Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

1052 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
Introduction
This chapter will discuss the distribution of noun phrases within the clause, and the
differences between the types of noun phrase in this respect: pronouns, for example,
behave differently from definite noun phrases, which in their turn behave differently
from indefinite noun phrases. Sections 8.1 and 8.2 discuss the distribution of noun
phrases in their core functions as °arguments and predicates, respectively. Section
8.3 concludes the discussion with some remarks on the adverbial use of noun
phrases. This chapter will be relatively short given that some of the issues discussed
here are discussed in more detail elsewhere. For example, the use of noun phrases
as arguments of nouns is extensively discussed in Chapter 2, and similar chapters
can be found in Broekhuis & Corver (in prep).
8.1. Noun phrases as arguments
Noun phrases are typically used as arguments of a verb or one of the three other
major categories N, A and P. This section mainly focuses on their distribution as
arguments of the verb, that is, in the clausal domain. In Section 8.1.1, we start with
a discussion of the argument functions the noun phrase can have. This is followed
in 8.1.2 by a discussion of the restrictions on wh-movement and topicalization.
Section 8.1.3 provides a discussion of °scrambling, that is, the placement of the
noun phrase in the °middle field of the clause. In 8.1.4, we conclude with a
discussion of the restrictions on noun phrases in the °expletive construction.
8.1.1. Syntactic functions of noun phrases
Noun phrases can occur in all argument functions. Some typical examples are given
in (1) to (4). In (1) the noun phrase acts as the (nominative) subject of the clause, in
(2) as the (accusative) direct object, in (3) as the (dative) indirect object, and in (4),
finally, as the °complement of a preposition: the primeless examples in (4) involve a
prepositional indirect object and the primed ones involve PP-complements of the
verb, but examples could also be given for PPs with, e.g., an adverbial function. The
(a)- and (b)-examples of each set illustrate, respectively, non-neuter and neuter
singulars, and the (c)-examples exemplify plurals. For each of these types a definite
and an indefinite example are given. The definite noun phrases are headed by the
definite article de/het ‘the’, but they can be replaced by any other type of definite
noun phrase: replacing the noun phrase de man ‘the man’ by, e.g., noun phrases like
die man ‘that man’ or mijn vriend ‘my friend’, a personal pronoun like hij/hem
‘he/him’ or the universal quantifier iedereen ‘everyone’ does not affect the
grammaticality judgments. Neither will the grammaticality judgments change when
we replace the indefinite singular noun phrase een man/kind by the existential
quantifier iemand or the indefinite plural DP [∅ mensen] ‘persons’ by some other
plural indefinite noun phrase like verschillende/veel/vier mensen ‘several/many/four
persons’.