Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Numerals and quantifiers 939
Second, the relation between quantitative er and its nominal associate seems to be
sensitive to the same °islands for extraction. Consider the examples in (212) and
assume that °R-extraction involves movement of an R-word from the complement
position of the PP. These examples show that R-extraction is possible from
complement-PPs but not from time adverbials.
(212) a. Ik heb lang over mijn ontslag gepiekerd.
I have long about my dismissal worried
‘I have worried long about my dismissal.’
a′. Ik heb eri lang [over [ ti ]] gepiekerd.
I have there long about worried
‘I have worried long about it.’
b. Ik heb dat boek tijdens mijn vakantie gelezen.
I have that book during my vacation read
‘I have read that book during my vacation.’
b′. *Ik heb dat boek erj [tijdens [ ti ]] gelezen.
I have that book there during read
Intended reading: ‘I have read that book during it.’
The examples in (213) show that we find the same with quantitative er; er can be
associated with a noun phrase in a complement-PP but not in a time adverbial.
(213) a. Ik heb lang over twee problemen gepiekerd.
I have long about two problems worried
‘I have worried long about two problems.’
a′. Ik heb eri lang [over [twee [ ti ]]] gepiekerd.
I have ER long about two worried
b. Ik heb dat boek tijdens twee vergaderingen gelezen.
I have that book during two meetings read
‘I have read that book during two meetings.’
b′. *Ik heb dat boek eri [tijdens [twee [ ti ]]] gelezen.
I have that book ER during two read
The examples in (214) further show that both R-extraction and the association of
quantitative er require that the complement-PP precede the verb in clause-final
position. Note that Ik heb er lang gepiekerd over twee is perhaps marginally
acceptable with a locational reading of er, but this is of course irrelevant for our
present discussion.
(214) a. *Ik heb eri lang gepiekerd [over [ ti ]].
I have there long worried about
b. *Ik heb eri lang gepiekerd [over [twee [ ti ]]].
I have ER long worried about two
The discussion above has shown that the movement analysis has much to
commend itself, but it must be noted that there are also problems. The most
important one is related to example (213a′), which presupposes that quantitative er
can be extracted from the complement of a PP. There are reasons to assume,