Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Determiners: articles and pronouns 827
(1976: Section 3.1) for relevant discussion. The referent of the possessive pronoun
in (418b) may the author or the publisher of the books but also someone who copyedited
them or made a guess about which books would sell well.
It is not only the core meaning of the definite articles that is associated with the
referential possessive pronouns; other properties of definite noun phrases can also
be found with noun phrases containing a referential possessive pronoun. For
example, both types of noun phrase normally refer to entities in domain D that are
assumed to be uniquely identifiable by the speaker; in a question like (419a), it is
presupposed that the listener is able to identify the referent of the noun phrase mijn
sleutels. And, just as in case of the definite article, noun phrases with a referential
possessive pronoun may introduce new entities into domain D that are somehow
anchored to some known entity in domain D. An example like (419b) does not
presuppose that the listener knows who Jan’s wife is, but that the mention of Jan is
sufficient to anchor the referent of the noun phrase zijn vrouw ‘his wife’ to someone
related to him.
(419) a. Heb je mijn sleutels misschien gezien?
have you my keys maybe seen
‘Did you by any chance see my keys?’
b. Ik zag Jan daarnet. Zijn vrouw ligt in het ziekenhuis.
I saw Jan just.now his wife lies in the hospital
‘I saw Jan just now. His wife is in the hospital.’
Noun phrases with a referential possessive pronoun, like definite noun phrases, also
exhibit exceptions to the general requirement that the noun phrase be uniquely
referring. For example, when the noun phrase refers to a body part, like a leg or a
hand, the noun phrase may be singular, thus leaving some vagueness with respect to
which of the (two) hands or legs is intended; cf. example (420a). Something similar
occurs with kinship nouns; an example like (420b) does not presuppose that the
speaker has only one nephew — apparently, it is not the referent that matters here
but the relationship between the speaker and the person referred to. A similar case
involving a non-kinship noun is given in (420c), which expresses that the train the
speaker took that day was delayed.
(420) a. Jan schopte tegen mijn been.
Jan kicked against my leg
b. Mijn neef is ziek.
my nephew is ill
‘My nephew is ill.’
c. Mijn trein had weer eens vertraging.
my train had again once delay
‘My train again had a delay.’
Due to the overlap in meaning between referential possessive pronouns and
definite articles, the noun phrases introduced by a possessive pronoun in the
primeless examples of (421) are virtually synonymous with the noun phrases in the
primed examples, with a definite article and a postnominal possessive van-PP. This
suggests that, apart from its reference, the meaning of the referential possessive