Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

804 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
b. [Wie je daar ziet] is Peter.
who you there see is Peter
‘The person you see over there is Peter.’
b′. [Wat je daar zegt] klopt niet.
what you there say is.correct not
‘What you are saying there is false.’
c. ? [Wie je dat geeft] wordt een gelukkig mens.
who you that give becomes a lucky person
‘The person you give that to will be a lucky person.’
As is discussed in Section 3.3.2.2.1, the use of W-pronouns is subject to several
constraints when the antecedent is overtly realized. However, in this context wie can
readily be used as the complement of a preposition. The pronoun wat, on the other
hand, cannot be used in this position: the next subsection will show that it triggers
R-pronominalization, just like the referential pronoun het.
(368) a. De man [op wie ik wacht] is Peter.
the man for whom I wait is Peter
‘The man for whom I am waiting is Peter.’
b. *De tekening [naar wat ik kijk] is erg mooi.
the drawing at what I look is very beautiful
Intended meaning: ‘The drawing I am looking at is very beautiful.’
III. The R-pronoun waar + P
The °R-pronoun waar is typically used as the complement of a preposition. The
pronoun is not sensitive to the nominal features of the antecedent, and can be used
both with human and non-human antecedents. This means that example (368a)
freely alternates with the form in (369a), despite normative pressure in favor of the
former variant. The grammatical counterpart of example (368b) is the one in (369b).
R-pronominalization is possible both with PP-complements of the verb and with
certain adverbial PPs; examples of the latter can be found in Section 3.3.2.2.1.
(369) a. De man [waar ik op wacht] is Peter.
the man where I for wait is Peter
‘The man I am waiting for is Peter.’
b. De tekening [waar ik naar kijk] is erg mooi.
the drawing where I at look is very beautiful
‘The drawing I am looking at is very beautiful.’
IV. Conclusion
The previous subsections have shown that the relative pronouns in (364) can be
used as arguments of the verb, and should hence be considered personal pronouns.
This does not mean, however, that they can occur in all positions. We have seen that
there are several additional constraints that regulate their distribution. A more
extensive discussion of these relative pronouns can be found in Section 3.3.2.2.1.