Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Numerals and quantifiers 913
Despite its quantificational meaning, deze of gene in (130b) can probably best be
considered a complex determiner: if it is a determiner comparable to simple deze, its
strong nature would follow immediately. The examples in (131a&b) show that a
similar approach is clearly not feasible for één of ander, given that this modifier can
be preceded by a definite article. Note that despite being formally definite the noun
phrases de een of andere gek and het een of andere boek behave like weak noun
phrases, just like their formally indefinite counterparts in the primed examples; they
all may enter the expletive construction. The data in (131b&b′) suggest that we are
dealing with a complex adjectival phrase in these examples: just like adjectival
ander ‘different’, the phrase een of andere exhibits gender agreement with the noun.
(131) a. Er staat de een of andere gek te zingen. [definite, -neuter]
there stands the one or other madman to sing
‘There is some madman singing.’
a′. Er staat een of andere gek te zingen. [indefinite, -neuter]
there stands one or other madman to sing
‘There is some madman knocking on the door.’
b. Er werd het een of andere boek gepresenteerd. [definite, +neuter]
there was the one or other book presented
‘Some book was presented.’
b′. Er werd een of ander boek gepresenteerd. [indefinite, +neuter]
there was one or other book presented
‘Some book was presented.’
Finally, we should mention cases like de nodige bezwaren ‘a good many
objections’. Here we are clearly dealing with a borderline case. The noun phrase is
formally a definite noun phrase, and nodige seems to act as a regular attributive
adjective. However, the noun phrase does not refer to some entities in domain D,
and again it can be used in the expletive construction. Note that the translation in
(132) is somewhat misleading in that it suggests that a fairly large number of
objections were raised, but this is not necessarily so; what seems to be implied is
that the number of objections was sufficiently large to be relevant.
(132) Er werden de nodige bezwaren geopperd.
there were the need objections given
‘There were raised a good many objections.’
IV. Special uses of the existential quantifiers
This subsection concludes the discussion of the existential quantifiers used as
modifiers with two special uses of the quantifiers sommige and enkele.
A. The use of sommige in “generic” contexts
The quantifier sommige is sometimes used in “generic” contexts, that is, to quantify
over all relevant entities in the speaker’s conception of reality: an example like
(133a), for example, expresses that there is a subcategory of junkies that will never
overcome their addiction. Such a “generic” use is not possible with enkele: in
example (133b), the quantifier enkele must quantify over a contextually defined set
of junkies.