Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Syntactic uses of noun phrases 1089
surface as an object form: cf. De beste kandidaat ben ik/*mij vs. The best candidate
is me/*I. Since this is not the place to discuss these differences between English and
Dutch, we refer the reader to Den Dikken (2006: Ch.4, fn.43), who argues that these
differences are related to the fact that predicate inversion may result from
topicalization in Dutch, but not in English.
The discussion above has shown that even in predicative constructions
expressing identity, there can be a fixed division of labor between the two noun
phrases. This leads to the question what determines whether a certain noun phrase
acts as the SUBJECT or the predicate. Just as in the case of regular predicative
constructions, this seems to be related to inclusion relations. Whereas proper nouns
normally refer to some specific entity in the domain of discourse, the referents of
definite noun phrases are primarily presented as members of a larger set denoted by
the NP. For example, the definite noun phrase de beste leerling van de klas ‘the best
pupil(s) of the group’ does not simply refer to a certain individual, but to an
individual who is characterized as being a member of a larger subset denoted by the
NP leerling van deze klas ‘pupil of this group’. The facts reviewed above suggest
that it is always the noun phrase presented as part of a larger superset that is taken
as the predicative part of the construction.
In fact, it seems that this can be made even more precise. The examples in (95),
which involve two definite noun phrases, suggest that it is the noun phrase
presented as part of the largest superset that is taken as the complementive. In the
most plausible extra-linguistic context to utter the primeless examples in (95), the
set of tulips will be considerably smaller than the total set of flowers exhibited at
the exhibition, and the primed examples unambiguously show that, as a result of
this, it is the noun phrase de mooiste bloem van deze tentoonstelling that functions
as the complementive, given that example (95b′) is at best marginally acceptable
with strong emphatic accent on the noun phrase deze blauwe tulp.
(95) a. Deze blauwe tulp is de mooiste bloem van deze tentoonstelling.
this blue tulip is the most.beautiful flower of this exhibition
a′. Ik vind deze blauwe tulp de mooiste bloem van deze tentoonstelling.
I consider this blue tulip the most.beautiful flower of this exhibition
b. De mooiste bloem van deze tentoonstelling is deze blauwe tulp.
b′. *? Ik vind de mooiste bloem van deze tentoonstelling deze blauwe tulp.
Of course, there are still many cases where it is not so clear which of the two
noun phrases must be considered the predicate of the construction. This is
illustrated by the examples in (96). The embedded clauses show that the two
definite noun phrases may both act as the predicate of the copular construction. The
difference between (96a′) and (96b′) is that in the former the noun phrase de
voorzitter van deze vergadering is taken to be a referential expression, the referent
of which is known to both the speaker and the addressee, whereas in the latter it is
taken to be a property assigned to the referent of the referential noun phrase de
decaan van de universiteit. This shows that the assignment of referential or
predicative status may be dependent on properties of the discourse; in (96a′), the
referent of the noun phrase de voorzitter van deze vergadering is assumed to be
known to the addressee, whereas the referent of de decaan van de universiteit is not: