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    2.2.3.4.Ge-nominalizations
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    This section discusses complementation of ge-nominalizations. Subsection I will consider issues concerning the expression of the arguments of the input verb in the ge-nominalization and Subsection II will apply the adjunct/complement tests from Section 2.2.1 to the inherited arguments of the verbs in order to investigate whether these can indeed be considered complements of the derived nouns.

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    [+]  I.  Complementation

    This subsection discusses complementation of the derived ge-noun types shown in (382). Transitive verbs taking clausal complements also allow ge-nominalization: het geroep dat hij de beste is'calling that he is the best'. These clausal complements are discussed in Section 2.3.

    382
    Main types of ge-nominalization
    a. het gegiechel van de leerlingen
    intransitive verb
      the  giggling  of the students
    b. het getreiter van kinderen
    transitive verb
      the  bullying  of children
    c. het gegeef van cadeaus aan kinderen
    ditransitive verb
      the  giving  of presents  to children
    d. het gejaag op groot wild
    verbs with a PP-complement
      the  hunting  on big game
    e. ?? dat gekarakteriseer van zijn werk als banaal
    verbs with a complementive
      that  characterizing  of his work  as banal
    [+]  A.  Ge-nominalizations derived from intransitive verbs

    Example (383a) shows that the agent argument of an intransitive ge-nominalization appears postnominally as a van-PP; the use of an agentive door-phrase is highly questionable. The agent can also appear prenominally in the form of a possessive pronoun or genitive noun phrase, as in (383b). That the postnominal van-PP and the prenominal genitive form both express the agent argument is shown by the fact illustrated in (383c) that they cannot co-occur. The agent is normally obligatorily present: only in generic sentence like (383d) can it be left unexpressed; see Section 2.2.1, sub IIB1, for implicit arguments.

    383
    a. Het gegiechel van/*?door de leerlingenAgent verstoorde de les.
      the giggling  of/by the students  disrupted  the class
    b. Hun/Maries gegiechel verstoorde de les.
      their/Marieʼs giggling  disrupted  the class
    c. * Hun gegiechel van de meisjes verstoorde de les.
      their giggling  of the girls  disrupted  the class
    d. Zulk gegiechel is altijd erg irritant.
      such giggling  is always  very irritating

    In some cases the agent can be expressed by means of an attributively used relational adjective of the geographical type, like Amerikaans'American' and Russisch'Russian' in (384); cf. Section A1.3.3. This does not, however, mean that this adjective is to be interpreted as the inherited agent argument of the verbs huichelen'to feign' and blunderen'to blunder'; it may simply have the non-agentive interpretation as in, e.g., de Amerikaanse dollar'the American dollar', and allow the agent argument to remain unexpressed by making it contextually recoverable.

    384
    a. dat Amerikaanse gehuichel
      that  American  feigning
      'this American hypocrisy'
    b. dat Russische geblunder
      that  Russian  blundering
    [+]  B.  Ge-nominalizations derived from unaccusative verbs

    Unaccusative verbs cannot be used as input for ge-nominalization; cf. Section 1.3.1.4, sub IV.

    [+]  C.  Ge-nominalizations derived from monotransitive verbs

    Where the ge-nominalization is based on a transitive verb, three situations can be distinguished: one in which only the theme argument is expressed, one in which both arguments are expressed, and one in which only the agent is expressed.

    [+]  1.  Ge-nominalizations with only the theme argument expressed

    The agentive door-PP can readily be left unexpressed. The examples in (385) show that in this case the theme argument may surface as a postnominal van-PP.

    385
    a. Aan het gediscrimineer van ouderenTheme moet een einde komen.
      to the discriminating  of elderly  must  an end  come
      'The discriminating against elderly people should be stopped.'
    b. Dat getreiter van JanTheme is onaanvaardbaar.
      that bullying  of Jan  is unacceptable

    Ge-nominalizations differ from inf-nominalizations in that they do not allow their theme argument to appear pronominally as a noun phrase, and from ing-nominalizations in that they cannot take their theme argument in the form of a possessive pronoun or genitive noun phrase. These characteristics are illustrated in, respectively, (386) and (387).

    386
    a. * HunTheme gediscrimineer moet stoppen.
      their discriminating  must  stop
    b. * JansTheme getreiter is onaanvaardbaar.
      Janʼs bullying  is unacceptable
    387
    a. * Het (deze) kinderenTheme getreiter is onaanvaardbaar.
      the  these children  bullying  is unacceptable
    b. * Dat boekenTheme gekopieer is illegaal.
      that  books  copying  is illegal

    In the case of a nonspecific theme, incorporation may sometimes be the preferred form of expression, as in example (388) with the incorporated theme boe'boo'.

    388
    a. Een luid boe-geroep klonk door de zaal.
      a loud boo-shouting  sounded  through the room
      'A loud booing sounded through the room.'
    b. ? Een luid geroep van “boe” klonk door de zaal.
      a loud shouting  of boo  sounded  through the room
    [+]  2.  Ge-nominalizations with both the agent and the theme argument expressed

    There are two ways of simultaneously expressing the agent and the theme argument. The first option is illustrated by (389) and involves adding the agent in the form of a postnominal door-PP. This door-PP typically follows the van-PP, although (389b') shows that extraction of heavy theme PPs is possible.

    389
    a. Het getreiter van peutersTheme door grote jongensAgent is onaanvaardbaar.
      the bullying  of toddlers  by big boys  is unacceptable
    a'. *? Het getreiter door grote jongensAgent van peutersTheme is onaanvaardbaar.
    b. Dat gekopieer van deze boekenTheme door studentenAgent is illegaal.
      that copying  of these books  by students  is illegal
    b'. Dat gekopieer door studentenAg van die boeken op de leeslijstTh is illegaal.
      that copying  by students  of those books on the reading list  is illegal
      'That copying by students of those books that are on the reading list is illegal.'

    The second option is illustrated by the examples in (390a&b) and involves the addition of the agent in the form of a genitive noun phrase or a possessive pronoun. We have already seen that the theme argument cannot be realized in this way, as is illustrated again by the unacceptability of the primed examples.

    390
    a. Jans/ZijnAgent getreiter van de kinderenTheme is onaanvaardbaar.
      Janʼs/his  bullying  of the children  is unacceptable
    a'. * HunTheme getreiter door JanAgent is onaanvaardbaar.
      their  bullying  by Jan  is unacceptable
    b. PetersAgent gediscrimineer van ouderenTheme moet stoppen.
      Peterʼs  discriminating  of elderly  must stop
      'Peterʼs discriminating against elderly people should be stopped.'
    b'. * HunTheme gediscrimineer door PeterAgent moet stoppen.
      their  discriminating  by Peter  must stop

    The fact illustrated by (391) that the postnominal door-PP and the prenominal genitive noun phrase or possessive pronoun cannot be used simultaneously shows that they indeed both refer to the agent argument of the input verb.

    391
    a. * Hun getreiter van peutersTheme door grote jongensAgent is onaanvaardbaar.
      their bullying  of toddlers  by big boys  is unacceptable
    b. * Zijn gediscrimineer van ouderenTheme door Peter moet stoppen.
      his  discriminating  of elderly  by Peter  must stop

          Transitive verbs that denote a telic, homogeneous action (accomplishments) are normally not allowed as input for ge-nominalization. Examples that show this are given in (392): that the verbs schrijven'write' and repeteren'rehearse' in the primeless examples are indeed accomplishments is clear from the fact that adding an adverbial phrase of frequency like elke dag gives rise to a marked result at best.

    392
    a. Hij schrijft het boek (*elke dag).
      he  writes  the book   every day
    a'. * zijn geschrijf van dat boekTheme
      his  writing  of that book
    b. Zij repeteren het toneelstuk (?elke dag).
      the  rehearse  the play   every day
    b'. * hun gerepeteer van dat toneelstukTheme
      their  rehearsing  of that play

    The verbs schrijven and repeteren can also be used as activity verbs denoting a non-telic action, in which case the theme argument appears as a PP. The verbal construction then refers to an instance out of a series of related events, which is clear from the fact that in these cases an adverbial phrase of frequency can be used, and now ge-nominalization is possible.

    393
    a. Hij schrijft (elke dag) aan het boekTheme.
      he  writes  every day  on the book
    a'. zijn geschrijf aan dat boekTheme
      his  writing  on that book
      'his working on that book'
    b. Zij repeteren (elke dag) op dat toneelstukTheme.
      their  rehearsing  every day  on that play
    b'. hun gerepeteer op dat toneelstukTheme
      their  rehearsing  on that play

    The transitive form of the verb schrijven is also non-telic if it takes a nonspecific theme, as in (394a). Ge-nominalization with expression of the theme as a van-PP is possible in this case.

    394
    a. Hij schrijft goedkope romannetjes.
      he  writes  cheap romances
    b. Het geschrijf van goedkope romannetjesTheme was onbevredigend.
      the  writing  of cheap romances  was unsatisfactory

          As in the case of ge-nouns derived from intransitive verbs, the agent can occasionally be expressed by a relational adjective, as in (395a&b), in which geographical adjectives such as Nederlands'Dutch' and Frans'French' refer to the agent of the input verb. Again, this does not imply that the adjective must be interpreted as the inherited agent argument of the input verb; it may have the same non-agentive interpretation as in, e.g., het Nederlandse parlement'the Dutch parliament', and allow the agent argument to remain unexpressed by making it contextually recoverable. Observe that the relational adjective cannot express the semantic role of theme; cf. (395b').

    395
    a. het NederlandseAgent geloos van giftig afval in de Maas
      the Dutch  dumping  of toxic waste  in the Maas
    b. het FranseAgent gekleineer van Nederland
      the French  belittling  of the.Netherlands
    b'. * het NederlandseTheme gekleineer door Frankrijk
      the Dutch  belittling  by France
    [+]  3.  Ge-nominalizations with only the agent argument expressed

    The theme normally can only be left unexpressed in generic contexts. This means that ge-nominalization of the form het getreiter van NP may be ambiguous between a reading in which the van-PP has the role of the theme and a reading in which this PP has the role of agent; cf. (396). Taken out of context, the default interpretation is the one with the van-PP as the theme. The theme can of course also be left out if the input verb can be used as a pseudo-intransitive. This is illustrated in (397).

    396
    a. Het getreiter van die kleine kinderenTheme is onaanvaardbaar.
      the bullying  of those little children  is unacceptable
    b. Het getreiter van die grote jongensAgent is kinderachtig.
      the bullying  of those big boys  is childish
    397
    a. Jan rookt.
      Jan smokes
    b. dat gerook van JanAgent irriteert me.
      that  smoking  of Jan  annoys  me
    [+]  D.  Ge-nominalizations derived from ditransitive verbs

    The number of triadic ge-nominalizations is fairly restricted, as many ditransitive verbs (like uitreiken'to present', overdragen'to transfer/hand over', overhandigen'to hand over/deliver' and verschaffen'to provide') are prefixed and as such excluded from ge-nominalization: *geuitgereik; *geoverdraag; *geoverhandig. However, ge-nouns can be derived from ditransitive verbs like geven'to give', doneren'to donate' etc. It is possible for such ge-nominalizations to occur with all three arguments expressed, although such occurrences are very rare in actual practice. More often one (typically the agent) or two (agent and recipient) of the arguments are left unexpressed; in generic contexts none of the arguments need be expressed, as, for instance, in example (398). In the following subsections, we will consider those cases in which at least one argument appears.

    398
    Al dat gedoneer is natuurlijk bijzonder goed voor ons imago.
      all that donating  is naturally  extremely good  for our image
    [+]  1.  Ge-nominalizations with the theme argument expressed

    The theme argument of ge-nominalizations based on ditransitive verbs can only take the form of a postnominal van-PP; as in the case of ge-nominalizations derived from transitive verbs, the prenominal position is not available for themes; cf. example (390).

    399
    a. Het gegeef van cadeausTheme op 5 december is een leuke traditie.
      the  giving  of presents  on 5 December  is an old tradition
    b. Dat gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme is een dure gewoonte.
      that  donating  of large sums  is an expensive habit
    [+]  2.  Ge-nominalizations with the agent and the theme argument expressed

    The examples in (400a&b) show that the agent argument can be added either in the form of a postnominal door-PP or in the form of a prenominal genitive noun phrase or possessive pronoun. The theme argument always takes the form of a postnominal van-PP. The agentive door-PP normally follows the theme; it can only occur between the head noun and theme argument with a “heavy” theme PP; cf. (400a').

    400
    a. ? Het gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme door multinationalsAgent is onderzocht.
      the  donating  of large sums  by multinationals  has.been  examined
    a'. Het gedoneer door multinationalsAgent van bedragen boven de € 100.000Theme is onderzocht.
      the  donating  by multinationals  of sums over  the € 100,000  has.been  examined
    b. Peters/ZijnAgent gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme is onderzocht.
      Peters/his  donating  of large sums  has.been  examined
    [+]  3.  Ge-nominalizations with the theme and the recipient argument expressed

    The recipient argument always takes the form of a postnominal aan-PP, which normally follows the theme; the reverse order in (401b), with the recipient aan-PP preceding the theme, is only possible with “heavy” theme arguments.

    401
    a. Het gedoneer van grote bedragenTh aan goede doelenRec is onderzocht.
      the  donating  of large sums  to good ends  has.been examined
      'The donating of large sums to good causes will be examined.'
    b. Het gedoneer aan goede doelenRec van bedragen boven de € 100.000Theme is onderzocht.
      the donating  to good ends  of sums over the € 100,000  has-been  examined
    [+]  4.  Ge-nominalizations with all three arguments expressed

    It is possible to express all three arguments, although the result is rather forced and will rarely be encountered even in formal language use. Example (402) gives all the relevant constructions in order of decreasing acceptability: the preferred order is that in which the theme is closest to the head, followed by the recipient and the agent, as in (402a); reversing the order of recipient and agent, as in (402b), is possible; reversing the order of theme and recipient, as in (402c), gives rise to a marked result; all other orders are severely degraded.

    402
    a. het gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme aan goede doelenRec door multinationalsAgent
      the donating  of large sums  to good ends  by multinationals
      'the donating of large sums to good causes by multinationals'
    b. het gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme door multinationalsAgent aan goede doelenRec
    c. ?? het gedoneer aan goede doelenRec van grote bedragenTheme door multinationalsAgent
    d. * het gedoneer aan goede doelenRec door multinationalsAgent van grote bedragenTheme
    e. * het gedoneer door multinationalsAgent van grote bedragenTheme aan goede doelenRec
    f. * het gedoneer door multinationalsAgent aan goede doelenRec van grote bedragenTheme

    As shown in example (403), the agent (but not the theme or recipient) can also take the form of a prenominal genitive noun phrase or possessive pronoun.

    403
    a. hun/UnileversAgent gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme aan goede doelenRec
      their/Unileverʼs  donating  of large sums  to good ends
      'their/Unileverʼs donating of large sums to good causes'
    b. * hunTheme gedoneer aan goede doelenRec door multinationalsAgent
      their  donating  to good ends  by multinationals
    c. * hunRec gedoneer van grote bedragenTheme door multinationalsAgent
      their  donating  of large sums  by multinationals
    [+]  E.  Ge-nominalizations of verbs with prepositional arguments

    ge-nominalizations can also inherit PP-themes from verbs like jagen op'to hunt for' and zoeken naar'to search for'. This is shown for the ge-noun gejaag in (404a), which inherits the preposition selected by the base verb jagen. The agent can be realized postnominally either as a door- or as a van-PP, and prenominally as a genitive noun phrase or possessive pronoun. The agent can also be expressed by means of a relational adjective like Noors'Norwegian'.

    404
    a. Het gejaag op groot wildTheme door/van adellijke herenAgent is verachtelijk.
      the hunting  on big game  by/of noble gentlemen  is despicable
      'The hunting of big game by noble gentlemen is despicable.'
    b. HunAgent gejaag op groot wildTheme is verachtelijk.
      their  hunting  on big game  is despicable
    c. Het Noorse gejaag op walvissenTheme is verachtelijk.
      the  Norwegian  hunting  on whales  is despicable
    [+]  F.  Ge-nominalizations of verbs taking a complementive

    Like ing-nominalizations, ge-nominalizations do not accept as input constructions involving a complementive adjective. This is illustrated by the examples in (405), which show that these constructions are unacceptable regardless of the position (post- or prenominal) of the predicate.

    405
    a. De regering acht inmenging ongewenst.
      the government  deems  intervention  undesirable
    a'. * Het <ongewenst> geacht van inmenging <ongewenst> verraste ons niet.
      the   undesirable  deeming  of intervention  surprised us not
    b. Zij noemt alle mensen dom.
      she  calls  all people  stupid
    b'. * Haar <dom> genoem van alle mensen <dom> lost niets op.
      her  stupid  calling  of all people  solves  nothing  prt.

    If the complementive is introduced by a preposition like tot or als, the ge-nominalization is marked but still more or less acceptable if the complementive occurs postnominally. This is illustrated in examples (406a&b).

    406
    a. Het <*tot keizer> gekroon van mensen <?tot keizer> is uit de tijd.
      the     to emperor  crowning  of people  is out the time
      'The crowning of people emperor is out-of-date.'
    <
    b. Peters <*als geniaal> gekarakteriseer van haar werk <??als geniaal> begint me te vervelen.