Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

608 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
(88) a. *per boel/hoop d. per plak
per lot/lot per slice
b. per kilo e. per dozijn
per kilo per dozen
c. per kop
per cup
The result is often marked when per is followed by a plural noun, although
acceptability may vary depending on the context and on the ease of conceptualization;
an example like (89c) gives rise to a perfectly acceptable result in the
following example found on the internet: Deze speculaas weegt ca. 125 gram per
plak en wordt per twee plakken verkocht ‘This spiced biscuit weighs about 125
grams and is sold in sets of two pieces’. The fact that (89a) is fully acceptable with
the singular form of kilo shows that a phrase like twee kilo does not function as a
plural noun phrase; it simply refers to a definite quantity. The marked status of the
plural form kilo’s shows that the noun phrase twee kilo’s ‘two kilos’ is plural: it
refers to two discrete entities of one kilo each.
(89) a. per twee kilo/*kilo’s c. ?? per twee plakken
per two kilosg/pl per two slices
b. ?? per twee koppen d. *? per twee koppels
per two cups per two couples
4.1.1.3.4. Some similarities between N1s and cardinal numerals
Section 4.1.1.3.3 has shown that N1s and cardinal numerals share a number of
semantic properties. Therefore, it seems useful to compare the two types of element
in other respects as well. This section shows that they both license so-called
°quantitative er and exhibit similar behavior under modification and coordination.
I. Quantitative er
If N1s are quantificational, they may be expected to co-occur with °quantitative er.
The primeless examples in (90) show, however, that this expectation is borne out
for the quantifier and the measure nouns only. Note that the measure noun in (90b)
must be followed by the sequence of + numeral, which is probably due to the fact
that this makes the quantifier less definite. Given the requirement that the
phonetically empty noun is [+COUNT], it does not come as a surprise that measure
nouns like liter give rise to a degraded result due to the fact that they normally
combine with non-count N2s. Given that part nouns also combine with non-count
N2s, we might in principle give a similar account for the unacceptability of (90d),
but the unacceptability of (90c&e) shows that there is more involved than simply a
count/non-count distinction: the ungrammaticality of (90c-e) is clearly related to the
referential status of the N1s.
(90) a. Ik heb er nog [een paar/boel [e]]. [QN]
I have ER still a couple/lot
‘I have still got a couple of them.’