Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

Binominal constructions 617
cases, although it must be noted that, for some speakers, examples (113b&c) are
somewhat marked.
(113) a. een glas lekker/*lekkere bier
a glass [of] tasty beer
b. vier glazen ? lekker/*lekkere bier
four glasses [of] tasty beer
c. het glas ? lekker/*lekkere bier
the glass [of] tasty beer
Attributive set-denoting adjectives modifying N2 can only precede N1 when
they are set-denoting, that is, adjectives that normally can also occur as the
predicate in a copular construction. Placing an adjective that does not belong to this
group in front of N1 normally gives rise to a degraded result.
(114) a. een groep Amerikaanse toeristen
a group [of] American tourists
a′. ?? een Amerikaanse groep toeristen
b′. een groep vermeende misdadigers
a group [of] alleged criminals
b′. *? een vermeende groep misdadigers
Furthermore, the attributively used set-denoting adjectives must denote a property
of N2; in cases like (115), where the adjective has a classifying function instead, the
adjective cannot precede N1 either.
(115) a. # een wit/rood glas wijn
a white/red glass [of] wine
a. een glas witte/rode wijn
a glass [of] white/red wine
b. # een vervalste doos diamanten
a forged box [of] diamonds
b′. een doos vervalste diamanten
a box [of] forged diamonds
Finally, it should not be possible to construe the attributively used adjective with
N1: in examples like (116a) the construal of the adjective with N2 is blocked by the
fact that it can also express a property of N1; in order to modify N2 the adjective
must occur after N1, as in (116b).
(116) a. een grote doos eieren
a big box [of] eggs
‘a big box with eggs’
b. een doos grote eieren
a box [of] big eggs
‘a box with big eggs’