Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

822 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
possessive pronoun, as in (406b&b′): when the reader wants to be very explicit the
noun is modified by the pronominal PP ervan ‘of it’.
(406) a. Deze auto heeft problemen met zijn/ (?) de motor.
this car has problem with his motor
b. De auto staat in de garage. De motor (ervan) moet nagekeken worden.
the car stands in the garage the motor of.it must prt.-checked be
‘The car is the garage. Its motor must be checked.’
b′. ? De auto staat in de garage. Zijn motor moet nagekeken worden.
the car stands in the garage his motor must prt.-checked be
Although use of a possessive pronoun is still possible in example (406b′), in many
other cases the result may become highly questionable. This is illustrated in (407),
adapted from Haeseryn et al. (1997: 292). Since it is not clear what factors
determine the felicitousness of this use, we will leave this for future research.
(407) a. Dit probleem is ingewikkeld. De oplossing ervan kost veel tijd.
this problem is complicated the solution of.it costs much time
‘This problem is complicated. Its solution will take much time.’
b. *? Dit probleem is ingewikkeld. Zijn oplossing kost veel tijd.
this problem is complicated Its solution costs much time
5.2.2.1.2. Interrogative and relative possessive pronouns
Unlike the referential possessive pronouns, the remaining possessive pronouns are
all derived from other pronominal forms. The interrogative and relative possessive
pronouns, for example, are old genitive forms of the interrogative personal pronoun
wie. First, consider the interrogative examples in (408).
(408) a. Wiens boek is dit?
whosemasc. book is this
b. Wier boek is dit?
whosefem. book is this
c. Van wie is dit boek?
of whom is this book
Given that the Dutch case system is archaic, it will not come as a surprise that
examples like (408a&b) are pretty formal; the more colloquial way of expressing
the same question is given in (408c). Nevertheless, the case-marked forms are still
productively used when the noun phrase that they belong to functions as the
complement of a preposition, as in (409a), which may be due to the fact that the
alternative version with a possessive van-PP is also quite cumbersome.
(409) a. Op wiens/wier initiatief wordt dit reisje georganiseerd?
on whose initiative is this trip organized
b. Op het initiatief van wie wordt dit reisje georganiseerd?
on the initiative of who is this trip organized
The examples in (410) show that case-marked forms can also be found as relative
pronouns, especially in the formal register; cf. Section 3.3.2.2.2. It must be noted,