Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Determiners: articles and pronouns 693
I. Definite versus indefinite articles
Broadly speaking, definite noun phrases refer to the whole class or a prototype
thereof, whereas indefinite noun phrases refer to typical members of the class. The
fact that definite noun phrases may refer to the whole class, whereas indefinite noun
phrases cannot, is clear from the examples in (38). The examples in (38b&c) are
semantically anomalous since the predicate uitgestorven ‘extinct’ can only be
predicated of a species as a whole, as in (38a), not of the individual members of a
species. Similar examples that do not involve natural species are given in (39).
(38) a. De Dodo is uitgestorven.
the Dodo is extinct
b. *Een Dodo is uitgestorven.
a Dodo is extinct
c. *? Dodo’s zijn uitgestorven.
Dodos are extinct
(39) a. De telefoon is uitgevonden door Alexander Graham Bell.
the telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell
b. *Een telefoon is uitgevonden door Alexander Graham Bell.
a telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell
c. *? Telefoons zijn uitgevonden door Alexander Graham Bell.
telephones are invented by Alexander Graham Bell
The examples in (40) show that general statements that are construed as applicable
to individual members of the class rather than to the class as a whole prefer a noun
phrase headed by the indefinite article een or ∅. Since the proposition in (40) only
holds for cats departing (to, e.g., a foreign country) and not for the whole species,
the generic reading of the definite noun phrase is excluded.
(40) a. # De kat moet zes weken voor vertrek ingeënt worden.
the cat must six weeks before departure vaccinated be
b. Een kat moet zes weken voor vertrek ingeënt worden.
a cat must six weeks before departure vaccinated be
‘A cat must be vaccinated six weeks before departure.’
c. ∅ Katten moeten zes weken voor vertrek ingeënt worden.
∅ cats must six weeks before departure vaccinated be
‘Cats must be vaccinated six weeks before departure.’
The examples in (41) clearly show that definite noun phrases do not have to
refer to classes. The class reading of the definite noun phrase in (41a) is of course
impossible, since species do not eat; only individual members of a species do. The
difference between the definite and indefinite noun phrases is now that the first
refers to a prototype of the class whereas the indefinite noun phrases refer to typical
members of the class. This can be made clear by means of the interpretation of
adverbs like meestal ‘generally’. In (41a), this adverb can only be interpreted as an
adverb of frequency: “It is generally the case that the crocodile eats once a week
(but not while guarding its eggs)”. This reading is also available for the examples in
(41b&c), but in addition the adverb may quantify over the noun phrase subject