Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

988 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
A. Sorting (“all kinds/sorts of”)
Examples like allemaal boeken with count nouns typically receive a “sorting”
interpretation: “all kinds of books”; this reading is sometimes also available for the
non-count nouns in (122), depending on context. Haeseryn et al. (1997) qualifies
this usage of allemaal as typical for the informal register; it is indeed extremely
widespread in spoken Dutch, and exceedingly rare in formal written language. On
this “sorting” reading, allemaal can often be replaced with allerlei (or archaic
allerhande), although the resulting examples involving a substance noun seem
somewhat degraded.
(125) a. allerlei ∅ boeken
all-sorts [of] books
b. allerlei ? wijn/ ? fruit/ *? suiker/ ?? vlees
all-sorts [of] wine/fruit/sugar/meat
b′. allerlei vee/gevogelte
all-sorts [of] cattle/fowl
b′′. allerlei ellende/verdriet/onzin
all-sorts [of] misery/sorrow/nonsense
B. High degree quantification (“lots of”)
Just like alle (cf. Section 7.1.1, sub III), allemaal may receive a high degree
interpretation. This is often the more natural interpretation for the substance nouns
in (122). It seems that pragmatics and grammatical/semantic context may both
affect the choice between the two readings in (126). For example, it seems that the
expletive er construction favors the high degree interpretation.
(126) a. Ik heb allemaal fruit gekocht.
I have altogether fruit bought
Possible reading: ‘I have bought all kinds/sorts of fruits.’
Possible reading: ‘I have bought lots of fruits.’
b. Er ligt allemaal suiker op tafel.
there lies altogether sugar on the.table
Possible reading: ‘There’s lots of sugar lying on the table.’
Impossible reading: ‘There are all sorts/kinds of sugar lying on the table.’
The high degree interpretation of allemaal is available for bare plurals as well,
especially when used in existential/presentational er constructions; to obtain the “all
kinds/sorts of” reading in (127b), allerlei will normally be used instead.
(127) a. Ik heb allemaal fouten gemaakt.
I have altogether mistakes made
Possible reading: ‘I have made all sorts of mistakes.’
Marginally possible reading: ‘I have made lots of mistakes.’
b. Er zitten allemaal fouten in de tekst.
there sit altogether mistakes in the text
Possible reading: ‘There are lots of mistakes in the text.’
Impossible reading: ‘There are all sorts of mistakes in the text.’