressed on their initial constituent, and prefixed verbs have stress on the second constituent.

References
  • Booij, Geert1995The phonology of DutchOxfordOxford University Press
  • Booij, Geert2002Separable complex verbs in Dutch: a case of periphrastic word formationDehé, Nicole, Jackendoff, Ray, McIntyre, Andrew & Urban, Silke (eds.)Verb-particle explorationsBerlinMouton de Gruyter21-42
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