- Dutch1
- 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
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- 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
There are also infinitives which do not allow their object to be lexicalised, but they do not allow it to be raised or controlled either. This automatically means that these infinitives must be intransitive. An example is given below:
Dät | wie | nakend | in | ’t | Woater | wieren | tou | swimmen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
that | we | nude | in | the | water | were | to | swim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That we were nude, swimming in the water. |
It is not possible to construct a similar example with a transitive verb. It seems that the to-infinitive is incapable of lexicalising its object. In fact, it is not possible either to construct examples with PPs or modifiers. This suggests that the to-infinitive lacks a middle field, and this seems to be generally the case when the verb of being selects a to-infinitive or a progressive (an adpositional neuter infinitive). The reduced to-infinitival constituent functions as a selected adverbial denoting a purpose or a co-occurring activity, providing a further specification of the event described in the superordinate clause. The subject of the infinitive is controlled by the subject of the tensed verb, an instance of the verb of being. The reduced to-infinitive is placed after the verb cluster, where independent to-infinitival clauses are also found. Selected to-infinitives are usually found to the left of the selecting verb, if they have a merged middle field (clause union). Apart from reduced infinitives of purpose, there are also full infinitives of purpose, which are likewise found to the right of the governing verb.
This is discussed in more detail in the sections below.
Consider the following example:
Dät | ze | in | Tuun | geen | tou | juden. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
that | she | in | garden | went | to | weed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
That she went into the garden to weed. |
The infinitival verb is intransitive, and it follows the verb cluster. It is not accompanied by an object, not by any other element. Again this suggests there is no middle field at all. The subject of the adverbial infinitive is controlled by the subject of the auxiliary verb, the verb of going. The infinitive may be semantically classified as an infinitive of purpose. Although it is referred to as an adverbial, it seems to have a close relation to the verb of the main clause. This may be due to the fact that the infinitive denotes the end point of the action of going, not in the realm of geography but in the realm of intentions, and those two are interrelated. The two examples we have seen so far involve an auxiliary of location and an infinitive of activity, and the two are causally related: people are in the location because of the activity. We could consider viewing this as an example of locative control. Consider next the following example:
Iek | wol | dän | Kat | hier | nit | aaltied | häbe | tou | snoupen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I | want | the | cat | here | not | always | have | to | snack | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I don’t want to always have the cat here snacking. |
The main clause auxiliary is again used to denote a location, as is further evidenced by the use of the locational adverb. The to-infinitive is again bare, unaccompanied by any further material. It is an intransitive verb of activity. So again we note that the construction involves a relation between an auxiliary denoting a location and an infinitive denoting an activity, which is causally related to the location. The following examples likewise conform to this pattern:
Ake | sien | Oolden | saanten | do | bee | allenich | ätter | ’n | Stuk | tou | mjoon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ake | his | parents | sent | the | both | alone | to | a | pasture | to | mow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ake's parents sent the two alone to a pasture to mow. |
Un | wan | der | wäkke | wieren | tou | fertällen, | dan | ... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
and | when | there | which | were | to | tell | then | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
And when there were some to tell, then .... |
Is | hie | dan | ätter | Huus | kemen | tou | ieten? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
is | he | then | to | home | come | to | eat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did he then come home to eat? |
The context of the last example is story-telling of a type which frightened the children. We find the same type of to-infinitives with the auxiliary of sitting, which refers to body posture but it also has aspectual overtones, more specifically, it functions as a sort of progressive. Some examples are given below:
Wäl | dood | waas, | deer | blieuwen | ze | immer | bie | sitten | tou | woakjen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
who | dead | was | R | stayed | they | always | at | sit | to | death.watch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If anybody died, they always stayed sitting next to them for a deathwatch. |
Do | siet | deer | an dät | Ouger | ’n | oold | Wieuw | tou | spinnen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
then | sat | there | at the | waterside | an | old | woman | to | spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There was an old woman sitting near the waterside spinning. |
Wan | wie | nit | hier | sitte | wollen | tou | triljen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
if | we | not | here | sit | want | to | shiver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
If we don't want to sit here shivering. |
The aspectual verb of body posture has been put in boldface. The examples make it clear that the auxiliary verb of sitting describes a body posture, on the one hand, and an ongoing activity, on the other hand. As a result, it is also a marker of progressive aspect. The adjunct infinitive is on the one hand an infinitive of purpose. On the other hand, it is a complement of the auxiliary as far as its progressive aspect is concerned. The construction seems to be an instance of an intermediary stage in grammaticalisation, which helps us to understand its ambiguous nature. It is quite another thing how this linguistic intuition about this construction can be formalised. In any case, it shows that the structure of language is richer beyond what linguists usually imagine. The examples also fit the pattern we have observed: the to-infinitive is not accompanied by an object, nor by any other material. It is placed to the right of the verb clusters, which is only visible in case there is a verb cluster.
Now, we expect that transitive verbs could enter this construction, in case the object could be licensed in some other way. Apparently, the construction does not allow raising of the direct object of the to-infinitive. However, objects can also be produced in the morphological component by compounding. This process is also referred to as noun incorporation in the generative literature. As a matter of fact, Saterland Frisian also allows of noun incorporation. This makes it possible for a transitive verb to occur in this construction, for the verb will be intransitive after the object noun has been incorporated. Put differently, the direct object is not expressed in the syntax (since there is no middle field), so it is expressed in the morphological component instead. And we do find indeed examples of incorporation in this construction:
Bit | du | mäd | mie | fierst | tou | Ho-hoaljen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
until | you | with | me | go | to | hay-get | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Until you go with me to fetch hay. |
Here the direct object of the infinitival verb is realised in the morphological component. As a result it is found to the right of the infinitival marker tou ‘to’, forming a compound with the infinitival verb. If the object were realised in the syntax, it would have to occur in the middle field, to the left of the infinitival marker tou ‘to’. The example makes it clear that there can be no direct object in this construction in the syntax, presumably because this type of infinitival verb lacks a middle field alltogether.
There are also some examples which do not fit the semantic pattern of location-activity, although they likewise seem to involve a reduced infinitival constituent functioning as an adverbial of purpose. An example is given below
Swich’ | stil | tou | kwäteljen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
be.silent | still | to | chattering | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Be silent you chattering. |
The example involves the co-occurrence of a command and a comment. There is a clear clausal connection between the command and the comment, but there is no locative connection, so a different construction may be involved. The following example is also different:
Do | wieren | sukke | Tärphugele | tou | kostspielich | antouläzen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
then | were | such | mound.heights | to | expensive | to.to.lie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Then it was too expensive to create such mounds. |
Here the object of the infinitival clause is lexicalised as the subject of the auxiliary. The subject of the auxiliary gets its thematic role and interpretation from the AP. Hence this example must be analysed as a case of object to subject raising mediated by the functional head of excessive degree, which takes the AP as its complement. This is further in keeping with the fact that there is a particle present in the middle field of the infinitival clause, so to the left of the infinitival marker. In reduced infinitives of purpose, no lexical material may be present apart from the infinitive itself, for there is no middle field with reduced infinitives of purpose. A particle (a selected bare adposition) can only be present in a reduced infinitive if it is incorporated, like an object, and in that case it will be found to the right of the infinitival marker, forming a compound with the verb.
Full infinitival clauses of purpose could in the past be introduced by the complementiser uum ‘for’. This use is not reported in Fort’s dictionary, which could be taken as an indication that it is becoming obsolete. This infinitival complementiser is quite common in Dutch and West Frisian, where it is also found in selected contexts, that is, selected by verbs like besykje ‘try’ (West Frisian). In Saterland Frisian, its use is restricted to introducing an infinitival clause of purpose, that is, a non-selected infinitive. Some examples are given below:
Elk | koant | Spinnen | do | Nette | weewe | um | Fljogen | tou | fangen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
each | knows | spiders | who | webs | weave | for | flies | to | catch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Everybody knows spiders who weave webs in order to catch flies. |
Ju | Woaterspinne | spint | unner | Woater | neen | Nette | um | Fljogen | tou fangen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the | water.spider | weaves | below | water | no | webs | for | spiders | to.catch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The water spider doesn’t weave webs below water in order to catch flies. |
Deeruum | läitet | uus | man | alles | dwo, | uum | fit | tou | blieuwen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
therefore | let | us | but | all | do | for | fit | to | stay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Therefore, let us do everything in order to stay fit. |
Dät | Wucht | waas | so | äärm, | dät | ju | naan | Komer | hiede, | uum | deeroun | tou | släipen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the | girl | was | so | poor | that | she | no | room | had | to | R.in | to | sleep | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The girl was so poor that she didn’t have a room to sleep in it. |
The last example involves an infinitive of purpose which is pronominally related to the noun Komer ‘room’. This has the result that the infinitive of purpose semantically functions as a relative clause, by which it could be replaced (‘which she could sleep in”). Finally, there is a curious example from Siebs:
Hoangste, | do | bruukt | man | hier | tou | dät | Lound | tou | beoarbaidjen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
horses | them | uses | one | here | for | the | land | to | work | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Horses are used here to work the land. |
Here tou ‘to’ seems to function as the infinitival complementiser instead of uum ‘for’. But it is also possible that the sentence should be parsed differently: “horses are used for the land for working (it).” The use of the infinitival complementiser could have been been eroded in selected contexts in Saterland Frisian, since German makes little use of it. It is for this hypothesis very relevant how Low German behaves in this respect.