/ instituut voor de Nederlandse taal / Taalportaal
bibliography glossary about
  • Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
    Relative indefinite nominal quantifiers
    quickinfo

    Relative quantifiers can be separated from the partitive adjectives with which they are construed in case the adjective is subjective.

    readmore

    Relative quantifiers require a relative or subjective standard of evaluation for their interpretation. Relative quantifiers found in the partitive adjective construction are: folle many, much, hoefolle how many/much, likefolle as many/much as, gâns much, mear more, minder less, genôch enough, alderhanne all sorts of, sok such. Some examples are given below:

    1
    a. Der wie net folle aardichs te sjen
    there was not much nice to see
    There were not many nice things to be seen
    b. Der bleau genôch moais oer
    there remained enough nice ADP
    Enough nice things remained
    c. Hoefolle negatyfs is him dêr net oerkommen?
    how.much negative is him there not happened
    How many negative things have happened to him over there?
    d. Jim ha beiden likefolle spannends meimakke
    you have both as much exciting experienced
    Both of you experienced the same amount of excitement
    e. Ik ha minder spannends belibbe as jim
    I have less exciting experienced than you
    I experienced fewer exciting things than you
    f. Men went oeral oan, sels oan sok útsûnderlik moai-s
    one used all to even to such exceptionally beautiful.PA
    One gets used to everything, even to such exceptionally beautiful things

    These quantifiers can also be used as modifiers of nouns, as in genôch wyn enough wine; the resulting construction is referred to as a nominal partitive construction. The partitive adjective and the nominal partitive are both non-count: they are both invariantly singular, as evidenced by the verb agreement they trigger:

    2
    a. Der is genôch wyn oer
    there is.SG enough wine left
    There is enough wine left
    b. Der is genôch ûnaardichs sein
    there is.SG enough not.nice.things said
    Enough unpleasant things have been said

    Spoken language occasionally features Dutch interference in weinich little; its meaning is usually expressed by in bytsje a little or net folle not much. Its antonym, folle much, is a negative polarity item; its meaning is often expressed by a quantifier consisting of a noun preceded by the indefinite article. These quantifiers can be separated from their partitive adjectives in case the adjective is subjective:

    3
    a. Freesliks binne wy yn dat lân genôch tsjinkaam
    horrible are we in that country enough met
    We have come across enough horrible things in that country
    b. *Reads ha ik dêr genôch sjoen
    red have I there enough seen
    Lit: Reds I have seen enough there

    From older Frisian, there are examples like the one below, where the discontinuity involves the relative pronoun, which has a relative quantifier for its antecedent:

    4
    Yet sa fulle is up to neamen, dat de Franskman gôed-s hjir brocht
    yet so much is up to name that the Frenchman good.PA here brought
    Much more that is good can be mentioned, which the Frenchman brought here

    The negation of folle much is involved in partitive idiom formation. Frisian often uses negation of positives in order to express a strong negative evaluation. In the expressions below, brets brood and aaps monkey seem to be frozen nominal partitives, dating back to the time when there were still nominal partitives:

    5
    a. Net folle brets wêze
    not much brood be
    Be not (worth) much
    b. Net folle aaps wêze
    not much monkey be
    Be not (worth) much
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: relative quantifier
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
      printreport errorcite
      Jump to:
      X