Dutch adpositions

A Dutch adposition is the root Adposition, as Broekhuis and Corver's grammar describes it, with the direction of the path a spatial use denotes in each position it takes, and with whether its complement can be replaced by an R-word such as er. A spatial use is locational or directional, and every postpositional use is directional, so op is locational in op de berg 'on the mountain' and denotes a goal path in de berg op 'up the mountain'. Every postposition but af 'off' is also a preposition, and the complement of a non-spatial preposition such as tijdens 'during' cannot be R-pronominalized.

Main definitions

• Dutch.Adposition: the entry.
• Dutch.Adpositions.inventory: the entries.

Main results

• Dutch.Adpositions.direction_post_ne_place: every postpositional use denotes a path.
• Dutch.Adpositions.pre_of_post: every postposition but af is also a preposition.
• Dutch.Adpositions.not_isSpatial_of_not_rPronoun: the adpositions that resist R-pronominalization are non-spatial.

Implementation notes

• The values an entry marks are those of the uses its docstring lists: voor marks a place, 'in front of', a time, 'before', and a beneficiary, 'for'. The spatial values are computed from the directions, by the case that expresses a direction with no localization (Case.ofDir), since the grammar does not record the localization; door marks a cause and a means besides its spatial uses, and its agent use has no comparative value. The grammar's complement types are the root's, a te-infinitive counting as a clause.
• The direction of a position records the grammar's classification of the use as locational or directional and, for a directional use, whether the complement is the endpoint, the starting point or a point on the path. The directional prepositions are the eight the grammar tests against verbs of location; door 'through', which the grammar marks as both, is recorded as locational, and over is two entries as in the grammar. The direction of a postpositional use is read off the grammar's gloss.
• A circumposition is an entry with a complex form and the circumpositional position, recorded with the direction of its directional use, since the grammar suspects that the locational uses of the circumpositions that have one are prepositional phrases with a particle.
• An entry used with its complement omitted records none among its complements, and one with no other complement is a particle; the grammar says that a particle has lost some of the spatial meaning of the adposition it is related to, and this file does not draw that line, recording only that the entry occurs without a complement.

References

• H. Broekhuis and N. Corver, Syntax of Dutch, Volume VII: Adpositions and Adpositional Phrases (2026)

structure Dutch.Adpositionextends Adposition : Type

A Dutch adposition is the root entry with, for each position relative to its complement, the direction of the path a spatial use there denotes, and with whether its complement can be R-pronominalized.

• morphs : List Morphology.Morph
• linearization : Finset Linearization
• functions : Finset Case
• complements : Finset (Option Complement)
• direction : Adposition.Linearization → Spatial.Path.Direction

  direction l is .place when a use in position l is locational and .goal, .source or .route when it denotes a path whose endpoint, starting point or interior is the reference object; a position the entry does not take is .place.

• rPronoun : Bool

  The complement can be replaced by an R-word, as met de pop 'with the doll' beside er ... mee 'with it'.

def Dutch.Adposition.bare (a : Adposition) : Adposition

a.bare is a used also with its complement omitted.

Equations

• a.bare = { morphs := a.morphs, linearization := a.linearization, functions := a.functions, complements := insert none a.complements, direction := a.direction, rPronoun := a.rPronoun }

def Dutch.Adposition.marks (a : Adposition) (c : Case) : Adposition

a.marks c is a marking c as well.

Equations

• a.marks c = { morphs := a.morphs, linearization := a.linearization, functions := insert c a.functions, complements := a.complements, direction := a.direction, rPronoun := a.rPronoun }

def Dutch.Adpositions.preposition (form : String) (functions : Finset Case := {Case.loc}) : Adposition

preposition form functions is the preposition over a noun phrase marking functions, by default a locational one.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.directional (form : String) (d : Spatial.Path.Direction) : Adposition

directional form d is the preposition over a noun phrase denoting a path in direction d.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional (form : String) (d : Spatial.Path.Direction) : Adposition

ambipositional form d is the spatial adposition over a noun phrase that is locational before its complement and denotes a path in direction d after it.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition (first second : String) (d : Spatial.Path.Direction) : Adposition

circumposition first second d is the circumposition first … second over a noun phrase, denoting a path in direction d, or locational when d is .place.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

Spatial adpositions

The locational prepositions are the deictic achter, naast and voor, the absolute boven, om, onder, rond and tussen, and the inherent aan, bij, binnen, buiten, door, in, langs, op, over, tegen, tegenover and uit, with beneden 'below', the counterpart of boven, listed beside them; the directional prepositions are naar and tot, whose complement is the endpoint, van, vanaf and vanuit, whose complement is the starting point, and over, via and voorbij, whose complement lies on the path.

def Dutch.Adpositions.aan : Adposition

aan 'on' is a locational preposition, also used without its complement, Jan doet een jas aan 'Jan puts on a coat', and the second part of achter … aan and tegen … aan.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.aan = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "aan").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.achter : Adposition

achter 'behind' is a deictic locational preposition, Jan staat achter de auto 'Jan stands behind the car', and the particle of achter blijven 'lag behind'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.achter = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "achter").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.beneden : Adposition

beneden 'below' is a locational preposition, Jan bevindt zich beneden de grote rivieren 'Jan is south of the big rivers', and is used without its complement, de kamer beneden 'the room downstairs'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.beneden = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "beneden").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.bij : Adposition

bij 'near' is a locational preposition, also used without its complement, het postkantoor is dicht bij 'the post office is close by'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.bij = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "bij").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.binnen : Adposition

binnen 'inside' is locational before its complement and denotes a goal path after it, het huis binnen 'into the house', and is the particle of binnen komen 'come in'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.binnen = (Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "binnen" Spatial.Path.Direction.goal).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.boven : Adposition

boven 'above' is a locational preposition, de lamp hangt boven de kast 'the lamp hangs above the cupboard', and the particle of boven komen 'come to the surface'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.boven = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "boven").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.buiten : Adposition

buiten 'outside' is a locational preposition and the particle of buiten komen 'get outside'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.buiten = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "buiten").bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.door : Adposition

door 'through' is locational before its complement, where the grammar marks it directional as well, and denotes a route after it, het hek door 'through the gate' and the temporal het hele jaar door 'throughout the year'. It takes a finite clause in doordat 'because' and a te-infinitive, door hard te werken 'by working hard', is the particle of door lopen 'keep walking', and is the second part of onder … door and tussen … door.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.in_ : Adposition

in 'in' is locational before its complement and denotes a goal path after it, de sloot in 'into the ditch' and the temporal het nieuwe jaar in 'into the new year', and is the particle of iets in brengen 'introduce something'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.in_ = ((Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "in" Spatial.Path.Direction.goal).marks Case.tem).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.langs : Adposition

langs 'along' is locational before its complement, de ladder ligt langs de muur 'the ladder lies along the wall', denotes a route after it, het huis langs 'along the house', and is the particle of bij iemand langs gaan 'check on someone'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.langs = (Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "langs" Spatial.Path.Direction.route).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.naar : Adposition

naar 'to' denotes a path whose endpoint is its complement, Jan rijdt naar Groningen 'Jan is driving to Groningen', and is the first part of naar … toe.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.naar = Dutch.Adpositions.directional "naar" Spatial.Path.Direction.goal

def Dutch.Adpositions.naast : Adposition

naast 'next to' is a deictic locational preposition.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.naast = Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "naast"

def Dutch.Adpositions.om : Adposition

om 'around' is locational before its complement, de mannen zitten om de tafel 'the men sit around the table', denotes a route after it, de hoek om 'around the corner', and is used without its complement, Jan doet een das om 'Jan puts on a scarf'. It is also temporal, 'at', and marks a purpose.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.om = ((Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "om" Spatial.Path.Direction.route).marks Case.tem).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.onder : Adposition

onder 'under' is a locational preposition, de bal ligt onder de kast 'the ball lies under the cupboard', and the first part of onder … door.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.onder = Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "onder"

def Dutch.Adpositions.op : Adposition

op 'on' is locational before its complement and denotes a goal path after it, op de berg 'on the mountain' against de berg op 'up the mountain', and is used without its complement, Jan zet een hoed op 'Jan puts a hat on'. It is also temporal.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.op = ((Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "op" Spatial.Path.Direction.goal).marks Case.tem).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.over₁ : Adposition

over 'across', the grammar's first over, denotes a route before its complement and after it, het grasveld over 'across the lawn', and is the first part of over … heen.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.over₂ : Adposition

over 'over', the grammar's second over, is a locational preposition.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.over₂ = Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "over"

def Dutch.Adpositions.rond : Adposition

rond 'around' is locational before its complement, de kaarsen staan rond de kerststal 'the candles stand around the crib', and denotes a route after it, het plein rond 'around the square'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.rond = Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "rond" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.tegen : Adposition

tegen 'against' is a locational preposition, de ladder ligt tegen de muur 'the ladder lies against the wall', also temporal, 'towards', and the first part of tegen … aan, tegen … in and tegen … op.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.tegen = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "tegen").marks Case.tem

def Dutch.Adpositions.tegenover : Adposition

tegenover 'opposite' is a locational preposition.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.tegenover = Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "tegenover"

def Dutch.Adpositions.tot : Adposition

tot 'until, as far as' denotes a path on which its complement is a point, the endpoint of a part of the path, also temporally, and takes an adpositional phrase as well as a noun phrase, as van does.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.tussen : Adposition

tussen 'between' is a locational preposition, de lamp staat tussen twee vazen 'the lamp stands between two vases', also temporal, and the first part of tussen … in and tussen … door.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.tussen = (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "tussen").marks Case.tem

def Dutch.Adpositions.uit : Adposition

uit 'out of' is locational before its complement in the grammar's classification and denotes a source path after it, de auto uit 'out of the car' and the temporal dag in dag uit 'day in day out', and is used without its complement, which it then cannot take.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.uit = ((Dutch.Adpositions.ambipositional "uit" Spatial.Path.Direction.source).marks Case.tem).bare

def Dutch.Adpositions.van : Adposition

van 'from' denotes a path whose starting point is its complement, Jan reed van Utrecht naar Groningen 'Jan drove from Utrecht to Groningen', and takes an adpositional phrase, van boven de kast 'from above the cupboard'. It also marks a possessor, 'of', and is the first part of van … af.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.vanaf : Adposition

vanaf 'from' denotes a path whose starting point is its complement, also temporally.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.vanaf = (Dutch.Adpositions.directional "vanaf" Spatial.Path.Direction.source).marks Case.tem

def Dutch.Adpositions.vanuit : Adposition

vanuit 'from out of' denotes a path whose starting point is its complement.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.vanuit = Dutch.Adpositions.directional "vanuit" Spatial.Path.Direction.source

def Dutch.Adpositions.via : Adposition

via 'via' denotes a path on which its complement lies.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.via = Dutch.Adpositions.directional "via" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.voor : Adposition

voor 'in front of' is a deictic locational preposition, Jan staat voor de auto 'Jan stands in front of the car', and also temporal, 'before'. Marking an intended goal, 'for', de koekjes zijn voor jou 'the biscuits are for you', it takes an adpositional phrase, voor na het eten 'for after dinner', and an adjective phrase, voor hoe lang 'for how long', and it takes a finite clause in voordat 'before'.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.voorbij : Adposition

voorbij 'past' denotes a path on which its complement lies, before its complement and after it, het huis voorbij 'past the house'.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.af : Adposition

af 'off' is the one postposition that is not also a preposition, denoting a source path, de berg af 'down the mountain'; it is used without its complement, Jan zet zijn hoed af 'Jan takes his hat off', and is the second part of van … af and op … af.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.heen : Adposition

heen is a particle and the second part of over … heen and its kin, and is not an adposition on its own.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.heen = { morphs := [Morphology.Morph.free "heen"], linearization := ∅, functions := ∅, complements := {none} }

def Dutch.Adpositions.toe : Adposition

toe is a particle, the second part of naar … toe and the closing element of tot (aan) het einde (aan) toe 'to the very end', and is not an adposition on its own.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.toe = { morphs := [Morphology.Morph.free "toe"], linearization := ∅, functions := ∅, complements := {none} }

Circumpositions

def Dutch.Adpositions.vanAf : Adposition

van … af 'from, off', van het dak af springen 'jump off the roof'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.vanAf = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "van" "af" Spatial.Path.Direction.source

def Dutch.Adpositions.onderDoor : Adposition

onder … door 'under and past', onder de brug door lopen 'walk under the bridge'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.onderDoor = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "onder" "door" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.tussenDoor : Adposition

tussen … door 'through, between', tussen de bomen door lopen 'walk between the trees', and the temporal tussen twee lessen door 'in between two lessons'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.tussenDoor = (Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "tussen" "door" Spatial.Path.Direction.route).marks Case.tem

def Dutch.Adpositions.overHeen : Adposition

over … heen 'over, across', over het hek heen springen 'jump over the fence'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.overHeen = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "over" "heen" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.doorHeen : Adposition

door … heen 'through', door het stof heen lopen 'walk through the dust'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.doorHeen = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "door" "heen" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.omHeen : Adposition

om … heen 'around', om het huis heen lopen 'walk around the house'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.omHeen = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "om" "heen" Spatial.Path.Direction.route

def Dutch.Adpositions.naarToe : Adposition

naar … toe 'towards', naar Peter toe lopen 'walk towards Peter'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.naarToe = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "naar" "toe" Spatial.Path.Direction.goal

def Dutch.Adpositions.tussenIn : Adposition

tussen … in 'in between' is locational, tussen twee meisjes in zitten 'sit between two girls'.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.tussenIn = Dutch.Adpositions.circumposition "tussen" "in" Spatial.Path.Direction.place

Temporal and other adpositions

def Dutch.Adpositions.na : Adposition

na 'after' is temporal and takes a finite clause in nadat 'after' and a te-infinitive, na zijn vader gekust te hebben 'after having kissed his father'.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.tijdens : Adposition

tijdens 'during' is temporal and resists R-pronominalization, tijdens de oorlog 'during the war' but not er tijdens.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.met : Adposition

met 'with' marks an instrument or a companion, Jan speelt met de pop 'Jan plays with the doll', and heads the absolute construction over a subject and its predicate, met Jan ziek 'with Jan ill'.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.zonder : Adposition

zonder 'without' takes a te-infinitive, zonder iets te vragen 'without asking anything', heads an absolute construction like met, and resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.dankzij : Adposition

dankzij 'thanks to' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.namens : Adposition

namens 'on behalf of' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.ondanks : Adposition

ondanks 'despite' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.ondanks = { toAdposition := (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "ondanks" ∅).toAdposition, direction := (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "ondanks" ∅).direction, rPronoun := false }

def Dutch.Adpositions.ongeacht : Adposition

ongeacht 'regardless of' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.vanwege : Adposition

vanwege 'because of' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Dutch.Adpositions.volgens : Adposition

volgens 'according to' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• Dutch.Adpositions.volgens = { toAdposition := (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "volgens" ∅).toAdposition, direction := (Dutch.Adpositions.preposition "volgens" ∅).direction, rPronoun := false }

def Dutch.Adpositions.wegens : Adposition

wegens 'because of' resists R-pronominalization.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

The inventory

def Dutch.Adpositions.inventory : List Adposition

inventory lists the entries.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

theorem Dutch.Adpositions.direction_post_ne_place (a : Adposition) : a ∈ inventory → a.IsPostposition → a.direction Adposition.Linearization.post ≠ Spatial.Path.Direction.place

Every postpositional use denotes a path.

theorem Dutch.Adpositions.pre_of_post (a : Adposition) : a ∈ inventory → a.IsPostposition → a.IsPreposition ∨ a.toAdposition = af.toAdposition

Every postposition but af is also a preposition.

theorem Dutch.Adpositions.circum_iff_isComplex (a : Adposition) : a ∈ inventory → (a.IsCircumposition ↔ a.IsComplex)

An entry takes the circumpositional position exactly when it is complex.

theorem Dutch.Adpositions.complements_of_circum (a : Adposition) : a ∈ inventory → a.IsCircumposition → a.complements = {some Adposition.Complement.np}

A circumposition takes a noun phrase only.

theorem Dutch.Adpositions.not_isSpatial_of_not_rPronoun (a : Adposition) : a ∈ inventory → a.rPronoun = false → ¬a.IsSpatial

The adpositions whose complement cannot be R-pronominalized are non-spatial.