Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

1126 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
Middle field:
The middle field of the clause is defined as that part of the clause bounded to the
right by the verbs in clause-final position (if present), and to the left by the
complementizer in an embedded clause or the finite verb in second position of a
main clause. The middle field of the examples in (i) is given in italics.
(i) a. Gisteren heeft Jan met plezier dat boek gelezen.
yesterday has Jan with pleasure that book read
b. Ik denk [dat Jan met plezier dat boek gelezen heeft].
I think that Jan with pleasure that book read has
It is important to realize that the middle field of a clause is not a constituent, but
simply refers to a set of positions within the clause. This set of positions includes
the base positions of the nominal arguments of the verb within VP (but not the verb
itself), as well as a variety of positions external to VP such as the positions of the
adverbial phrases and positions that can act as a landing site for, e.g., °scrambling.
Modifier:
In the nominal domain, modifiers are normally used to restrict the denotation of the
modified noun. Modification of nouns is typically obtained by means of adjectival
and prepositional phrases, as well as relative clauses. Some typical examples, in
which the modifiers are italicized, are given in (i).
(i) a. een mooi boek
a beautiful book
b. het huis op de hoek
the house on the corner
c. de man [die hier gisteren was]
the man who here yesterday was
‘the man who was here yesterday’
Negative polarity:
Negative polarity items are constituents that cannot occur in all environments, but
require some other element, like negation, in their environment to license them.
Typical examples are the ook maar-phrases in (i): this phrase is licensed in (ia) by
the negative noun phrase niemand, but blocked in (ib) due to the absence of such a
negative constituent. Example (ic) shows that negative polarity items can also occur
in, e.g., hypothetical contexts.
(i) a. Niemand heeft ook maar iets gezegd.
nobody has OOK MAAR something said
‘Nobody has said anything at all.’
b. *Jan heeft ook maar iets gezegd.
Jan has OOK MAAR something said
c. Als er ook maar iets tegenzit, raakt hij in paniek.
if there OOK MAAR something go.against become he in panic
‘If anything at all goes wrong, he panics.’