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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
    About this article
    Author(s): Björn Köhnlein
    Category: Dutch Phonology
    Keywords: stresscomplex word
    Version: 1.0, December 2015
    Version history:
    version editor(s) date remarks
    1.0 Björn Köhnlein December 2015
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