Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

1086 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
b. Ik vind Peter [PRED een aardige jongen].
I consider Peter a nice boy
b′. Ik vind Jan en Peter [PRED ∅ aardige jongens].
I consider Jan and Peter nice boys
c. Hij benoemde Jan *(tot/als) voorzitter.
he appointed Jan as chairman
II. The identification relation
The examples in (86) above illustrate the use of indefinite noun phrases as
predicates. Definite noun phrases can be used in the same way. The main difference
is that whereas the use of an indefinite noun phrase expresses that its SUBJECT is
part of the denotation of the NP, the use of a definite noun phrase implies that the
SUBJECT exhausts it. For example, (87a) expresses that Peter is just part of the set of
students that are supervised by Marie, whereas (87b) implies that Peter is the only
student that is supervised by Marie. The (b)-examples in (87) therefore differ from
those in the (a)-examples in not expressing a set/subset relation, but an
identification relation.
(87) a. Peter is [PRED een student die door Marie begeleid wordt].
Peter is a student who by Marie supervised is
a′. Peter en Jan zijn [PRED studenten die door Marie begeleid worden].
Peter and Jan are students who by Marie supervised are
b. Peter is [PRED de student die door Marie begeleid wordt].
Peter is the student who by Marie supervised is
b′. Peter en Jan zijn [PRED de studenten die door Marie begeleid worden].
Peter and Jan are the students who by Marie supervised are
That we are dealing with an identification relation does not mean, however, that
both DPs are referring expressions. That this is not the case will become clear when
we consider the referential behavior of the coordinated DPs in (88). The plural
marking on the finite verb in (88a) shows that the coordinated subject de dokter en
de burgemeester ‘the physician and the mayor’ is also necessarily plural. This
shows that there is a one-to-one relation between the number of articles and the
number of referents: each conjunct refers to a separate person. This is, however, not
the case in (88b), where the coordinated DP functions as a predicate: there is simply
one person who can be identified both as the physician and as the mayor of the
village under discussion. Example (88b′) shows that predicative definite noun
phrases can also be coordinated by means of conjunctions other than en ‘and’. Note
that the adverbs tevens ‘also’ and ook ‘also’ in (88b&b′) emphasize the fact that the
persons denoted by the coordinated predicative noun phrases are actually the same;
see also the discussion of the examples in (97) below.