Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Binominal constructions 587
III. Binding
That N2 can be the semantic head of a QC can also be shown by means of the
interpretation of the reciprocal pronoun elkaar ‘each other’, which must have a
°c-commanding syntactically plural antecedent; cf. Section 5.2.1.5, sub III. For our
present purpose, it suffices to say that a reciprocal pronoun that functions as a
(PP-)object of the verb can be interpreted as coreferential with the subject of the
clause but not with some noun phrase embedded in the subject of the clause. In
(34a), for example, elkaar can be bound by the subject de ouders van Jan en Marie
‘Jan and Marie’s parents’, but crucially not by the noun phrase Jan and Marie. The
same thing holds for (34b) where the noun phrase hun ouders ‘their parents’ can be
coreferential with elkaar, whereas the possessive pronoun hun ‘their’ embedded in
the subject cannot.
(34) a. [NP De ouders [PP van [NP Jan en Marie]j ]]i slaan elkaari/*j.
the parents of Jan and Marie beat each.other
b. [NP Hunj ouders]i slaan elkaari/*j.
their parents beat each.other
The examples in (35) show that N2 cannot be considered as embedded in the
subject in the same way as, for instance, the possessive pronoun hun ‘their’ in (34b).
Irrespective of the type of N1, N2 is able to bind the reciprocal elkaar ‘each other’.
Note that we do not include examples of a QC with a part noun because these nouns
can only be combined with non-count nouns, which cannot act as the antecedent of
a reciprocal.
(35) a. Een hoop piereni krioelen/ ? krioelt door elkaari. [QN]
a couple [of] rain.worms swarm/swarms through each.other
b. Een pond piereni krioelt/ ? krioelen door elkaari. [MN]
a pound [of] rain.worms swarms/swarm through each.other
c. Een emmer piereni krioelt/*krioelen door elkaari. [ConN]
a bucket [of] rain.worms swarms/swarm through each.other
d. Een club toeristeni fotografeert/*fotograferen elkaari. [ColN]
a club [of] tourists photographs/photographs each.other
The fact that N2 can act as the antecedent of the reciprocal pronoun indicates that it
can act as the semantic head of the QC. Note that the agreement on the verb shows
that N2 need not be the syntactic head of the construction; this is the case if N1 is a
quantifier noun, as in (35a), but not in the other cases.
4.1.1.2.3. The quantificational and referential interpretation of N1
In the preceding discussion it has been claimed several times that N1 can have either
a quantificational or a referential interpretation. In the former case the noun merely
indicates a certain amount or quantity and in the latter case it refers to an actual
object in the domain of discourse. Only in the latter case can N1 be a discourse
referent, which can be made clear by means of data involving pronominal reference.
Consider the examples in (36). In (36a), it is N1 that satisfies the selection
restrictions of the verb vasthouden ‘to hold’, and it must therefore refer to an actual
object in the domain of discourse. Consequently, the QC contains two referential