@article{aup:/content/journals/10.5117/NEDTAA2019.3.005.CAER, author = "Caers, Wim and Gregersen, Sune", title = "Wat mutt, dat mutt*", journal= "Nederlandse Taalkunde", year = "2019", volume = "24", number = "3", pages = "399-417", doi = "https://doi.org/10.5117/NEDTAA2019.3.005.CAER", url = "https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/NEDTAA2019.3.005.CAER", publisher = "Amsterdam University Press", issn = "2352-1171", type = "Journal Article", keywords = "Dutch dialects", keywords = "Frisian", keywords = "Low German", keywords = "modality", keywords = "modal verbs", abstract = "Abstract The squib investigates the dialectal distribution of the Dutch construction type hetkan/mag/moet, lit. ‘it can/may/must’, where a modal verb occurs ‘independently’ with an eventive subject and no infinitival complement. The construction is shown to be widely attested not only in traditional dialects of Dutch, but also in Frisian, Low German, and Afrikaans. We suggest that the construction, which does not occur in standard German or English, is an areal feature shared by the West Germanic vernaculars of northwestern Germany and the Low Countries, including the South African ‘side branch’ Afrikaans.", }