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    Container nouns
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    Container nouns refer to objects which integrate other objects, referred to by the content noun, into a large whole.

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    An example of a bare partitive construction with a container noun is given below:

    1
    In grutte doaze flikken
    a big box chocolate.drops
    A big box of chocolate drops

    This example shows that the container noun may be modified by attributive adjectives. Container nouns allow the content noun to be realised in an Adpositional Phrase (PP) introduced by the preposition mei with:

    2
    In doaze mei flikken
    a box with chocolate.drops
    A box of chocolate drops

    Container nouns also allow the content noun to be preceded by the functional element fol full, that is related to the homophonous adjective (for ease of reference, the functional element fol full will be referred to as an adjective):

    3
    In doaze fol flikken
    a box full chocolate.drops
    A box full of chocolate drops

    Container nouns allow the noun of descriptive content to be preceded by the combination of adjective and preposition fol mei full of:

    4
    In doaze fol mei flikken
    a box full with chocolate.drops
    A box full of chocolate drops

    Question formation can only target the construction with an Adjective Phrase (AP) and a PP, not the other ones:

    5
    a. *Wat siet de doaze?
    what sat the box
    What was the box (full of)?
    b. *Wêr siet de doaze mei?
    what.R sat the box with
    What was the box (full) of?
    c. Wêr siet de doaze fol mei?
    what.R sat the box full with
    What was the box full of?

    Extraction is allowed only in case the phrase containing the content noun can function as a predicate to a copula:

    6
    a. *De doaze siet flikken
    the box sat chocolate.drops
    The box was full of chocolate drops
    b. *De doaze siet mei flikken
    the box sat with chocolate.drops
    The box was full of chocolate drops
    c. De doaze siet fol mei flikken
    the box sat full with chocolate.drops
    The box was full of chocolate drops

    The copula sitte sit is commonly used in examples such as the ones above, although in older Frisian the copula wêze be was used. An example is given below:

    7
    Wêr wie de doaze fol mei?
    what.R was the box full with
    What was the box full of?

    There are many examples in which the container noun must be joined to the content noun by means of an overt element like fol full or mei with, and in which a bare partitive construction is excluded. An example is the minimal pair below:

    8
    a. In fytstas mei boadskippen
    a bicycle.bag with shopping
    A bicycle bag with shopping in it
    b. *In fytstas boadskippen
    a bicycle.bag shopping
    A bicycle bag with shopping in it

    Another example is provided below:

    9
    a. In doaze mei gatten
    a box with holes
    A box with holes
    b. *In doaze gatten
    a box holes
    A box of holes

    Nevertheless, the bare partitive construction may exhibit a light degree of recursion in the presence of container nouns, as in the following example:

    10
    In seispak blikjes bier
    a six.PAck cans beer
    A six.PAck of cans of beer

    The construction with a preposition also allows of recursion:

    11
    In seispak mei blikjes mei bier
    a six.PAck with cans with beer
    A six.PAck of cans of beer

    The construction with a preposition and an adjective also allows recursion:

    12
    In seispak fol mei blikjes fol mei bier
    a six.PAck full with cans full with beer
    A six.PAck full of cans full of beer

    The last example seems to have a slightly different meaning. It suggests that the six.PAck was not meant to be for cans, and that the cans were not meant for beer.

    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: container noun
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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