Jaume Solà i Pujols - Departament de Filologia Catalana ...

) CLLD elements:
(10) a. *Studenti li ho visti
Students them-have-I seen
'I have seen students'
b. *Pocchi studenti li ho visti
Few students them-have-I seen
'I've seen few students'
c. *Niente l'ho visto
Nothing it-have-I seen
'I've seen nothing'
The reason these examples are not allowed is that these quantifiers are 'strong', and
cannot be forced to a D-linked or 'referential' reading.
Similar considerations can be made of proportion quantifiers ('a few', 'most', 'many') and
numerals: the D-linked or 'referential' reading prevails for preverbal subjects, while postverbal
subjects are ambiguous:
(11) a. Molts estrangers treballen aquí
Many foreigners work here
'Many of the foreigners work here'
Not: 'There are many foreign workers here'
b. Aquí hi treballen molts estrangers'
Here there-work many foreigners
a) 'There are many foreign workers here'
b) 'Many of the foreigners work here'
As for universal quantifiers, there do not seem to be sharp occurrence restrictions.
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