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    Complementation of the PP
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    Depending on the position (or presence) of the complement, four types of adpositions can be distinguished.

    • Adpositions taking a complement on the right – prepositions
    • Adpositions taking a complement on the left – postpositions
    • Adpositions occurring in tandem, one preceding and one following the complement – circumpositions
    • Adpositions which occur without complements – intransitive adpositions

    In the following section, these categories are dealt with in turn.

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    Prepositions
    The first type of adposition, prepositions, takes a complement on the right. Prepositions can take complements that are noun phrases (NP), clauses or adposition phrases (PP). An example of a complement of the category NP (in square brackets) is given below:

    1
    in [die tuin]
    in the garden
    in the garden

    Group adpositions form a category composed of a preposition, followed by a set complement, and another prepositional phrase in which the complement (typically a noun or adverb) represents a variable element. In the example below, the group adposition phrase is marked by square brackets:

    2
    a. Jy kan hierdie databasis [aan die hand van 'n aantal indekse] deursoek.
    you can.AUX.MOD this database [at the hand of a number indices] search
    You can search this database on the basis of a number of indices.
    VivA-KPO (adapted)

    The two prepositions (aan at and van of) are each followed by a NP (die hand the hand and 'n aantal indekse a number of indices), respectively.

    Postpositions
    A second type of adposition, postpositions, take a complement on the left. Postpositions generally take noun phrases or adverbial phrases as complements. Postpositions may denote a relation, as in the case of prepositions, or locality. Two examples have been given below, in which the complement has been bracketed:

    3
    a. [die inflasionêre toestande] ten spyt
    [the inflationary conditions] at.the spite
    despite the inflationary conditions
    b. [Kaap se kant] toe
    [Cape PTCL.GEN side] to
    in the direction of Cape Town

    Circumpositions
    Two adpositions may occur simultaneously, one in front of and another after the complement, which are mostly adverbs or noun phrases. Since they in fact surround the complement, they are called circumpositions. Examples of circumpositions, accentuated, with the complement in square brackets, are the following:

    4
    van [nou] af
    from [now ] off
    from now on

    As in the previous example, circumpositional phrases may be semantically denotative. This is also the case in the next example, in which the complement is a noun phrase:

    5
    onderhandelings wat van [verlede maand] af aan die gang is
    negotiations that.REL from [last month] of on the course be.PRS
    negotiations which have been conducted since last month

    However, a number of circumpositional phrases represent idiomatic expressions, as in this example:

    6
    Op [die oog] af lyk dinge nog kalm.
    on [the eye] off look things still calm
    From all appearances, things still seem to be calm.

    Intransitive adpositions
    Lastly, there are adpositions which apparently do not take a complement, also called intransitive adpositions. In Afrikaans, certain prepositions have an isomorphic equivalent in the form of an adverb, as in the following two examples, in which the preposition bo above occurs in (7a), and the adverb in (7b).

    7
    a. Die son is bo [die horison].
    the sun be.PRS above [the horison]
    The sun is above the horizon.
    b. Die son is bo.
    the sun be.PRS above
    The sun is above.

    This phenomenon is particularly evident in phrasal verbs, for example verby+skiet to shoot past. The adverbial use of verby past is illustrated firstly in (8a), followed by the prepositional use of the word in (8b), which is complemented by the NP.

    8
    a. Etlike motors skiet verby.
    Several cars shoot past.
    b. Die vliegtuig skiet verby [die aanloopbaan].
    The airplane shoots past the runway.

    In the following sections, the various structural types of PP complements will be dealt with:

    extra
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    Group adposition constructions

    Group adpositions, also referred to as multi-word prepositions (see discussion in Prepositions) can be analysed into a prepositional phrase, which consists of a preposition plus a fixed complement, and another prepositional phrase in which the complement (typically a noun or adverb) represents a variable element.

    In the table below, a number of group adpositions, accentuated, are listed:

    Table 1
    Group adposition phrase Translation
    aan die hand van die voorbeelde on the basis of the examples
    aan weerskante van die spoorlyn on both sides of the railway line
    by gebrek aan iets beters for lack of something better
    by wyse van 'n voorstel by way of a proposal
    deur middel van kort kursusse by means of short courses
    in aansluiting by jou voorstel further to your proposal
    in antwoord op sy vraag in answer to his question
    in die lig van die jongste ooreenkoms in (the) light of the latest agreement
    in oorleg met die bestuur in consultation with management
    in plaas van 'n vakansie instead of a vacation
    in samewerking met die plaaslike bevolking in collaboration with the local population
    in stede van 'n wins instead of a profit
    in terme van hierdie besluit in terms of this decision
    in verband met hierdie saak in connection with this matter
    in vergelyking met sy vorige publikasie in comparison to his previous publication
    in weerwil van die ondergrawery nothwithstanding the subversion
    met behulp van 'n yspik with the help of an ice pick
    met betrekking tot my opdrag with reference to my instruction
    met verwysing na die ongeluksyfer with reference to the accident toll
    na aanleiding van sy vorige aansoek arising from his previous application
    na gelang van omstandighede in accordance with circumstances
    op grond van goeie gedrag on the grounds of good behaviour
    op krag van 'n amptelike dokument on the strength of an official document
    te midde van die rumoer in the midst of (amid) the noise
    ten bate van die Suiderkruisfonds on behalf of the Southern Cross Fund
    ten behoewe van die kinderhospitaal on behalf of the children’s hospital
    ten gevolge van hulle versuim as a result of their neglect
    ten grondslag van die hele skema at the basis of the whole scheme
    ten gunste van die beskuldigde in favour of the accused
    ten koste van sy gesondheid at the expense of his health
    ten nadele van sy gesin to the detriment of his family
    ten opsigte van hierdie saak with regard to this matter
    ten spyte van al sy pogings in spite of all his attempts
    ten tye van die vertoning at the time of the performance
    ter wille van beter verhoudings for the sake of beter relations
    uit hoofde van sy posisie as direkteur by virtue of his position as director

    In a restricted number of cases, the second component can be omitted when the complement is not relevant, resulting in a simplex PP:

    i
    a. Ons doen dit uit verset teen die voorgestelde wetgewing.
    we do it out resistance against the proposed legislation
    We are doing it in resistance to the proposed legislation.
    b. Ons doen dit uit verset.
    we do it out resistance
    We are doing it by way of resistance.

    An interesting contrast is that between the group adposition phrase ter wille van hom for his sake and the reduced form (without the second PP) ter wille, as illustrated below:

    ii
    a. Sy het dit ter wille van hom gedoen.
    she have.AUX it for.the sake of him do.PST
    She did it for his sake.
    b. om hom ter wille te wees
    for.COMP him for.the sake PTCL.INT be.INF
    to oblige him

    In most cases, however, the adposition phrase requires a complement, as in these examples:

    iii
    a. Hy toets die hipotese by wyse van 'n eksperiment.
    he test the hypothesis by way of an experiment
    He tests the hypothesis by way of an experiment.
    b. *Hy toets die hipotese by wyse.
    he test the hypothesis by way
    *He tests the hypothesis by way of.

    In the following example, the requirement seems to be language-specific, so that, in comparison with the Afrikaans restriction, in English the omission is possible:

    iv
    a. Jy moet gesond eet in plaas van om jouself uit te honger.
    you must.AUX.MOD healthily eat in place of for.COMP yourself out PTCL.INF hunger
    You must eat healthily instead of starving yourself.
    b. *Jy moet gesond eet in plaas.
    you must.AUX.MOD healthily eat in stead
    You must eat healthily instead.

    The extent to which the first PP has either been (a) consolidated into a unit on the one hand, or (b) retain a prepositional relation with the noun complement on the other, will determine whether the relevant noun could accommodate a premodifier. Hence, in the case of (a) such expansions (in square brackets below) are possible:

    Table 2
    Expanded complement Translation
    in [noue] samewerking met in [close] cooperation with
    onder die [strenge] beheer van under the [strict] control of
    in [die klaarblyklike] afwesigheid van in [the obvious] absence of
    op [sterk] aandrang van at the [strong] insistence of
    deur [die vriendelike] bemiddeling van through [the friendly] instrumentality of

    Premodifiers are, however, not possible in strongly integrated PPs, alluded to in (b) above, which, although orthographically separated, form a semantic unit. In the table below, the ungrammatical insertion of premodifiers (in square brackets) are exemplified:

    Table 3
    Integrated PP With premodifier Translation
    by wyse van *by [beproefde] wyse van *by [proven] way of
    deur middel van *deur [goeie] middel van *by [good] means of
    in weerwil van *in [onteenseglike] weerwil van *in [undeniable] spite of
    op grond van *op [bewese] grond van *on the [established] grounds of
    ten grondslag van ten [vaste] grondslag van *on the [solid] foundation of
    in geval van *in [besliste] geval van *in [definite] case of
    ten behoewe van *ten [uitsluitlike] behoewe van *on the [exclusive] behalf of

    In English, univerbation (i.e. orthographic fusion) has indeed taken place in the case of instead (Afrikaans in stede van), while in certain cases, the preposition is omitted in Afrikaans colloquial speech, as in:

    v
    Plaas van môre, kan jy vandag kom.
    'stead of tomorrow can.AUX.MOD you today come
    Instead of tomorrow, you can come today.

    The separability of the first and second components of the group adposition phrase can be demonstrated by means of the insertion of sentential adverbs:

    vi
    a. ter wille dus van groter helderheid
    for.the sake hence of greater clarity
    hence, for the sake of greater clarity
    b. by gebrek egter aan 'n presedent
    by lack however at a precedent
    however, for lack of a precedent
    c. ten spyte dus van jou pogings
    in spite, therefore, of your attempts

    This can be corroborated by the presence of R-pronouns (the pronominal hier/daar here/there) between the first and second components:

    vii
    a. ter wille hiervan
    for.the sake R·of
    for the sake of this
    b. by gebrek daaraan
    by lack R·to
    for lack of that
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: adpositionadposition phraseprepositionpostpositioncircumpositiongroup adpositionintransitive adpositioncomplementphrasal verbadverb
      Version: 1.0, May 2020
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Ernst Kotzé, Adri Breed May 2020
      This is a beta version.
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