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Re: (In)transitive verbs

From:Joe <joe@...>
Date:Saturday, February 7, 2004, 21:16
Christophe Grandsire wrote:

> > They still do. Dutch and German are a big example of this. They have > "separable verbs", the closest thing to phrasal verbs, where the > prefix separates from the verb (and goes at the end of the sentence) > in all finite forms, but goes back in front of the verb (before the > past participle prefix if there is one) in all infinite forms, and > "unseparable verbs" which also look like they are formed of a prefix > added to a verb (prefix usually of prepositional or adverbial origin) > but this prefix never separates. It still has an effect though: it > prevents the past participle prefix (ge- in both Dutch and German) to > be added to those verbs. > > An example of separable verbs (in Dutch) is "meemaken" (participate), > clearly made of "met": with ("mee-" in prefix form) and "maken": make. > In finite forms the prefix separates, giving "ik maak... mee", but in > infinite forms it prefixes back on the verb, making for instance the > past participle "meegemaakt". > > An example of unseparable verb (in Dutch again) is onderzoeken (to > research, to examine). Despite its clear etymology ("onder": under and > "zoeken": look for, seek), it is a single piece, giving thus "ik > onderzoek..." and "onderzoekt" as past participle (note the absence of > the ge- prefix here). > > Germanic verbs can be such fun! :))
Aren't they? I really like the Germanic languages, and their interesting grammar. Not so much English, though. Thank you France, for butchering our language ;-).

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Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>