Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

888 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
expressed by the numeral is an upper bound are given in (55a), and modifiers that
indicate a lower bound in (55b).
(55) a. hoogstens/ten hoogste/hooguit/maximaal veertig boeken
at.most forty books
‘at most forty books’
b. minstens/tenminste/minimaal/zeker veertig boeken
at.least forty books
‘at least forty books’
Similar meanings can be expressed by means of the comparative phrases
meer/minder dan + NP ‘more/less than + NP’ in (56a). This example raises the
question whether the quantifier meer modifies the numeral or whether it is the
numeral that modifies meer. The latter analysis can be supported by claiming that a
comparative is normally modified by means of a dan-phrase. However, this
particular use of the dan-phrase, shown in (56a), would be special in that it must
precede the modified noun, and cannot follow it. As illustrated in (56b), danphrases
used as modifiers of comparatives do not normally precede the modified
noun. This fact may be given in support of the former analysis, according to which
it is the comparative that modifies the numeral; see (179) in Section 6.2.5 for
similar constructions with degree quantifiers.
(56) a. Zij heeft meer/minder boeken .
she has more/less than forty books
b. Zijn heeft meer/minder boeken .
she has more/less than Jan books
V. Some problematic cases
Some disputable cases of modification of the numeral are given in (57). One possibility
is to assume that the postnominal phrase is a modifier of the prenominal numeral.
(57) a. Jan kreeg drie boeken meer/minder dan Peter.
Jan received three books more/less than Peter
b. Jan kreeg drie boeken te veel/weinig.
Jan received three books too many/few
c. Jan kreeg drie boeken extra.
Jan received three books extra
Alternatively, one might argue that the noun phrase consisting of the numeral and
the noun acts as a modifier of the postnominal phrase, that is, by assuming that the
function of the noun phrase drie boeken is similar to that of the measure phrase drie
centimeter in examples like het zwembad is drie centimeter te lang ‘the swimming
pool is three centimeters too long’, where the noun phrase clearly modifies the AP
(cf. Section A3.1.4.2). A characteristic of these nominal measure phrases is that
they can be separated from the phrase they modify by means of wh-movement:
Hoeveel centimeteri is het zwembad [AP ti te lang]? ‘How many centimeters is the
swimming pool too long?’ Since the noun phrases in (57) exhibit the same property,
it seems plausible that they, too, act as modifiers.