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Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

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604 Syntax <strong>of</strong> Dutch: nouns <strong>and</strong> noun phrases<br />

indicates that the examples in (73c&e) are weird due to our knowledge <strong>of</strong> the world:<br />

boxes <strong>of</strong> matches normally do not come in units <strong>of</strong> a kilo, <strong>and</strong> it is not common to<br />

add up collections <strong>of</strong> entities until they have a certain weight. The main difference<br />

between the examples in (73) <strong>and</strong> (78) concerns the measure nouns: a measure noun<br />

cannot be followed by another measure noun in the singular. This supports our<br />

earlier claim that a QC headed by a purely quantificational N1 cannot be embedded<br />

in a larger QC: the unacceptability <strong>of</strong> (78b) is due to the fact that there is no<br />

complex quantifier *een kilo ons. Example (78b′), on the other h<strong>and</strong>, seems<br />

acceptable despite being marked due to the fact that it is difficult to conceptualize<br />

<strong>and</strong> the intended meaning can be more readily expressed by means <strong>of</strong> the phrase<br />

tien onsjes kaas ‘the ounces <strong>of</strong> cheese’.<br />

(78) a. *een kilo hoop kaas<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] lot [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

b. *een kilo ons kaas<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] ounce [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

b′. ? een kilo onsjes kaas<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] ounces [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

c. $ een kilo doosjes lucifers<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] boxes [<strong>of</strong>] matches<br />

d. een kilo plakjes kaas<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] slices [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

e. $ een kilo kolonies mieren<br />

a kilo [<strong>of</strong>] colonies [<strong>of</strong>] ants<br />

In (79) to (81), we give similar examples for container, part <strong>and</strong> collective<br />

nouns. The examples in (79) show that container nouns behave just like measure<br />

nouns. Example (79e) may again be weird for reasons concerning our knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />

the world, but seems otherwise completely well-formed.<br />

(79) a. *een doos hoop kaas<br />

a box [<strong>of</strong>] lot [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

b. *een doos kilo kaas<br />

a box [<strong>of</strong>] kilo [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

b′. ? een doos kilo’s kaas<br />

a box [<strong>of</strong>] kilos [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

c. een doos pakjes lucifers<br />

a box [<strong>of</strong>] boxes [<strong>of</strong>] matches<br />

d. een schaal plakjes kaas<br />

a dish [<strong>of</strong>] slices [<strong>of</strong>] cheese<br />

e. $ een vrachtwagen kolonies mieren<br />

a truck [<strong>of</strong>] colonies [<strong>of</strong>] ants<br />

The part nouns in (80) cannot readily be used as the N1 <strong>of</strong> a recursive QC. This is,<br />

<strong>of</strong> course, due to the fact that they can only be followed by a non-count noun while<br />

the referential N1s heading the embedded QCs are count nouns.

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