Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

1066 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
consider example (34a), in which the indefinite noun phrase follows the adverbial
phrase elke dag ‘every day’. This example contends that Jan has the habit of
watching (at least) one program a day on TV, where the program may change from
day to day. However, when the speaker has a specific television program in mind
that Jan watches every day (e.g., the eight o’clock news), he is not likely to use
example (34a); he would probably use an example like (34b) instead, where één is
stressed so that we cannot determine whether we are dealing with the indefinite
article een ‘a’ or the numeral één ‘one’. The fact that a nonspecific indefinite bare
plural like programma’s in the primed examples cannot be placed in front of the
adverb, however, suggests the latter.
(34) a. dat Jan elke dag een programma op tv bekijkt.
that Jan every day a program on TV watches
a′. dat Jan elke dag programma’s op tv bekijkt.
that Jan every day programs on TV watches
b. dat Jan één programma op tv elke dag bekijkt.
that Jan a/one program on TV every day watches
b′. ?? dat Jan programma’s op tv elke dag bekijkt.
that Jan programs on TV every day watches
This suggestion is further supported by the fact that a plural noun phrase preceded
by a numeral show the same difference in reading as (34a&b): (35a) expresses that
Jan watches two programs every day, where the programs may change from day to
day, whereas (35b) expresses that Jan watches the same two programs every day.
(35) a. dat Jan elke dag twee programma’s op tv bekijkt.
that Jan every day two programs on TV watches
b. dat Jan twee programma’s op tv elke dag bekijkt.
that Jan two programs on TV every day watches
From this we may conclude that the difference in scope between the indefinite noun
phrase and the universally quantified adverbial phrase is reflected in the linear order
of the two: in (35a) the universal operator expressed by the temporal adverbial
phrase has scope over the existential operator implied by the indefinite noun phrase
(∀t ∃x), and in (35b) the scope relation is inverted (∃x ∀t).
B. Genericity
Another possible effect of scrambling is that the indefinite noun phrase receives a
generic interpretation. Consider the examples in (36). Example (36a) expresses that
Jan is reading something which is probably a bestseller (or, alternatively, that Jan is
doing something, which is probably reading a bestseller). Example (36a′), on the
other hand, expresses that bestsellers are likely to be read by Jan. The same pattern
is even clearer in (36b&b′): (36b) expresses that Jan generally reads some
bestseller, whereas (36b′) expresses that most bestsellers are read by Jan. The
(c)-examples provide similar examples with plural noun phrases: (36c) expresses
that Jan generally reads bestsellers, whereas (36c′) expresses that most bestsellers
are read by Jan.