
- Dutch
- Frisian
- Afrikaans
- Dutch
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological processes
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Word stress
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Monomorphemic words
- Diachronic aspects
- Generalizations on stress placement
- Default penultimate stress
- Lexical stress
- The closed penult restriction
- Final closed syllables
- The diphthong restriction
- Superheavy syllables (SHS)
- The three-syllable window
- Segmental restrictions
- Phonetic correlates
- Stress shifts in loanwords
- Quantity-sensitivity
- Secondary stress
- Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables
- Stress in complex words
- Primary stress in simplex words
- Accent & intonation
- Clitics
- Spelling
- Morphology
- Word formation
- Compounding
- Nominal compounds
- Verbal compounds
- Adjectival compounds
- Affixoids
- Coordinative compounds
- Synthetic compounds
- Reduplicative compounds
- Phrase-based compounds
- Elative compounds
- Exocentric compounds
- Linking elements
- Separable complex verbs (SCVs)
- Gapping of complex words
- Particle verbs
- Copulative compounds
- Derivation
- Numerals
- Derivation: inputs and input restrictions
- The meaning of affixes
- Non-native morphology
- Cohering and non-cohering affixes
- Prefixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixation: person nouns
- Conversion
- Pseudo-participles
- Bound forms
- Nouns
- Nominal prefixes
- Nominal suffixes
- -aal and -eel
- -aar
- -aard
- -aat
- -air
- -aris
- -ast
- Diminutives
- -dom
- -een
- -ees
- -el (nominal)
- -elaar
- -enis
- -er (nominal)
- -erd
- -erik
- -es
- -eur
- -euse
- ge...te
- -heid
- -iaan, -aan
- -ief
- -iek
- -ier
- -ier (French)
- -ière
- -iet
- -igheid
- -ij and allomorphs
- -ijn
- -in
- -ing
- -isme
- -ist
- -iteit
- -ling
- -oir
- -oot
- -rice
- -schap
- -schap (de)
- -schap (het)
- -sel
- -st
- -ster
- -t
- -tal
- -te
- -voud
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Univerbation
- Neo-classical word formation
- Construction-dependent morphology
- Morphological productivity
- Compounding
- Inflection
- Inflection and derivation
- Allomorphy
- The interface between phonology and morphology
- Word formation
- Syntax
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of verb phrases I:Argument structure
- 3 Projection of verb phrases II:Verb frame alternations
- Introduction
- 3.1. Main types
- 3.2. Alternations involving the external argument
- 3.3. Alternations of noun phrases and PPs
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.3.1.1. Dative alternation with aan-phrases (recipients)
- 3.3.1.2. Dative alternation with naar-phrases (goals)
- 3.3.1.3. Dative alternation with van-phrases (sources)
- 3.3.1.4. Dative alternation with bij-phrases (possessors)
- 3.3.1.5. Dative alternation with voor-phrases (benefactives)
- 3.3.1.6. Conclusion
- 3.3.1.7. Bibliographical notes
- 3.3.2. Accusative/PP alternations
- 3.3.3. Nominative/PP alternations
- 3.3.1. Dative/PP alternations (dative shift)
- 3.4. Some apparent cases of verb frame alternation
- 3.5. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of verb phrases IIIa:Selection of clauses/verb phrases
- 5 Projection of verb phrases IIIb:Argument and complementive clauses
- Introduction
- 5.1. Finite argument clauses
- 5.2. Infinitival argument clauses
- 5.3. Complementive clauses
- 6 Projection of verb phrases IIIc:Complements of non-main verbs
- 7 Projection of verb phrases IIId:Verb clusters
- 8 Projection of verb phrases IV: Adverbial modification
- 9 Word order in the clause I:General introduction
- 10 Word order in the clause II:Position of the finite verb (verb-first/second)
- 11 Word order in the clause III:Clause-initial position (wh-movement)
- Introduction
- 11.1. The formation of V1- and V2-clauses
- 11.2. Clause-initial position remains (phonetically) empty
- 11.3. Clause-initial position is filled
- 12 Word order in the clause IV:Postverbal field (extraposition)
- 13 Word order in the clause V: Middle field (scrambling)
- 14 Main-clause external elements
- Nouns and Noun Phrases
- 1 Characterization and classification
- 2 Projection of noun phrases I: complementation
- Introduction
- 2.1. General observations
- 2.2. Prepositional and nominal complements
- 2.3. Clausal complements
- 2.4. Bibliographical notes
- 3 Projection of noun phrases II: modification
- Introduction
- 3.1. Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers
- 3.2. Premodification
- 3.3. Postmodification
- 3.3.1. Adpositional phrases
- 3.3.2. Relative clauses
- 3.3.3. Infinitival clauses
- 3.3.4. A special case: clauses referring to a proposition
- 3.3.5. Adjectival phrases
- 3.3.6. Adverbial postmodification
- 3.4. Bibliographical notes
- 4 Projection of noun phrases III: binominal constructions
- Introduction
- 4.1. Binominal constructions without a preposition
- 4.2. Binominal constructions with a preposition
- 4.3. Bibliographical notes
- 5 Determiners: articles and pronouns
- Introduction
- 5.1. Articles
- 5.2. Pronouns
- 5.3. Bibliographical notes
- 6 Numerals and quantifiers
- 7 Pre-determiners
- Introduction
- 7.1. The universal quantifier al 'all' and its alternants
- 7.2. The pre-determiner heel 'all/whole'
- 7.3. A note on focus particles
- 7.4. Bibliographical notes
- 8 Syntactic uses of noun phrases
- Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- 2 Projection of adjective phrases I: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adjective phrases II: Modification
- 4 Projection of adjective phrases III: Comparison
- 5 Attributive use of the adjective phrase
- 6 Predicative use of the adjective phrase
- 7 The partitive genitive construction
- 8 Adverbial use of the adjective phrase
- 9 Participles and infinitives: their adjectival use
- 10 Special constructions
- Adpositions and adpositional phrases
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Introduction
- 1.1. Characterization of the category adposition
- 1.2. A formal classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3. A semantic classification of adpositional phrases
- 1.3.1. Spatial adpositions
- 1.3.2. Temporal adpositions
- 1.3.3. Non-spatial/temporal prepositions
- 1.4. Borderline cases
- 1.5. Bibliographical notes
- 2 Projection of adpositional phrases: Complementation
- 3 Projection of adpositional phrases: Modification
- 4 Syntactic uses of the adpositional phrase
- 5 R-pronominalization and R-words
- 1 Characteristics and classification
- Phonology
- Frisian
- General
- Phonology
- Segment inventory
- Phonotactics
- Phonological Processes
- Assimilation
- Vowel nasalization
- Syllabic sonorants
- Final devoicing
- Fake geminates
- Vowel hiatus resolution
- Vowel reduction introduction
- Schwa deletion
- Schwa insertion
- /r/-deletion
- d-insertion
- {s/z}-insertion
- t-deletion
- Intrusive stop formation
- Breaking
- Vowel shortening
- h-deletion
- Replacement of the glide w
- Word stress
- Clitics
- Allomorphy
- Orthography of Frisian
- Morphology
- Inflection
- Word formation
- Derivation
- Prefixation
- Infixation
- Suffixation
- Nominal suffixes
- Verbal suffixes
- Adjectival suffixes
- Adverbial suffixes
- Numeral suffixes
- Interjectional suffixes
- Onomastic suffixes
- Conversion
- Derivation
- Syntax
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Unergative and unaccusative subjects
- Evidentiality
- To-infinitival clauses
- Predication and noun incorporation
- Ellipsis
- Imperativus-pro-Infinitivo
- Expression of irrealis
- Embedded Verb Second
- Agreement
- Negation
- Nouns & Noun Phrases
- Classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Partitive noun constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Nominalised quantifiers
- Kind partitives
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Bare nominal attributions
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers and (pre)determiners
- Interrogative pronouns
- R-pronouns
- Syntactic uses
- Adjective Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification and degree quantification
- Comparison by degree
- Comparative
- Superlative
- Equative
- Attribution
- Agreement
- Attributive adjectives vs. prenominal elements
- Complex adjectives
- Noun ellipsis
- Co-occurring adjectives
- Predication
- Partitive adjective constructions
- Adverbial use
- Participles and infinitives
- Adposition Phrases
- Characteristics and classification
- Complementation
- Modification
- Intransitive adpositions
- Predication
- Preposition stranding
- Verbs and Verb Phrases
- Afrikaans
- General
- Phonology
- Afrikaans phonology
- Segment inventory
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- The diphthongised long vowels /e/, /ø/ and /o/
- The unrounded mid-front vowel /ɛ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /ɑ/
- The unrounded low-central vowel /a/
- The rounded mid-high back vowel /ɔ/
- The rounded high back vowel /u/
- The rounded and unrounded high front vowels /i/ and /y/
- The unrounded and rounded central vowels /ə/ and /œ/
- The diphthongs /əi/, /œy/ and /œu/
- Overview of Afrikaans consonants
- The bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/
- The alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/
- The velar plosives /k/ and /g/
- The bilabial nasal /m/
- The alveolar nasal /n/
- The velar nasal /ŋ/
- The trill /r/
- The lateral liquid /l/
- The alveolar fricative /s/
- The velar fricative /x/
- The labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/
- The approximants /ɦ/, /j/ and /ʋ/
- Overview of Afrikaans vowels
- Word stress
- The phonetic properties of stress
- Primary stress on monomorphemic words in Afrikaans
- Background to primary stress in monomorphemes in Afrikaans
- Overview of the Main Stress Rule of Afrikaans
- The short vowels of Afrikaans
- Long vowels in monomorphemes
- Primary stress on diphthongs in monomorphemes
- Exceptions
- Stress shifts in place names
- Stress shift towards word-final position
- Stress pattern of reduplications
- Phonological processes
- Vowel related processes
- Consonant related processes
- Homorganic glide insertion
- Phonology-morphology interface
- Phonotactics
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Afrikaans syntax
- Nouns and noun phrases
- Characteristics of the NP
- Classification of nouns
- Complementation of NPs
- Modification of NPs
- Binominal and partitive constructions
- Referential partitive constructions
- Partitive measure nouns
- Numeral partitive constructions
- Partitive question constructions
- Partitive constructions with nominalised quantifiers
- Partitive predication with prepositions
- Binominal name constructions
- Binominal genitive constructions
- Bare nominal attribution
- Articles and names
- Pronouns
- Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- Syntactic uses of the noun phrase
- Adjectives and adjective phrases
- Characteristics and classification of the AP
- Complementation of APs
- Modification and Degree Quantification of APs
- Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative degree
- Attribution of APs
- Predication of APs
- The partitive adjective construction
- Adverbial use of APs
- Participles and infinitives as adjectives
- Verbs and verb phrases
- Characterisation and classification
- Argument structure
- Verb frame alternations
- Complements of non-main verbs
- Verb clusters
- Complement clauses
- Adverbial modification
- Word order in the clause: Introduction
- Word order in the clause: position of the finite Verb
- Word order in the clause: Clause-initial position
- Word order in the clause: Extraposition and right-dislocation in the postverbal field
- Word order in the middle field
- Emphatic constructions
- Adpositions and adposition phrases
Basic Afrikaans tense forms, such as the present tense, preterite and perfect are not specifically marked for aspect though aspect may be indicated by adverbial and other additions. However, a tense form which will be referred to here as present perfect differs from other tenses in having the ability to express anteriority, e.g.
Sy is park toe met haar vriende. |
she be.AUX.PST park to.POSTP with her friends |
She has gone to the park with her friends. |
The present tense (Afrikaans presens), consisting of one or more base forms of the verb, is not specifically marked for aspect, but may be employed inter alia to express durative (progressive) (2a) or habitual (2b) aspect,e.g.
a. | Hulle speel al heeldag tennis. | ||||||||||||||
they play already all.day tennis | |||||||||||||||
They have been playing tennis all day. | |||||||||||||||
[A durative interpretation is implied by the adverbs al 'already' and heeldag 'all day long'. ] |
b. | Sy speel professioneel tennis. | ||||||||||||||
she play professionally tennis | |||||||||||||||
She plays tennis professionally. | |||||||||||||||
[The adverb professioneel 'professionally' implies repeated action. ] |
Its passive corollary, periphrastically expressed by word become plus past participle, is more markedly durative than the perfect formed by is am, is, are plus past participle. In both instances a habitual interpretation is possible.
a. | Tennis word hier gespeel. | ||||||||||||||
tennis be.AUX.PASS.PRS here play.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
Tennis is (being) played here. |
b. | Tennis is vroeër hier gespeel. | ||||||||||||||
tennis be.AUX.PASS.PST earlier here play.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
Tennis was played here in earlier times. |
The (a)-examples in (4) to (6) below are all perfect tense, expressing a simple past in the active or passive; the (b)-examples all express present tense. None of these sentences is marked for a particular aspect. In no instance a construction in an (a)-sentence is related to one in a (b)-sentence in what might be referred to as anterior or perfective aspect, in other words there is no temporal continuum between het plus past participle and het plus adjective in (4), or is plus past participle and is plus adjective in (5) and (6). In fact, as a spin-off of the regularisation of past participles Afrikaans has developed morphological – and in some cases semantic – differentiation between regularised past participles (in the (a)-sentences) and departicipial adjectives, e.g. gebreek(te)/gebroke broken, gebind(e)/gebonde bound, gesoek(te)/gesogte looked for / coveted, gewaag/gewaagd dared / daring, geseën / geseënd blessed, etc.
a. | Sy het die boeke gekoop. | ||||||||||||||
she have.AUX the books buy.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
She bought / was buying the books. |
b. | Sy het die pakkie gereed. | ||||||||||||||
she have.PRS the parcel ready | |||||||||||||||
She has the parcel ready. |
a. | Die deur is deur die opsigter gesluit. | ||||||||||||||
the door be.AUX.PASS.PST by the caretaker lock.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
The door was locked by the caretaker. |
b. | Die deur is ongelukkig gesluit; gebruik 'n ander ingang. | ||||||||||||||
the door is unfortunately locked.ADJ use.IMP an other entrance | |||||||||||||||
Unfortunately the door is locked; use another entrance. |
a. | Haar hart is gebreek deur hierdie voorval. | ||||||||||||||
her heart be.AUX.PASS.PST break.PST.PTCP by this incident | |||||||||||||||
Her heart was broken by this incident. |
b. | Sy is gebroke as gevolg daarvan. | ||||||||||||||
she is broken.hearted.ADJ as result PN.of | |||||||||||||||
She is broken-hearted as a result of it. |
As a periphrastic construction, the perfect is deictically marked as distal (simple past tense; modal counterfactuality) in relation to the present or factuality, but not aspectually in relation to the present. The perfect may however express completion, perfectivity or termination through adverbial modification (e.g. klaar already) or by means of the Aktionsart (lexical character) of the verb in question (e.g. afmaak shrug off):
a. | Sy het klaar / reeds / al oorsee gegaan. | ||||||||||||||
she have.AUX already / dito / dito overseas go.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
She has already gone overseas. |
b. | Hy het die verhaal as onwaar afgemaak. | ||||||||||||||
he have.AUX the story as untrue off.make.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
He has rejected the story as untrue. |
Sy kon gister haar enkelspeltitel verdedig. |
she can.AUX.MOD.PRT yesterday her singles.title defend.INF |
She was able to defend her singles title yesterday. |
a. | Hulle het huis toe gegaan. | ||||||||||||||
they have.AUX home to.POSTP go.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
They went home. |
b. | Hulle is huis toe / die bos in / die berg op, etc. | ||||||||||||||
they be.AUX.PST home to.POSTP / the bush in.POSTP / the mountain up.POSTP | |||||||||||||||
They have gone home / into the bush / up the mountain, etc. |
c. | Hulle het al huis toe gegaan. | ||||||||||||||
they have.AUX already home to.POSTP go.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
They have already gone home. |
(10a) below is the Dutch equivalent of (9a), and (10b) of (9b):
a. | Ze gingen naar huis. | ||||||||||||||
they go.PRT to home | |||||||||||||||
They went home. |
b. | Ze zijn naar huis / het bos in / de berg op, etc. gegaan. | ||||||||||||||
they be.AUX.PST to home / the bush in.POSTP / the mountain up.POSTP, etc. go.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
They have gone home / into the bush / up the mountain, etc. |
While (9a) expresses no more than an event or occurrence some time in the past, (9b) represents an (immediate) past still relevant to the present (‘… and that is where they presumably are right now’) and (9c) indicates an action in the past with specific reference to its completion. While in the case of the (9c) construction the link with the moment of speaking is explicitly severed, the construction in (9b) refers at the same time to a situation at the moment of speaking and the event leading up to it, or anterior (from Latin ante before) to it, and therefore as a construction closely resembles the English present perfect. (9b) would both serve as a reply to “Where have they gone?” and “Where are they?” thus maintaining a causative link between a past action and the present of the speaker.
A construction displaying anterior aspect is therefore defined here as a construction with simultaneous reference to two temporal phases of a single event. Thus while anterior aspect is explicitly present in English have plus past participle constructions (the present perfect and to a smaller or greater extent in the Dutch perfect, viz. hebben/zijn plus past participle), it only features in Afrikaans as a remnant in the is plus directional adverbial construction (with the elliptic past participle gegaan gone).
Breed (2016:75), following Comrie (1981), demonstrates how four anteriors may be formed in Afrikaans, though only distinguished through adverbial additions: (11a) (adapted) a resultative anterior, (11b) an experiential anterior, (11c) an anterior of persistent situation, and (11d) an anterior of recent past.
a. | Hy het die huis klaar gebou. | ||||||||||||||
he have.AUX the house already build.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
He has finished building the house. | |||||||||||||||
[This example evaluates the completion of an action as being still relevant to the present.] |
b. | Ek het al vantevore saam met hom gewerk. | ||||||||||||||
I have.AUX already previously together with him work.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
I have worked with him before. | |||||||||||||||
[Here the past action is associated with working experience also shared by the speaker.] |
c. | Ek en Anthony het nog altyd saamgestem. | ||||||||||||||
I and Anthony have.AUX still always together.agree.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
Anthony and I have always agreed. | |||||||||||||||
[In this example past actions testify to a continued relevance to the present.] |
d. | Haar debuutalbum, As I Am, het pas verskyn. | ||||||||||||||
her debut.album As I Am have.AUX just appear.PST.PTCP | |||||||||||||||
Her debut album, As I Am, has just appeared. | |||||||||||||||
[The past action owes its relevance to the present through its proximity in time. ] |
- Breed, A2016Aspek in Afrikaans: ’n Teoretiese beskrywing.Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe5662-80,
- Breed, A2016Aspek in Afrikaans: ’n Teoretiese beskrywing.Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe5662-80,
- Bybee, J.L., Perkins, R.D., Pagliuca, W1994The evolution of grammar: tense, aspect and modality in the languages of the worldUniversity of Chicago Press
- Comrie, Bernard1981Language universals and linguistic typologyOxford UKBlackwell
- De Villiers, M1971Die grammatika van tyd en modaliteit.Balkema
