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    R-pronouns
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    R-pronouns (abbreviated in the glosses by PN) in Afrikaans can be described as forming a pronominal compound structure which combines a pronominal element with a preposition (which, since it follows the pronoun, could be termed a postposition in such a structure). While structurally a prepositional phrase, R-pronouns may occur, in the case of inanimate referents only, as adjective complements with (i) referential NPs, as in

    1
    Hy is bang daarvoor.
    he be.PRS afraid PN.for
    He is afraid of it.

    and (ii) question word NPs, as in

    2
    Sy wonder waarmee hy nou besig is.
    she wonders PN.with he now busy be.PRS
    She wonders what he is doing now.

    They may also act as head of a relative clause, as in

    3
    Watter voordeel is daar vir 'n mens met al sy inspanning waarmee hy hom afsloof onder die son?
    what advantage is there for a human.being with all his effort PN.with he him(self) wears.out under the sun
    What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?
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    R-pronouns (with inanimate referents) occur as adjective complements in various constructions. They may be placed to the left or right of the adjective, as in the examples (with referential NPs) below:

    4
    Is jy regtig daarmee tevrede?
    be.PRS you really PN.with satisfied
    Are you really satisfied with it?
    5
    Was sy tevrede daarmee?
    be.PRS she satisfied PN.with
    Was she satisfied with it?

    If a question word NP is included, left-placement is required, both for direct questions (unmarked sequence) and indirect questions:

    6
    Waarmee is jy besig?
    where.with.WH.Q be.PRS you busy
    What are you busy doing?
    7
    Vind uit waaroor sy ontevrede is.
    find out where.about.WH.Q she dissatisfied be.PRS
    Find out what she is dissatisfied about.

    Left-placement is also required in the case of relative clauses, as in

    8
    Dis 'n dissipline waarmee julle reeds vertroud is.
    it's a discipline PN·with you already familiar be.PRS
    It is a discipline with which you are already familiar.

    Disjunctive use of R-pronouns occurs in infinitive clauses, such as

    9
    middels om mee jonk te bly
    cures for.COMP with young PTCL.INF remain.INF
    remedies with which to stay young

    but also in the case of fronting, as in

    10
    watter aktiwiteit jy mee besig is
    which activity you with busy be.PRS
    with which activity you are busy

    This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in spoken (informal) speech, for example:

    11
    Wat is jy mee besig?
    what be.PRS you with busy
    What are you busy doing?
    12
    Ons foon is iets mee verkeerd.
    our phone be.PRS something with wrong
    There is something wrong with our phone.

    The use of the provisional (or indefinite) pronoun daar there is a further factor which conditions disjunctive R-pronouns:

    13
    Is daar straks iets mee verkeerd?
    be.PRS there maybe something with wrong
    Is there possibly something wrong with it?
    14
    Daar is niks mee verkeerd nie.
    there be.PRS nothing with wrong PTCL.NEG
    There is nothing wrong with it.

    In contrast, the conjunctive structure, without the use of the provisional pronoun daar, is clear from this example:

    15
    Wat is daarmee verkeerd?
    what be.PRS PN.with wrong
    What is wrong with it?
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Lize Terblanche
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: referential R-pronounnegative R-pronoun
      Version: 1.0, May 2020
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Ernst Kotzé, Lize Terblanche May 2020
      This is a beta version.
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