Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Binominal constructions 589
includes only the measure nouns. These seem to be of a somewhat hybrid nature in
the sense that they can have either a purely quantificational or a referential, package
unit reading (with the former probably being the unmarked case): in the former case
the measure noun behaves like a quantifier noun and in the latter like a container,
collective or part noun. In the next section, we will see that these distinctions
correspond nicely to the morphological and syntactic behavior of these nouns.
4.1.1.3. Properties of N1
In Section 4.1.1.2 we distinguished the three types of N1s listed in (38), and in this
section we will investigate the properties of these types. We will show that N1s of
type (38a) are deficient in several respects, whereas N1s of type (38b) behave like
regular nouns. N1s of type (38c) show mixed behavior: in some contexts they
exhibit deficient behavior, whereas in other contexts they behave just like regular
nouns.
(38) • Types of N1s:
a. purely quantificational: quantifier nouns
b. referential: container, part and collective nouns
c. mixed: measure nouns
4.1.1.3.1. Morphological properties
This section discusses the morphological properties of the different types of N1. We
will first discuss their ability to undergo pluralization and diminutivization, and then
their ability to enter into the process of nominal compounding.
I. Pluralization
The primeless examples in (39) show that all N1s can be preceded by the indefinite
determiner een ‘a’. This suggests that we are dealing with count nouns, and we
therefore expect pluralization to be possible. The primed examples show that this is
indeed possible with most N1s, but that the quantifier noun in (39a′) resists the
formation of a plural. Furthermore, (39b′) shows that the plural marking on the
measure noun liter is optional.
(39) a. een boel mensen a′. *vier boel(en) mensen [QN]
a lot [of] people four lot(s) [of] people
b. een liter melk b′. twee liter(s) melk [MN]
a liter [of] milk two liter(s) [of] milk
c. een emmer peren c′. vier emmers peren [ConN]
a bucket [of] pears four buckets [of] pears
d. een reep chocolade d′. vier repen chocolade [PartN]
a bar [of] chocolate four bars [of] chocolate
e. een groep studenten e′. vier groepen studenten [ColN]
a group [of] students four groups [of] students
The general pattern in (39) is compatible with the classification in (38): quantifier
nouns lack a plural form, whereas the referential nouns do allow plural formation.
And, as expected, the measure nouns show mixed behavior: they may or may not take