• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Introduction
quickinfo

This chapter discusses the complementation of adpositional phrases. Sections 2.1-2.3 will show that, in the core case, the complement of an adposition is a noun phrase: adpositional phrases are not common as complements of adpositions, although there is a small set of prepositions that may occur with them; adjectival phrases acting as the complement of an adposition are extremely rare, if possible at all. Section 2.4 will show that complementation by finite and infinitival clauses is easily possible, but normally involves an anticipatory pronominal PP (that is, a PP with an R-pronoun as its complement); this section will pay special attention to formations like voordat'before', which is analyzed in traditional grammar as a complex subordinator, but which may involve the preposition voor'before' followed by a finite clause introduced by dat'that'. Although adpositional and adjectival phrases are not common as complements of adpositional phrases, they do occur as the predicative part of the so-called absolute met-construction, which will be discussed in Section 2.5.

References:
    report errorprintcite