Taalportaal - the digital language portal

Dutch1
Frisian
Saterfrisian
Afrikaans

Show all

Multiple temporal and locational adverbials

quickinfo

Clauses may contain more than one temporal or locational adverbial, or a combination of temporal and locational adverbials. A characteristic of temporal and locational adverbials is that they are able to modify not only a verb phrase but also an entire clause. A clause can also contain multiple temporal and/or locational adverbials, which could be divided between the functions of VP adverbial and clause adverbial. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate some of the possible divisions of function between these two types of adverbial.

The difference between a VP and a clause adverbial can be made more evident through the ordering of the adverbial before or after a typical clause adverbial such as epistemic waarskynlik probably, evidentialglo reputedly; allegedly and the negation nie not. An adverbial ordered before a clause adverbial is likely to be a clause adverbial as well, which can be tested by means of a paraphrase such as (1ai). VP adverbials, on the other hand, can be identified by including them in an agentive paraphrase, such as (1aii), or showing by means of a contingency test that their exclusion leaves the truth of the rest of the proposition unchanged. Thus in (1a) volgende jaar next year is likely to be a clause adverbial, as indicated by (1ai), with in La Scala in La Scala a VP adverbial, as indicated by (1aii). In (1b) both volgende jaar and in La Scala are VP adverbials, since the agentive test for VP adverbials applies to both, as in (1bi) and (1bii).

a.	Anna sing volgende jaar miskien in La Scala.
	Anna sing next year perhaps in La Scala
	Anna is perhaps singing in La Scala next year.

a.'	Dit is volgende jaar so dat Anna miskien in La Scala sing.
	it be.PRS next year so that.COMP Anna perhaps in La Scala sing
	It will be so next year that Anna is perhaps singing in La Scala.

a.''	Anna sing volgende jaar en sy doen dit miskien in La Scala.
	Anna sing next year and she do so perhaps in La Scala
	Anna is singing next year and she is perhaps doing so in La Scala.

b.	Anna sing miskien volgende jaar in La Scala.
	Anna sing perhaps next year in La Scala
	Anna is perhaps singing in La Scala next year.

b.'	Anna sing in La Scala en sy doen dit miskien volgende jaar.
	Anna sing in La Scala and she do so perhaps next year
	Anna is singing in La Scala and she is perhaps doing so next year.

b.''	Anna sing volgende jaar en sy doen dit miskien in La Scala.
	Anna sing next year and she do so perhaps in La Scala
	Anna is singing next year and she is perhaps doing so in La Scala.

It is also possible that more than one adverbial with the same scope can occur in a single clause, as illustrated by (2a), where both PPs are VP adverbials. Furthermore, two adverbials in a clause can be semantically similar (e.g. both locational PPs), with the one a clause adverbial and the other a VP adverbial, as the two PPs in (2b). When one adverbial is identified by another viz. by die huis at the house by langs die dam by the dam in (2c), the identified adverbial is preceded by the identifying one and not vice versa, as in (2ci). In Afrikaans a temporal adverbial conventionally precedes a locational one, as illustrated by the slight markedness of (2di).

Hulle het mekaar waarskynlik op die verkeerde tyd op die verkeerde plek ontmoet.

they have.AUX each.other probably on the wrong time on the wrong place meet.PST.PTCP

They probably met each other at the wrong time at the wrong place.

Hy is in die wêreld glo die bestein die kombuis.

he is in the world reputedly the best in the kitchen

He is reputedly the best in the kitchen in all the world.

c.	Die skat is glo by die huis langs die dam gevind.
	the treasure be.AUX.PASS.PST reputedly at the house by the dam find.PST.PTCP
	The treasure was reputedly found at the house by the dam.
	[die skat is glo [(LOC) by die huis [(LOC) langs die dam]] gevind]

c.'	*Die skat is glo langs die dam by die huis gevind.
	the treasure be.AUX.PASS.PST reputedly by the dam at the house find.PST.PTCP
	To mean: The treasure was reputedly found at the house by the dam.
	[die skat is glo [(LOC) langs die dam [(LOC) by die huis]] gevind]

d.	Ina saai môre landswyd uit.
	Ina broadcast tomorrow countrywide out
	Ina is broadcasting countrywide tomorrow.

d.'	?Ina saai landswyd môre uit.
	Ina broadcast countrywide tomorrow out
	Ina is broadcasting countrywide tomorrow.

More than one adverbial of a kind
Temporal adverbials
Locational adverbials
Temporal before locational adverbials

[+]More than one adverbial of a kind

When more than one adverbial of the same kind, for example two temporal adverbials, co-occur in the same clause and one does not modify the other, it is possible for both to be clause adverbials or VP adverbials. In (3a), both môre tomorrow and in die kunstefees in/during the art festival are clause adverbials preceding the modal dalk perhaps, as indicated by their passing the scope test for clause adverbials, cf. (3ai). In (3b) both may be interpreted as VP adverbials, as they pass the do test (cf. (3bi)) and the contingency test (cf. (3bii)).

a.	Anna sing môre in die kunstefees dalk gratis.
	Anna sing tomorrow in the art.festival perhaps free
	Anna is perhaps singing for free tomorrow at the art festival.

a.'	Dit is môre in die kunstefees so dat Anna dalk gratis sing.
	it be.PRS tomorrow in the art.festival so that.COMP Anna perhaps free sing
	It will be so at the art festival tomorrow that Anna is perhaps singing for free.

b.	Anna sing môre in die kunstefees gratis.
	Anna sing tomorrow in the art.festival free
	Anna is singing for free at the art festival tomorrow.

b.'	Anna sing gratis en sy doen dit môre in die kunstefees.
	Anna sing free and she do so tomorrow in the art.festival
	Anna is singing for free and she is doing so at the art festival tomorrow.

b.''	Anna sing môre in die kunstefees gratis = Anna sing gratis.
	Anna sing tomorrow in the art festival free = Anna sing free
	Anna is singing for free at the art festival tomorrow = Anna is singing for free.

It is also possible for one to be a clause adverbial and the other a VP adverbial. Thus in example (4a), môre tomorrow, in its position before the clause adverbial waarskynlik probably, is also a clause adverbial (see the scope test in (4ai)), while in die kunstefees in the art festival, is a VP adverbial (see the agentive test in (4aii)). In example (4b) the roles are reversed.

a.	Anna sing môre waarskynlik in die kunstefees gratis.
	Anna sing tomorrow probably in the art.festival free
	Anna is probably singing for free at the art festival tomorrow.

a.'	Dit is môre so dat Anna waarskynlik in die kunstefees gratis sing.
	it is tomorrow so that.COMP Anna probably in the art.festival free sing
	It is so tomorrow that Anna is probably singing at the art festival for free.

a.''	Anna sing môre gratis en sy doen dit waarskynlik in die kunstefees.
	Anna sing tomorrow free and she does so probably in the art festival
	Anna is singing for free tomorrow and she probably does so at the art festival.

b.	Anna sing in die kunstefees waarskynlik môre gratis.
	Anna sing in the art festival probably tomorrow free
	Anna is probably singing for free at the art festival tomorrow.

b.'	Dit is in die kunstefees so dat Anna waarskynlik môre gratis sing.
	it is in the art festival so that.COMP Anna probably tomorrow free sing
	It is so at the art festival that Anna is probably singing for free tomorrow.

b.''	Anna sing in die kunstefees gratis en sy doen dit waarskynlik môre.
	Anna sing in the art festival free and she do so probably tomorrow
	Anna is singing for free at the art festival and she is probably doing so tomorrow.

[+]Temporal adverbials

When one adverbial falls semantically within the scope of the other so that it is located within or included in the other, then the included adverbial, the time of the day, namely drieuur three o'clock, normally follows on the inclusive adverbial, i.e. the day, Sondag Sunday, as in (5a). It does however seem as though (5ai) would have a similar interpretation. When the inclusive adverbial is preposed in the clause, as in (5b), special focus or emphasis is not necessarily implied, but in the case of (5bi), with the included adverbial topicalised, a strong focus on new information is implied. When they are separated by another adverbial, as in (5c) and (5ci), the order included > inclusive is marked.

a.	Pieter tree Sondag om drieuur op.
	Pieter step Sunday at three.o'clock up
	Pieter performs on Sunday at three.

a.'	Pieter tree om drieuur Sondag op.
	Pieter step at three.o'clock Sunday up
	Pieter performs at three o'clock on Sunday.

b.	Sondag tree Pieter om drieuur op.
	Sunday step Pieter at three.o'clock up
	On Sunday Pieter is performing at three o'clock.

b.'	?Om drieuur tree Pieter Sondag op.
	at three.o'clock step Pieter Sunday up
	At three o'clock Pieter is performing on Sunday.

c.	Pieter tree Sondag dalk om drieuur op.
	Pieter step Sunday perhaps at three.o'clock up
	Pieter is perhaps performing at three o'clock on Sunday.

c.'	?Pieter tree om drieuur dalk Sondag op.
	Pieter step at three.o'clock perhaps Sunday up
	Pieter is perhaps performing at three o'clock on Sunday.

The scope test makes it clear that if one adverbial is clausal and another is a VP adverbial, the order included > inclusive is ruled out:

Dit is Sondag so dat Pieter om drieuur optree.

it is Sunday so that.COMP Pieter at three.o'clock perform

It is perhaps so on Sunday that Pieter performs at three o'clock.

?Dit is om drieuur so dat Pieter Sondag optree.

it is at three.o'clock so that.COMP Pieter Sunday perform

It is perhaps so at three o'clock that Pieter performs on Sunday.

In complex conditional sentences the protasis will contain the inclusive adverbial, with the included adverbial in the apodosis, cf.

As Pieter Sondag optree, is dit om drieuur.

that.COMP Pieter Sunday perform be.PRS it at three.o'clock

If Pieter is performing on Sunday it will be at three o'clock.

?As Pieter om drieuur optree, is dit Sondag.

if.CNJ Pieter at three.o'clock perform is it Sunday

If Pieter is performing at three o'clock it will be on Sunday.

[+]Locational adverbials

As in the case of temporal adverbials, the semantically included adverbial follows the inclusive adverbial:

Jannie tree plaaslik gereeld in Plet op.

Jannie step locally often in Plet up

Jannie often performs locally in Plet.

?Jannie tree in Plet gereeld plaaslik op.

Jannie step in Plet often locally up

Jannie often performs in Plet locally.

As in the case of temporal adverbials, the protasis will contain the inclusive adverbial, with the included adverbial in the apodosis, cf.

As Pieter in Nederland optree, tree hy graag in Amsterdamop.

if.CNJ Pieter in Holland up.step step he preferably in Amsterdam up

If Pieter performs in Holland he preferably does so in Amsterdam.

*As Pieter in Amsterdam optree, tree hy graag in Nederland op.

if.CNJ Pieter in Amsterdam up.step step he preferably in Holland up

If Pieter performs in Amsterdam he preferably does so in Holland.

[+]Temporal before locational adverbials

It seems that temporal adverbials tend to precede locational adverbials, even if both are equally important in creating a point of reference. A previous example is repeated here, with topicalised variants added:

a.	Anna sing môre miskien in die Linder.
	Anna sing tomorrow perhaps in the Linder
	Anna is perhaps singing in the Linder tomorrow.

a.'	Môre sing Anna miskien in die Linder.
	tomorrow sing Anna perhaps in the Linder
	Tomorrow Anna is perhaps singing in the Linder.

b.	?Anna sing in die Linder miskien môre.
	Anna sing in the Linder perhaps tomorrow
	Anna is perhaps singing in the Linder tomorrow.

b.'	?In die Linder sing Anna miskien môre.
	in the Linder sing Anna perhaps tomorrow
	In the Linder Anna is perhaps singing tomorrow.

Applying the scope test for clause adverbials and the agentive test for VP adverbials suggests that the adverbials in question are VP rather than clause adverbials:

a.	?Dit is môre so dat Anna in die Linder sing.
	it be.PRS tomorrow so that.COMP Anna in the Linder sing
	It will be so tomorrow that Anna will be singing in the Linder.

a.'	Anna sing in die Linder en sy doen dit môre.
	Anna sing in the Linder and she do so tomorrow
	Anna is singing in the Linder and she is doing so tomorrow.

b.	?Dit is in die Linder so dat Anna môre sing.
	it be.PRS in the Linder so that.COMP Anna tomorrow sing
	It will be so in the Linder that Anna will sing tomorrow.

b.'	Anna sing môre en sy doen dit in die Linder.
	Anna sing tomorrow en she do so in the Linder
	Anna is singing tomorrow and she is doing so in the Linder.

It seems likely that temporal adverbials tend to precede locational adverbials, in running discourse at any rate, for pragmatic reasons. Narrative is structured in such a way that temporal sequence takes precedence, i.e. one event follows another. In contrast, discourse does not require a continuous shift in location, though that is not excluded. We therefore often find that sentences begin with temporal adverbials, not with a view to topicalising a component of the proposition but rather with the function of maintaining a discursive log of the order of events, e.g.

Gister het Marie ingepak en toe in die pad geval, en vanoggend het sy reeds in die Kaap aangekom.

yesterday have.AUX Marie in.pack.PST.PTCP and then in the road fall.PST.PTCP and this.morning have.AUX she already in the Cape at.come.PST.PTCP

Yesterday Marie packed her things and then got underway and this morning she already arrived in the Cape.

References

⇑ Back to top

About this article

Author(s): Jac Conradie

Category: Afrikaans Syntax

Keywords: agentive testapodosisclause adverbialcontingency testpragmaticprotasispragmaticscope testVP adverbial

Version: 1.0, May 2020

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Jac Conradie	May 2020

This is a beta version.

printreport errorcite

Jump to:

introduction
references
related articles