bijvoegsel

Bijvoegsel is a term found in Dutch grammar that historically refers to a word that accompanies a noun to express a relation or circumstance, thereby modifying the noun’s meaning. In modern standard usage, the most common label for these words is voorb: voor is better to avoid confusion; the term bijvoegsel is still encountered in some grammars and historical descriptions, where it covers prepositions and related particles that function within prepositional phrases.

In practice, bijvoegsel as a prepositional element marks spatial, temporal, directional, or other kinds of relationships between the noun and another part of the sentence. They usually occur before the noun or pronoun they govern and form a prepositional phrase, as in met (with), naar (to), van (from/of), zonder (without). Dutch prepositions interact with definite articles in contractions in certain contexts (for example, met de, naar het). The exact scope of bijvoegsel varies by grammar tradition, and many contemporary grammars simply describe these words as prepositions or adpositions.

Bijvoegsel is not a synonym for adjectives (bijvoeglijk naamwoord) nor for adverbs (bijwoord). It is, in most current linguistic usage, primarily a historical or broader term referring to prepositional elements and related function words within a sentence. When discussing modern Dutch grammar, it is common to prefer the term voorbetsel/voorzetsel for the specific class of words that express relations with nouns.

See also: Preposition, Voorzetsel, Prepositional phrase.