Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Binominal constructions 595
although this results in the loss of the purely quantificational reading: het ons kaas
refers to a certain piece or quantity of cheese that can be identified by the addressee.
The remaining types of N1s can all be preceded by both the definite and the
indefinite article. Observe that it is N1 that agrees in gender and number with the
article: the N2s in (50) would all select the article de, not het; cf. the discussion of
example (16) in Section 4.1.1.2.1.
(50) • Indefinite/definite articles
a. een boel studenten a′. *de boel studenten [QN]
a lot [of] students the lot [of] students
b. een ons kaas b′. het ons kaas [MN]
an ounce [of] cheese the ounce [of] cheese
c. een kistje sigaren c′. het kistje sigaren [ConN]
a boxdim. [of] cigars the boxdim. [of] cigars
d. een stuk zeep d′. het stuk zeep [PartN]
a piece [of] soap the piece [of] soap
e. een groepje studenten e′. het groepje studenten [ColN]
a groupdim [of] students the groupdim [of] students
It must be noted, however, that many noun phrases that normally do not allow a
definite article can be preceded by it when they are modified: a proper noun like
Amsterdam, for example, normally cannot be preceded by the definite article, but
when it is modified by, e.g., a relative clause the definite article is licensed: het
Amsterdam *(dat ik zo goed ken) ‘the Amsterdam that I know so well’. The
examples in (51) show that quantifier nouns exhibit ambiguous behavior in this
respect: some, like boel in (51a), do not allow the definite determiner in these
modified contexts either, while others, like paar ‘couple of’ or stoot ‘lot of’ in
(51b), are compatible with the determiner in such contexts.
(51) a. *de boel studenten (die ik ken)
the lot [of] students that I know
b. de paar/stoot boeken *(die ik heb gelezen)
the couple/lot [of] books that I have read
Note, however, that the determiner in (51b) is probably not part of the noun phrase
headed by N1, but of the noun phrase headed by N2. A reason to assume this is that
the noun paar is neuter (at least in its use as a collective noun), and should therefore
select the definite determiner het, not de as is the case in (51b): het/*de paar
schoenen ‘the pair of shoes’. This suggests that the construction in (51b) is similar
to the quantified constructions in (52), where the article is undisputedly selected by
the noun.
(52) a. de vijfentwintig boeken ?? (die ik gisteren heb besteld)
the twenty-five books that I yesterday have ordered
b. de vele boeken ?? (die ik heb gelezen)
the many books that I have read
The fact that quantifier nouns normally cannot be preceded by a definite article
may cast some doubt on the assumption that the element een in constructions with