- Dutch
- Frisian
- Saterfrisian
- Afrikaans
-
- 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
-
- 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
- Compositions
- 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
-
- General
- Morphology
- Morphology
- 1 Word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 1.1.1 Compounds and their heads
- 1.1.2 Special types of compounds
- 1.1.2.1 Affixoids
- 1.1.2.2 Coordinative compounds
- 1.1.2.3 Synthetic compounds and complex pseudo-participles
- 1.1.2.4 Reduplicative compounds
- 1.1.2.5 Phrase-based compounds
- 1.1.2.6 Elative compounds
- 1.1.2.7 Exocentric compounds
- 1.1.2.8 Linking elements
- 1.1.2.9 Separable Complex Verbs and Particle Verbs
- 1.1.2.10 Noun Incorporation Verbs
- 1.1.2.11 Gapping
- 1.2 Derivation
- 1.3 Minor patterns of word formation
- 1.1 Compounding
- 2 Inflection
- 1 Word formation
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
- 0 Introduction to the AP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of APs
- 2 Complementation of APs
- 3 Modification and degree quantification of APs
- 4 Comparison by comparative, superlative and equative
- 5 Attribution of APs
- 6 Predication of APs
- 7 The partitive adjective construction
- 8 Adverbial use of APs
- 9 Participles and infinitives as APs
- Nouns and Noun Phrases (NPs)
- 0 Introduction to the NP
- 1 Characteristics and Classification of NPs
- 2 Complementation of NPs
- 3 Modification of NPs
- 3.1 Modification of NP by Determiners and APs
- 3.2 Modification of NP by PP
- 3.3 Modification of NP by adverbial clauses
- 3.4 Modification of NP by possessors
- 3.5 Modification of NP by relative clauses
- 3.6 Modification of NP in a cleft construction
- 3.7 Free relative clauses and selected interrogative clauses
- 4 Partitive noun constructions and constructions related to them
- 4.1 The referential partitive construction
- 4.2 The partitive construction of abstract quantity
- 4.3 The numerical partitive construction
- 4.4 The partitive interrogative construction
- 4.5 Adjectival, nominal and nominalised partitive quantifiers
- 4.6 Kind partitives
- 4.7 Partitive predication with a preposition
- 4.8 Bare nominal attribution
- 5 Articles and names
- 6 Pronouns
- 7 Quantifiers, determiners and predeterminers
- 8 Interrogative pronouns
- 9 R-pronouns and the indefinite expletive
- 10 Syntactic functions of Noun Phrases
- Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases (PPs)
- 0 Introduction to the PP
- 1 Characteristics and classification of PPs
- 2 Complementation of PPs
- 3 Modification of PPs
- 4 Bare (intransitive) adpositions
- 5 Predication of PPs
- 6 Form and distribution of adpositions with respect to staticity and construction type
- 7 Adpositional complements and adverbials
- Verbs and Verb Phrases (VPs)
- 0 Introduction to the VP in Saterland Frisian
- 1 Characteristics and classification of verbs
- 2 Unergative and unaccusative subjects and the auxiliary of the perfect
- 3 Evidentiality in relation to perception and epistemicity
- 4 Types of to-infinitival constituents
- 5 Predication
- 5.1 The auxiliary of being and its selection restrictions
- 5.2 The auxiliary of going and its selection restrictions
- 5.3 The auxiliary of continuation and its selection restrictions
- 5.4 The auxiliary of coming and its selection restrictions
- 5.5 Modal auxiliaries and their selection restrictions
- 5.6 Auxiliaries of body posture and aspect and their selection restrictions
- 5.7 Transitive verbs of predication
- 5.8 The auxiliary of doing used as a semantically empty finite auxiliary
- 5.9 Supplementive predication
- 6 The verbal paradigm, irregularity and suppletion
- 7 Verb Second and the word order in main and embedded clauses
- 8 Various aspects of clause structure
- Adjectives and adjective phrases (APs)
-
- 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
Deverbal nouns prefixed with ge- (from now on: ge-nominalizations) are characterized by the fact that they inherit the denotation (namely, state of affairs) and the argument structure of the verb they are derived from. In this sense, they are not fully nominal, although, unlike inf-nominalizations, they cannot assign case to a theme and/or a recipient argument. They do, however, exhibit the verbal property of expressing durative aspect. This following subsections will discuss the form of the derived noun, its relation to the base verb and the restrictions on the derivational process. In Section 2.2.3.4, a comprehensive discussion of complementation of ge-nouns can be found.
Prefixation of a verb stem with the affix ge-, resulting in the form ge-Vstem, is a reasonably productive nominalization process. Ge-nominalizations share their denotation with the verb from which they are derived, that is, they denote states of affairs. Their verbal nature is also reflected in the fact that, like inf- and ing-nominalizations, they can be said to inherit the arguments of the base verb. Some examples are given in (160).
a. | Het | gewandel | van de patiënten | in het Vondelpark | trok | veel aandacht. | |
the | strolling | of the patients | in the Vondelpark | attracted | much attention |
b. | Het | getreiter | van peuters | door grote jongens | is ontoelaatbaar. | |
the | bullying | of toddlers | by big boys | is inadmissible | ||
'The pestering of toddlers by big boys is inadmissible.' |
As in the case of ing-nominalizations, it is important to realize that not all nouns with the prefix ge- are ge-nominalizations. Some nouns starting with ge-, although morphologically similar to true ge-nominalizations and semantically still related to the base verb, have acquired a concrete meaning, and can be interpreted as result nouns. Examples are given in (161), which refer to the result of the action of building, baking and verse-writing.
a. | gebouw | 'building' |
b. | gebak | 'cake' |
c. | gedicht | 'poem' |
Although in their prototypical use, the nouns in (161) denote concrete entities, it is still possible to use them as ge-nominalizations. Examples of both uses of the nouns gebouw and gebak are given in (162): in (162a) the concrete noun gebouw is modified by the PP-modifier op de hoek'on the corner'; in (162a'), the abstract noun is complemented by an (inherited) van-PP and can be replaced by an inf-nominalization. Similar examples are given in (162b&b').
a. | Het grote gebouw/*bouwen | op de hoek | is een bank. | |
the big building | on the corner | is a bank | ||
'The big building at the corner is a bank.' |
a'. | Er | moet | een einde | komen | aan het gebouw/bouwen | van woningen | hier. | |
there | must | an end | come | to the building/build | of houses | here | ||
'The building of houses here ought to be put to a stop.' |
b. | Het gebak | stond | op tafel. | |
the cake | stood | on the.table |
b'. | Het | ?gebak/bakken | van deze taartjes | duurde | lang. | |
the | baking/bake | of these cakesdim | took | long | ||
'The baking of these little cakes took a long time.' |
The ge-nouns in the primeless examples in (163) are fully lexicalized; their relation with the corresponding verb is no longer obvious.
a. | het geval | 'the case' |
b. | het geschil | 'the dispute' |
c. | het gewaad | 'the gown' |
The examples in (164) show that the state-of-affairs reading can be blocked by the lexicalized form in some cases, whereas in other cases it remains available.
a. | * | het geval | van de bladeren |
the falling | of the leaves |
b. | zijn geschil | van de aardappels | |
his peeling | of the potatoes |
c. | het | gewaad | door koud water | |
the | wading | through cold water |
Ge-nominalization is fully productive with verbs denoting sound emission, both by +human or +animate and by -animate entities, as is illustrated in (165). It is not hard to find more examples for each set.
a. | Humans: het gelach van de kinderen'the laughing of the children'; gebabbel'chattering', gefluister'whispering', gefluit'whistling', gegiechel'giggling', gehijg'panting', gehuil'crying', gejuich'cheering', gekuch'couching', gemopper'grumbling', geschater'roaring with laughter', geschreeuw'shouting', gezeur'nagging', gezwam'drivel', etc.Humans: het gelach van de kinderen'the laughing of the children'; gebabbel'chattering', gefluister'whispering', gefluit'whistling', gegiechel'giggling', gehijg'panting', gehuil'crying', gejuich'cheering', gekuch'couching', gemopper'grumbling', geschater'roaring with laughter', geschreeuw'shouting', gezeur'nagging', gezwam'drivel', etc. |
b. | Animals: het geloei van de koeien'the mooing of the cows'; geblaf'barking', gebrul'roaring', geloei'mooing', and gespin'purring', etc.Animals: het geloei van de koeien'the mooing of the cows'; geblaf'barking', gebrul'roaring', geloei'mooing', and gespin'purring', etc. |
c. | Inanimate entities: het gebonk van de machines'the pounding of the engines'; geronk'throbbing', gesnor'whirring', gesuis'rustling', and gezoem'buzzing', etc.Inanimate entities: het gebonk van de machines'the pounding of the engines'; geronk'throbbing', gesnor'whirring', gesuis'rustling', and gezoem'buzzing', etc. |
For the verbs in (165), too, a distinction can be made between a state-of-affairs reading, in which case we are dealing with a ge-nominalization denoting the action in question, or a result reading, in which case we are dealing with a result noun denoting the sounds resulting from the action in question. Although in many cases the difference may be hard to discern, certain contexts can have a disambiguating effect. An example is given in (166): the (a)-example involves a ge-nominalization and expresses that it is the fact that he cries that annoys me; the (b)-example involves a result noun and expresses that it is the sound of his crying that kept me awake.
a. | Zijn gehuil | om niets | irriteert | mij | mateloos. | |
his crying | for nothing | annoys | me | immensely |
b. | Zijn gehuil | hield | mij | uit mijn slaap. | |
his crying | kept | me | out my sleep |
Like inf- and ing-nominalizations, ge-nominalizations can be used in all regular NP positions. Moreover, they exhibit most of the other nominal characteristics.
Ge-nominalizations can be both indefinite and definite, allowing all kinds of definite +neuter determiners: the definite article het, the demonstratives dit/dat'this/that' and the possessive pronouns. They can also be quantified by means of elke/iedere'each/every', alle'all', veel/weinig'many/few' etc. Examples are given in (167).
a. | De vergadering | ontaardde | in een oeverloos | gepraat | over politiek. | |
the meeting | ended | in an endless | talking | about politics |
b. | Dat/Hun oeverloze gepraat | over politiek | is nogal irritant. | |
that/their endless talking | about politics | is rather irritating |
c. | Elk gepraat over politiek | is volslagen zinloos. | |
every talking about politics | is utterly pointless | ||
'All talk about politics is utterly pointless.' |
ge-nominalizations can also be preceded by interrogative determiners like welke, and (168a) shows that they can be wh-moved as a result. Example (168b) shows that they can also be topicalized.
a. | Welk gepraat over politiek | is | nu | ooit | zinvol | gebleken? | |
which talking about politics | has | prt | ever | useful | proved | ||
'What talk about politics has ever proved useful?' |
b. | Het gepraat | dat op de vergadering volgde | vond | Jan zinloos. | |
the talking | that on the meeting followed | found | Jan pointless | ||
'Jan consider the talking following the meeting pointless.' |
Pluralization of ge-nominalizations is not possible. This is, of course, not surprising, given that ge-nominalizations are substance nouns; cf. Section 1.2.2.1. The fact that some of the concrete ge-nouns and lexicalized nouns in (161) and (163) do allow pluralization merely confirms the view that these are not ge-nominalizations. Examples are, respectively, gebouw(en)'building(s)', gedicht(en)'poem(s)', and geschil(len)'dispute(s)' and gewaad/gewaden'gowns'.
Ge-nominalizations also behave like nouns with respect to adjectival modification: the fact that the adjectives prefer the suffix -e in definite constructions like (169a&b) shows that we are dealing with attributive modifiers, not with adverbial phrases. Nevertheless, the fact illustrated in the primed examples, that modification by means of adjectives expressing frequency or duration is possible, underlines the verbal quality of these nominals.
a. | het | luide/?luid | gepraat | over politiek | |
the | loud | talking | about politics |
a'. | het | oeverloze/?oeverloos | gepraat | over politiek | |
the | endless | talking | about politics |
b. | het | kinderachtige/??kinderachtig | getreiter | van kleine kinderen | |
the | childish | bullying | of little children |
b'. | het | voortdurend/??voortdurend | getreiter | van kleine kinderen | |
the | constant | bullying | of little children |
Ge-nominalization can be said to inherit the argument structure of the input verb. Apart from the change in syntactic category (from v to ge-n), the argument structure of the input verb remains unaffected by the derivational process: both the number of arguments and their thematic functions remain essentially the same. The only difference is that while the arguments of the input verb normally are obligatorily present, those of the derived noun are not. We will illustrate this in the following subsections for a number of verb types.
Example (170) provides a ge-nominalization with an intransitive input verb: both the verb wandelen'to stroll' and the ge-nominalization gewandel'strolling' have an argument structure with a position for an agent argument. As can be seen from (170b&b'), the agent can appear either postnominally as a van-PP or prenominally as a possessive pronoun or genitive noun phrase. Observe that the derived form is given the label ge-n, rather than N, in order to express the special nature of the derived noun, with its combination of nominal and verbal features.
a. | gewandelGE-N (Agent) | |
strolling |
b. | het | gewandel | van de patiëntenAgent | |
the | strolling | of the patients |
b'. | hun/PetersAgent | gewandel | |
their/Peterʼs | strolling |
Ge-nominalizations can also take a transitive verb like treiteren'to bully' as input. Despite the change in syntactic category, the argument structure of the verb is inherited in an essentially unchanged form by the derived form getreiter: both the number of arguments and their thematic functions remain the same. The verb and the derived noun do differ, however, in that the arguments are obligatorily expressed with the former, but can be left implicit with the latter. The (c)-examples in (171) further show that the theme argument of a ge-nominalization can only be realized in the form of a postnominal van-PP; it can appear neither in the form of a prenominal noun phrase (in contrast to inf-nominalizations), nor in the form of a possessive pronoun or genitive noun phrase (in contrast to er- and ing-nominalizations).
a. | getreiterGE-N (Agent, Theme) | |
bullying |
b. | JansAgent | getreiter | van peutersTheme | is onaanvaardbaar. | |
Janʼs | bullying | of toddlers | is unacceptable |
c. | * | het | peutersTheme | getreiter | van/door JanAgent |
the | toddlers | bullying | of Jan |
c'. | * | hunTheme | getreiter | door JanAgent |
their | bullying | by Jan |
The examples in (172a&b) show that ge-nominalizations of ditransitive verbs also leave the argument structure essentially unchanged, although instances of such nominalizations where all three arguments are expressed are fairly rare. The (c)-examples show that, just like the theme argument, the recipient must be expressed as a postnominal PP; it can neither be realized as a prenominal noun phrase nor as a possessive pronoun.
a. | gegeefGE-N (Agent, Theme, Recipient) | |
giving |
b. | het | gegeef | van cadeausTheme | aan kinderenRec | door SinterklaasAgent | |
the | giving | of presents | to children | by Santa Claus |
c'. | * | het | kinderenRec | cadeausTheme | gegeef | door SinterklaasAgent |
the | children | presents | giving | by Santa Claus |
c'. | * | hunRec | gegeef | van cadeausTheme | door SinterklaasAgent |
their | giving | of presents | by Santa Claus |
Unaccusative verbs cannot be the input for ge-nominalization; cf. Section 1.3.1.4, sub IV.
ge-nominalizations can be formed on the basis of verbs selecting a PP-argument. Example (173b) shows that the preposition selected by the verb is inherited by the ge-nominalization.
a. | gejaag opGE-N (Agent, Theme) | |
hunting for |
b. | JansAgent | gejaag | op groot wild | is onaanvaardbaar. | |
Janʼs | hunting | on big game | is unacceptable | ||
'Janʼs hunting of big game is unacceptable.' |
Unlike other forms of nominalization, the process of ge-nominalization may add specific aspects of meaning to the meaning of the input verb; see Tálasi (2009), who also discusses the diachronic development of this type of nominalization. Thus the result of ge-nominalization are durative substance nouns likegestaar'staring', gedraaf'running' or gepraat'talking' that expresses that the eventuality expressed by the base verb occurs frequently. In addition, such nouns often have a negative connotation—they typically express a certain amount of irritation, condescension or “unfavorable connotation” (Kruisinga 1949) on the part of the speaker. That this pejorative effect is indeed a result of the nominalization process and not due to the semantics of the base verb is illustrated in (174), where ge-nominalization has a negative effect on such neutral base verbs as praten'to talk', regelen'to regulate/arrange' and wandelen'to walk'. Note that use of the expressive demonstrative dat'that' has the effect of enhancing the negative connotation of the deverbal noun.
a. | dat | gepraat | over politiek | |
that | talking | about politics | ||
'this talk about politics' |
b. | dat | geregel | van bovenaf | |
that | regulating | from the top | ||
'this control from up-high' |
c. | dat | gewandel | van patiënten | |
that | strolling | of patients | ||
'this strolling of patients' |
Naturally, the pejorative effect cannot be detected with ge-nominalizations derived from verbs already carrying a negative meaning aspect, like jengelen'to whine', klagen'to complain', leuteren'to drivel', mekkeren'to yammer', zeuren'to nag', zwammen'to twaddle', etc.; it appears, however, that such verbs are particularly popular as input to ge-nominalizations (Mackenzie 1985a). Ge-nominalizations derived from verbs of sound emission are exceptional in that they lack this negative connotation (except for those cases in which the input verb already contains such a meaning aspect); the meaning of nouns like gefluister'whispering', gefluit'whistling', geronk'throbbing', gezoem'buzzing, humming', etc., can but need not be negatively affected by the nominalization process. For a detailed discussion of this type of nominalization.
Although a large number of verbs do allow the formation of a ge-nominalization, certain verb classes do not allow this type of nominalization. Among these are the object-experiencer verbs, the auxiliary/modal verbs, and the raising verbs, which do not allow any form of nominalization; cf. Section 1.3.1.1. In addition, there are a number of restrictions that apply specifically to ge-nominalizations.
Unaccusative verbs cannot be nominalized by means of ge-prefixation; cf., e.g., Hoekstra (1984a) and Knopper (1984). This is not only true of dyadic unaccusative (object-experiencer) verbs like ontgaan'to escape', bevallen'to please' and lukken'to succeed', but also for monadic unaccusatives. This means that the nouns in (175) are all ungrammatical.
a. | gaan | 'to go' |
a'. | *gega |
b. | komen | 'to come' |
b'. | *gekom |
c. | sterven | 'to die' |
c'. | *gesterf |
d. | vallen | 'to fall' |
d'. | *geval |
e. | zinken | 'to sink' |
e'. | *gezink |
f. | stijgen | 'to rise' |
f'. | *gestijg |
This conclusion is supported by the fact that with those motion verbs that have both an unaccusative and an intransitive use, only the latter use allows ge-nominalization. This becomes clear from the examples in (176). The verb in example (176a) can be construed as the intransitive form of the verb springen'to jump', with the PP functioning as a locational adjunct, and (176a') shows that ge-nominalization is possible. Since the postpositional phrase in (176b) must be construed as an complementive, the verb can only be interpreted as an unaccusative verb, and (176b') shows that ge-nominalization is excluded.
a. | Jan springt | op het bed. | |
Jan jumps | on the bed | ||
'Jan is jumping on the bed.' |
a'. | Jans | gespring | op het bed | |
Janʼs | jumping | on the bed |
b. | Jan springt | het bed in. | |
Jan jumps | the bed into | ||
'Jan jumps into the bed.' |
b'. | * | Jans | gespring | het bed in |
Jan | jumping | the bed into |
An exception is formed by generic contexts like (177a&b), in which it is at least marginally possible for unaccusative verbs like sterven'to die' and trouwen'to marry' to undergo ge-nominalization. In these cases, the nouns obtain an iterative meaning aspect: the primed examples are unacceptable, since they do not allow an iterative reading.
a. | ? | het | gesterf | van varkens |
the | dying | of pigs |
a'. | * | Haar | gesterf | duurde | erg lang. |
her | dying | took | very long |
b. | We | zouden | dat getrouw | op jonge leeftijd | moeten | ontmoedigen. | |
we | should | that marrying | on young age | must | discourage | ||
'We ought to discourage this marrying at a young age.' |
b'. | * | Zijn | getrouw | met mijn zus | bevalt | me niet. |
his | marrying | with my sister | pleases | me not |
The impossibility for unaccusative verbs to function as the input for ge-nominalization might be related to the fact that ge-nominalization is also disallowed with verbs denoting events that cannot be controlled by the participants in the event. As a result, verbs of expressing opinion such as menen'to think' (#gemeen), achten'to consider' (#geacht), and vinden'to consider' (*gevind) are excluded from ge-nominalization.
The same thing is true for such typically -controlled verbs as slapen'to sleep' (*geslaap), liggen'to lie' (*gelig), zitten'to sit' (*gezit), kennen'to know' (*geken), blijven'to stay' (*geblijf), weten'to know' (*geweet). It is important to realize, however, that ge-nominalization is only excluded on the regular use of these verbs. If, in a certain context, the verbs can be given a +controlled interpretation, ge-nominalization is allowed. Due to a clash between the specific meaning aspect of ge-nominalizations and the base verbs, the resulting nouns are necessarily marked and, moreover, a negative connotation is almost inevitably present. The illustrations in (178) only acceptable if the states of affairs denoted by the nouns are interpreted as controlled by a participant in the event, which is therefore typically +human.
a. | dat | geslaap/gelig | van hem | de hele dag | pejorative | |
that | sleeping/lying | of him | the whole day | |||
'this sleeping/lying of his all day long' |
a'. | * | het | gelig | van dat boek | op tafel |
the | lying | of that book | on the.table |
b. | dat | gehang | voor de televisie | pejorative | |
that | hanging | in.front.of the television | |||
'this slouching in front of the television' |
b'. | * | het gehang | van die schilderijen | aan de muur |
the hanging | of those paintings | on the wall |
Another group of verbs that is systematically excluded from ge-nominalization is that of verbs with Germanic prefixes like be-, ver-, ont-, her-, which have a participial form without the prefix ge-; cf. Schultink (1978). Historically speaking, we are dealing with the same prefix.
prefix | infinitive | ge-nominalization | past/passive participle |
be- | bespreken‘to discuss’ | *gebespreek | (*ge)besproken‘discussed’ |
ver- | verbieden‘to prohibit’ | *geverbied | (*ge)verboden‘prohibited’ |
ont- | ontkennen‘to deny’ | *geontken | (*ge)ontkend‘denied’ |
her- | herlezen‘to re-read’ | *geherlees | (*ge)herlezen‘re-read’ |
There seems to be a motivated relation between the possibility of ge-nominalization and the form of the past/passive participle: particle verbs, which do form their past participles by mean of affixation with ge-, also allow ge-nominalization, although it should be noted that the result is sometimes marked and a negative connotation is always present. Some examples are given in Table (180).
infinitive | ge-nominalization | past/passive participle |
doordrammen‘to nag/push’ | ?doorgedram‘nagging, pushing’ | doorgedramd |
uitzoeken‘to figure out’ | ??uitgezoek‘figuring out’ | uitgezocht |
aanmoedigen‘to encourage’ | ??aangemoedig‘encouraging’ | aangemoedigd |
tegensputteren‘to protest’ | tegengesputter‘protesting’ | tegengesputterd |
The same thing can be illustrated by means of verbs with non-Germanic prefixes: they also have a past/passive participle preceded by ge-, and in most cases ge-nominalization does not seem to give rise to an outright ungrammatical result in the way the ge-nouns derived from verbs with a Germanic prefix are ungrammatical. At worst, they are unusual, which is clear from the fact that the cases marked as fully acceptable in Table (181) can be readily found on the internet and that the cases marked with a single question mark do occur on the internet, but are rare. Note that the case with two question marks has not been attested, but this might be due to the fact that it belongs to a more elevated register.