Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

(178) a. Er zijn hier ruim/net voldoende computers.
there are here amply/just enough computers
b. Er zijn hier net/*ruim genoeg computers.
there are here amply/just enough computers
c. *Er zijn hier ruim/net zat computers.
there are here amply/just plenty computers
Numerals and quantifiers 929
Example (179a) contains the sequence meer dan voldoende/genoeg. Given that
meer is the comparative form of the degree quantifier veel, this example raises the
question whether the quantifier meer modifies voldoende/genoeg or whether it is the
other way around. 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 would be special in that it must precede, and cannot
follow, the modified noun, as shown by the (a)-examples in (179); as is illustrated
by the (b)-examples, dan-phrases used as modifiers of comparatives normally do
not precede the modified noun. This fact may be given in support of the former
analysis, according to which it is the comparative meer that modifies the degree
quantifier; see Section 6.1.1.4, sub IV, for a similar constructions with cardinal
numerals.
(179) a. Zij heeft meer dan voldoende/genoeg boeken.
she has more than enough/enough books
‘She has more than enough books.’
a′. *Zij heeft meer boeken dan voldoende/genoeg.
b. Zij heeft meer boeken dan Jan.
she has more books than Jan
‘She has more books than Jan.’
b′. *Zij heeft meer dan Jan boeken.
6.2.6. A note on the adverbial use of the degree quantifiers
The previous section has discussed the high/low degree quantifiers veel and weinig,
and it was shown that these quantifiers share several properties with gradable
adjectives. It therefore does not come as a surprise that the distribution of the forms
veel and weinig is not restricted to adnominal positions; they can also be used as
adverbial phrases; cf. (180). To conclude this section on quantifiers, we will briefly
discuss the properties of such adverbially used quantifiers.
(180) a. Hij reist veel. a′. Hij reist weinig.
he travels a lot he travels little
b. Hij houdt veel van reizen. b′. % Hij houdt weinig van reizen.
he likes much of travel he likes little of travel
‘He likes traveling a lot.’ ‘He doesn’t like traveling a lot.’
In the (a)-examples in (180), veel and weinig are used as adverbial phrases of
frequency; they express that the degree of frequency is higher or lower than some
contextually determined norm. The same elements seem to function as adverbial
phrases of intensity as in the (b)-examples, although some speakers seem to object
to the use of weinig, and prefer the use of niet veel ‘not much’ in this function. The