Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Determiners: articles and pronouns 705
(70) a. Er wordt hier nog steeds [∅ armoede] geleden. [non-generic]
there is here still poverty suffered
a′. [∅ Armoede] is onduldbaar in een rijk land als Nederland. [generic]
∅ poverty is intolerable in a rich land like the.Netherlands
b. Sommige mensen lijden hier nog steeds [∅ armoede]. [non-generic]
some people suffer here still poverty
b′. Deze regering mag [∅ armoede] niet accepteren. [generic]
this government may poverty not accept
c. [de schande van [∅ armoede]] [generic]
the disgrace of poverty
C. Deverbal abstract non-count nouns
Here we will restrict our discussion to infinitival nominals; cf. Sections 1.3.1.2 and
2.2.3.2. We start with BARE-INF nominalizations (without an article). Since (71a) is
derived from the intransitive, habitual verb roken ‘to smoke’, it is not surprising that
nominalizations like these are generally generic; cf. Jan rookt ‘Jan smokes, that is,
Jan is a smoker’. The same thing holds for (71b) due to the fact that the nominalized
phrase contains a bare plural noun, which seems generically construed in this
example; cf. Jan rookt sigaren ‘Jan smokes cigars, that is, Jan is a smoker of
cigars’.
(71) a. Roken is slecht voor je gezondheid.
smoking is bad for one’s health
b. Sigaren roken is slecht voor je gezondheid.
cigar smoking is bad for one’s health
DET-INF nominalizations (preceded by the neuter article het) can also inherit the
arguments of the verb. The examples in (72) show that when the arguments precede
the infinitive, they must be realized as indefinite plural noun phrases, just as in the
case of the BARE-INF nominalizations, but in this case the nominalizations clearly
refer to specific “smoking” events, so we may safely claim that we are dealing with
non-generic uses of these noun phrases.
(72) a. In deze zaal irriteert het roken me altijd.
in this room annoys the smoking me always
‘In this room I always get annoyed by the smoking.’
b. In deze zaal irriteert het sigaren roken me altijd.
in this room annoys the cigars smoking me always
The examples in (73) further show that when we place these noun phrases in
contexts that favor a generic interpretation, the result is marginal at best.
(73) a. ?? Het roken is slecht voor je gezondheid.
the smoking is bad for one’s health
b. ?? Het sigaren roken is slecht voor je gezondheid.
the cigars smoking is bad for one’s health
When the argument follows the infinitive, there are no restrictions on its realization;
it can be plural or singular, and it can be indefinite or definite. The (a)-examples in