• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Afrikaans
Show full table of contents
    The negative article without a following NP (noun ellipsis)
    quickinfo

    The negative article may be used without a following noun, that is, in ellipsis. In ellipsis, the negative article may appear in a form that is exclusively reserved for ellipsis, although this is not obligatory. Alongside gjin no, the following forms are found in ellipsis:

    Example 1

    gjin: gjint, gjinnen, gjinnent, gjinten, gjinien
    none
    readmore

    It is remarkable in itself that so many alternatives exist for certain quantifiers which are independently used, that is, without a following Noun Phrase (NP)-internal element. Independently used adjectives, in contrast, may exhibit only the endings -en and -enien , alongside the form that is used for attributive agreement:

    Example 2

    griene: grienen, grienenien
    green one
    griene: *grient, *grienent, *grienten, *grienien

    Conversely, although adjectives allow for the form -enien , the negative article does not: *gjinnenien none. Furthermore, the form gjinien none is, ambiguous between an elliptic interpretation and an independent lexical interpretation as a quantifier with the meaning nobody. Finally, it must be noted that of all these forms marking noun ellipsis, only one may be used as an article before a following noun: gjinien. This article may only be used before singular nouns, indicating that ien one still retains its singular number in this compound:

    Example 3

    a. Gjinien dielnimmer hie in hoed op
    no participant had a hat on
    No participant wore a hat
    b. *Ik ha gjinien dielnimmers sjoen
    I have no participant seen
    I did not see any participants

    The negative article cannot be used as a floating quantifier, regardless of the form that is used:

    Example 4

    *Ik ha se gjint sjoen
    I have them none seen
    I did not see any of them

    The negative article in ellipsis can also be used as predicate, although the form net ien not one is preferred:

    Example 5

    a. Dat is gjint
    that is none
    That is not one
    b. Dat is net ien
    that is not one
    That is not one
    [hide extra information]
    x
    Literature

    More about gjin none can be read in Dyk (2011).

    References:
    • Dyk, Siebren2011The morphology of Frisian nominal ellipsis
    ABOUT THIS TOPIC
    Author(s):
    Eric Hoekstra
    Category:
    Frisian Syntax
    Publication date:
    14 May 2020
    Keywords:
    ellipsis
    cite
    print
    report error
    Jump to:
    X