Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

766 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
(255) a. *geen wij/ons a′. geen van ons a′′. $ geen onzer
no we/us none of us none usgen
b. *geen jullie/u b′. geen van jullie/u b′′. $ geen uwer
no you pl/polite none of you pl/polite none yougen
c. *geen zij/hen c′. geen van hen c′′. $ geen hunner
no they/them none of them none themgen
Geen does normally not appear with proper nouns referring to persons,
although a somewhat special case was discussed in Section 5.1.2.1, sub III.
Nevertheless, geographical proper nouns can sometimes be construed with geen,
particularly in contexts in which they are premodified by some adjective, as
illustrated in the (a)-examples of (256). Another instantiation of the combination of
proper nouns with geen is formed by the names of languages, as in the (b)-examples
of (256). In the (a)-examples geen can be replaced with niet een, whereas in the
(b)-examples only geen is possible.
(256) a. De Denen willen eigenlijk helemaal geen ? (verenigd) Europa.
the Danish want actually altogether no united Europe
a′. België wil geen ? (tweede) Italië worden.
Belgium wants no second Italy become
b. Ik spreek geen Züritüütsch.
I speak no Swiss-German
b′. Dat is geen Nederlands.
that is no Dutch
III. Restrictions on accompanying determiners and quantificational elements
This section investigates the restrictions that geen poses on other elements within
the noun phrase, such as determiners, quantificational elements and attributive
adjectives.
A. Determiners
We can be brief about the distribution of definite articles and demonstrative and
possessive pronouns. We have already seen in Section 5.1.5.1.2 that noun phrases
containing geen are normally indefinite, as is evident, e.g., from the fact illustrated
in (257) that they readily occur as the subject in expletive constructions.
(257) Er staat geen paard in de gang.
there stands no horse in the hall
Since geen is not possible in definite noun phrases, it will not come as a surprise
that geen cannot be combined with noun phrases which feature a definite article or a
demonstrative/possessive pronoun (changing the order does not affect the judgments).
(258) a. *de/die/mijn geen stad/steden
the/that/my no town/towns
b. *het/dat/mijn geen huis
the/that/my no house