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    5.4.N-ellipsis
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    Under certain circumstances, the head of a noun phrase need not be overtly expressed. This is possible if the remainder of the noun phrase consists of a definite or indefinite determiner combined with an attributive adjective or an ordinal numeral, as in (104).

    104
    a. Jan kocht een/de blauwe vaas en Peter een/de groene [e].
      Jan bought  a/the blue vase  and  Peter a/the green (one)
    b. Jan kreeg de eerste prijs. De tweede [e] ging naar Peter.
      Jan got  the first prize  the second  went  to Peter
      'Jan got the first prize. The second (prize) was given to Peter.'

    N-ellipsis of this sort does not occur with other modifiers of the noun. This is illustrated in (105) by means of a postnominal PP-modifier. Examples such as (105) become acceptable, of course, if an attributive adjective is added: een/de groene [e] met blauwe strepen.

    105
    * Marie kocht een/de jurk met groene stippen en Els kocht een/de [e] met blauwe strepen.
      Marie bought  a/the dress  with green spots and  Els bought a/the  with blue stripes

    Note that the term N-ellipsis is somewhat misleading given that the ellipsis may involve a larger projection of the noun. Two examples are given in (106): (106a) is interpreted in such a way that Peter has a blue American car and (106b) that Peter tells the long version of the story.

    106
    a. Jan heeft een groene Amerikaanse wagen en Peter een blauwe [e].
      Jan has  a  green  American  car  and  Peter a blue (one)
    b. Jan vertelde de korte versie van het verhaal en Peter de lange [e].
      Jan told  the short version of the story  and  Peter the long (one)

          N-ellipsis is also possible without the presence of an attributive modifier provided that the remainder of the noun phrase is a cardinal number or a demonstrative pronoun, as in (107). In these examples, the empty noun is represented by [e].

    107
    a. Jan kocht vier vazen en Peter drie [e].
      Jan bought  four vases  and  Peter three
    b. Jan kocht deze vaas en Peter die [e].
      Jan bought  this vase  and  Peter that (one)

    Given the acceptability of the examples in (107) it does not come as a surprise that the primeless examples in (108) with postnominal PP-modifiers are possible as well. Interestingly, examples such as (108a) seem to require that the second adjunct is reduced. If the second conjunct is not reduced, the construction in (109) with so-called quantitative er seems much preferred.

    108
    a. Jan kocht vier vazen uit China en Peter drie [e] uit Chili.
      Jan bought  four vases from China  and  Peter three from Chile
    b. Jan kocht deze vaas uit China en Peter die [e] uit Chili.
      Jan bought  this vase from China  and  Peter that (one)  from Chile
    109
    a. * Jan kocht vier vazen uit China en Peter kocht drie [e] uit Chili.
      Jan bought  four vases from China  and  Peter bought  three  from Chile
    b. Jan kocht vier vazen uit China en Peter kocht er drie [e] uit Chili.
      Jan bought  four vases from China and  Peter bought  er  three  from Chile

          This section focuses on cases such as (104a), that is, on cases in which an attributive adjective is present. As is already indicated in the examples above, we will assume that the reduced noun phrase has the structure [NP een groene [e]], where [e] indicates an empty projection of the noun. The nominal projection [e] receives an interpretation, which may either be reconstructed from the (linguistic or non-linguistic) context or be established independently; the two cases will be discussed in, respectively, Subsection I and II. Before we do this, we want to point out that for some (but not all) speakers, N-ellipsis is only allowed if the adjective has the attributive -e ending. In other words, for these speakers N-ellipsis is excluded in singular indefinite noun phrases headed by a neuter noun. This gives rise to the contrast in (110), where the empty noun in (110a) is interpreted as the non-neuter noun fiets'bike', and in (110b) as the neuter noun boek'book'.

    110
    a. Mijn fiets is gestolen en ik heb daarom een nieuwe [e] gekocht.
      my bike  is stolen  and  I  have  therefore  a new (one)  bought
      'My bike has been stolen, and therefore Iʼve bought a new one.'
    b. % Mijn boek is gestolen en ik heb daarom een nieuw [e] gekocht.
      my book  is stolen  and  I  have  therefore  a new (one)  bought
      'My book has been stolen, and therefore Iʼve bought a new one.'

    Further, even those speakers who do accept (110b) occasionally reject cases in which the attributive -e is absent. This is especially the case with adjectives that cannot take the attributive -e ending; cf. Section 5.1.2. The judgments in (111) are of an idiosyncratic nature and may vary from speaker to speaker.

    111
    a. Jan heeft zijn zilveren ring verkocht en een gouden [e] gekocht.
      Jan has  his silver ring  sold  and  a golden  bought
      'Jan has sold his silver ring and has bought a golden one.'
    b. *? Ik heb hem de geprinte brief gegeven en zelf de handgeschreven [e] gehouden.
      I  have  him  the printed letter  given  and  myself  the hand.written  kept
      'I gave him the printed letter and have kept the hand-written one myself.'
    c. * Hij heeft een luxe huis en ik een van alle franje ontdaan [e].
      he  has  a luxurious home and  I  an  of all luxury  deposed
      'He has a luxurious home and I have [a house] that is deprived of all luxury.'

    Given these problems with uninflected attributive adjectives, which deserve more attention in the future, the following subsections will only provide examples in which the adjective is inflected.

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    [+]  I.  Context sensitive N-ellipsis: een/de/het groene'lit: a/the green'

    This subsection discusses N-ellipsis that is sensitive to the context, which may be of a non-linguistic or a linguistic nature. These two contexts are discussed in, respectively, Subsections A and B. Since N-ellipsis can be confused with backward conjunction reduction, the differences between the two constructions will be discussed in Subsection C.

    [+]  A.  N-ellipsis triggered by the non-linguistic context

    N-ellipsis triggered by the non-linguistic context is quite a common phenomenon. When two persons are in the zoo watching the penguins being fed, one could easily say something like (112a). Similarly, while looking at some dolls on display in a shop window, one can say something like (112b-c). Observe that N-ellipsis can apply to several types of arguments: in (112a), we are dealing with a subject, in (112b) with an object, and in (112c) with a prepositional complement.

    112
    a. De kleine [e] heeft nog geen vis gekregen.
      the small  has  yet  no fish  received
      'The small one didnʼt get any fish yet.'
    b. Ik ga de grote [e] met de blauwe jurk kopen.
      I  go  the big with the blue dress  buy
      'Iʼll buy that big one with the blue dress.'
    c. Kijk eens naar de grote [e] met de blauwe jurk!
      look  prt  at  the big  with the blue dress

    The examples in (113) show that N-ellipsis triggered by the non-linguistic context is marked if the adjective is preceded by the definite neuter determiner het. For example, when we are looking at a number of CDs, it would be perfectly acceptable to use (113a) with the definite determiner de, but it would be awkward to use (113b) when we are looking at number of books.

    113
    a. Ik heb net de nieuwe [e] van Lou Reed gekocht.
    de CD
      I  have  just  the new  by Lou reed  bought
      'I just bought the new one.'
    b. % Ik heb net het nieuwe [e] van Jeroen Brouwers gekocht.
    het boek
      I  have  just  the new  by Jeroen Brouwers  bought
      'I just bought the new one.'
    [+]  B.  N-ellipsis triggered by the linguistic context

    The context from which the content of the empty noun can be recovered can also be provided by the linguistic environment. The following subsections discuss some restrictions on the antecedent of the elided nominal projection.

    [+]  1.  N-ellipsis licensed by an element in a preceding sentence

          The primeless examples in (114) show that N-ellipsis can be licensed by some syntactically realized noun in a preceding sentence, whereas the primed examples show that N-ellipsis is excluded if [e]precedes the overtly realized noun. The unacceptability of the singly-primed examples is not due to the empty element but to the overtly realized one, which will be clear from the fact that applying N-ellipsis to the latter, as in the doubly-primed examples, will give rise to a fully acceptable result if the discourse provides a suitable antecedent for both empty nouns.

    114
    a. Ik heb een nieuwe stoel gekocht. Jij mag de oude [e] meenemen.
      I  have  a new chair  bought  you  may  the old  away.take
      'I bought a new chair. You may take the old one.'
    a'. *? Ik heb een nieuwe [e] gekocht. Jij mag de oude stoel meenemen.
    a''. Ik heb een nieuwe [e] gekocht. Jij mag de oude [e] meenemen.
    b. Ik heb de nieuwe postzegels gezien. De mooiste [e] komt uit Finland.
      I have the new stamps  seen  the most.beautiful  comes  from Finland
      'Iʼve seen the new stamps. The most beautiful one comes from Finland.'
    b'. *? Ik heb de nieuwe [e] gezien. De mooiste postzegel komt uit Finland.
    b''. Ik heb de nieuwe [e] gezien. De mooiste [e] komt uit Finland.

    The conditions on the interpretation of [e]resemble those on the interpretation of referential personal pronouns. This will become clear when we compare the examples in (114) with those in (115), in which coreference is indicated by italics. Just like [e]in the primeless examples in (114), the pronoun hij in (115a) is dependent for its interpretation on the direct object in the preceding sentence, and like the empty noun in the primed examples of (114), the pronoun in (115b) cannot precede its antecedent. This becomes possible, however, if the antecedent itself is an empty noun or a pronoun, as in the doubly-primed examples in (114) and example (115c).

    115
    a. Ik belde Peter gisteren. Hij is ontslagen.
      I called  Peter  yesterday  he  has.been  dismissed
    b. *? Ik belde hem gisteren. Peter is ontslagen.
      I called  him  yesterday  Peter  has.been  dismissed
    c. Ik belde hem gisteren. Hij is ontslagen.
      I  called  him  yesterday he  has.been  dismissed

          Note that N-ellipsis discourse is also possible if the syntactically realized antecedent is neuter, in contrast to what is the case if the antecedent is determined by the non-linguistic context. This will become clear by comparing the examples in (116) with the one in (113b).

    116
    a. Ik heb een nieuw woordenboek gekocht. Jij mag het oude [e] hebben.
      I  have  a new dictionary  bought  you  may  the old  have
      'I bought a new dictionary. You may take the old one.'
    b. Ik heb de nieuwe boeken gezien. Het gele [e] komt uit Finland.
      I  have  the new books  seen  the yellow  comes  from Finland
      'Iʼve seen the new books. The yellow one comes from Finland.'
    [+]  2.  N-ellipsis and coordination

    If the sentences in (114) are coordinated by means of the conjunction en'and', the judgments remain the same. More cases of N-ellipsis in coordinated clauses are given in (117) to (119). These examples show that N-ellipsis may apply both in full and in reduced clauses; in (118) the subject of the second conjunct is not expressed, and in (119) the verb of the second conjunct is absent as the result of gapping.

    117
    Coordinated full clauses
    a. dat Jan [NP de grote tent] opzet en Piet [NP de kleine [e]] neerhaalt.
      that  Jan  the big tent  puts.up  and  Piet  the small  pulls.down
      'that Jan is putting up the big tent and Piet is pulling down the small one.'
    b. dat Jan [NP het sterke paard] roskamt en Piet [NP het zieke [e]] knuffelt.
      that  Jan  the strong horse  curries  and  Piet  the sick cuddles
      'that Jan is currying the strong horse and Piet is cuddling the sick one.'
    118
    Forward conjunction reduction
    a. dat Jan [NP de grote tent] opzet en [NP de kleine [e]] neerhaalt.
      that  Jan  the big tent  puts.up  and  the small  pulls.down
      'that Jan is putting up the big tent and pulling down the small one.'
    b. dat Jan [NP het sterke paard] roskamt en [NP het zieke [e]] knuffelt.
      that  Jan  the strong horse  curries  and  the sick  cuddles
      'that Jan is currying the strong horse and cuddling the sick one.'
    119
    Gapping
    a. dat Jan [NP de grote tent] opzet en Piet [NP de kleine [e]]
      that  Jan  the big tent  puts.up  and  Piet  the small
      'that Jan is putting up the big tent and Piet (is putting up) the small one.'
    b. dat Jan [NP het sterke paard] roskamt en Piet [NP het zieke [e]]
      that  Jan  the strong horse  curries  and  Piet  the sick
      'that Jan is currying the strong horse and Piet (is currying) the sick one.'

          Although N-ellipsis leads to a fully acceptable result in coordinated sentences, this seems not to be the case in coordinated noun phrases. The examples in (120) and (121), which involve subjects and objects, respectively, are not acceptable for most speakers, and even for those speakers that accept these examples, the preferred option will still be backward conjunction reduction, which results in structures where the interpretative gap precedes the overtly realized noun; cf, subsection IC.

    120
    Coordinated noun phrases (in subject position)
    a. % dat [NP [de grote tent] en [de lichte [e]]] worden gebruikt.
      that   the big tent  and   the light  are  used
    b. % dat [NP [het sterke paard] en [het lieve [e]]] worden geroskamd.
      that   the strong horse  and   the kind  are  curried
    121
    Coordinated noun phrases (in object position)
    a. % dat Jan [NP [de grote tent] en [de lichte [e]]] gebruikt.
      that Jan   the big tent  and   the light  uses
    b. % dat Jan [NP [het sterke paard] en [het lieve [e]]] roskamt.
      that Jan   the strong horse  and   the kind  curries
    [+]  3.  N-ellipsis and subordination

    In addition to occurring in successive and coordinated sentences, N-ellipsis may also occur in the case of subordination. This is demonstrated in the primeless examples in (122). Although some speakers accept the primed examples under the intended interpretation, for most speakers the overt noun must precede the empty one.

    122
    a. De domme student dacht dat de slimme [e] hem wel zou helpen.
      the silly student  thought  that  the smart  him  prt  would  help
      'The silly student thought that the smart one would help him.'
    a'. % De domme [e] dacht dat de slimme student hem wel zou helpen.
    b. De rode druiven waren te zoet, hoewel de witte [e] lekker waren.
      the red grapes  were  too sweet  although  the white  appetizing  were
      'The red grapes were too sweet, although the white ones were appetizing.'
    b'. % De rode [e]waren te zoet, hoewel de witte druiven lekker waren.
    c. Ik wil eerst de oude auto kwijt voordat ik een nieuwe [e] koop.
      I  want  first  the old car  get.rid.of  before  I  a new  buy
      'I want to get rid of my old car, before I buy a new one.'
    c'. % Ik wil eerst de oude [e] kwijt voordat ik een nieuwe auto koop.

    The interpretation of the empty noun again resembles the interpretation of a personal pronoun in this respect; cf. the discussion of (115). This is illustrated in (123), in which coreference is again indicated by italics.

    123
    a. Jan denkt dat hij wel geholpen zal worden.
      Jan thinks  that  he  prt  helped  will  be
    a'. * Hij denkt dat Jan wel geholpen zal worden.
    b. Jan kwam langs, hoewel hij ziek was.
      Jan dropped  in  although  he  ill  was
    b'. * Hij kwam langs, hoewel Jan ziek was.
    c. Jan ontbijt altijd, voordat hij vertrekt.
      Jan  has.breakfast  always  before  he  departs
    c. * Hij ontbijt altijd, voordat Jan vertrekt.

    The order restriction on the overt and the empty noun is not a surface phenomenon. For example, the primeless examples in (124) show that topicalization of the complement/adjunct clauses in (122) does not block N-ellipsis in the subordinate clause. However, topicalization of the subordinated clauses renders N-ellipsis in the main clause fully acceptable too; this is illustrated in the primed examples in (124), which should be compared with the primed examples in (122).

    124
    a. Dat de slimme [e] hem wel zal helpen, denkt alleen de domme student.
      that the smart  him  prt  would help  thinks  only  the silly student
    a'. Dat de slimme student hem wel zal helpen, denkt alleen de domme [e].
    b. Hoewel de witte [e] lekker waren, waren de rode druiven te zoet.
      although  the white  appetizing  were  were  the red grapes  too sweet
    b'. Hoewel de witte druiven lekker waren, waren de rode [e] te zoet.
    c. Voordat ik een nieuwe [e] koop, wil ik eerst de oude auto kwijt.
      before  I  a new  buy  want  I  first  the old car  get.rid.of
    c'. Voordat ik een nieuwe auto koop, wil ik eerst de oude [e] kwijt.

    The examples in (125) show that the interpretation of [e] again resembles the interpretation of the referential personal pronouns in this respect: we refer the reader to N5.2.1.5, sub III, for more discussion of the conditions on the interpretation of the personal pronouns.

    125
    a. Dat hij wel geholpen zal worden, denkt alleen Jan zelf.
      that  he  prt  helped will  be  thinks  only  Jan himself
      'Only Jan himself thinks that heʼll be helped.'
    a'. Dat Jan wel geholpen zal worden, denkt alleen hij zelf.
    b. Hoewel hij ziek was, kwam Jan langs.
      although  he  ill  was  came  Jan  along
      'Although he was ill, Jan came along.'
    b'. Hoewel Jan ziek was, kwam hij langs.
    c. Voordat hij vertrekt, ontbijt Jan altijd.
      before  he  leaves  has.breakfast  Jan always
      'Jan is always having breakfast, before he leaves.'
    c'. Voordat Jan vertrekt, ontbijt hij altijd.
    [+]  4.  N-ellipsis in simple Clauses

    N-ellipsis can also apply within simple clauses. This is illustrated in the primeless examples in (126), in which N-ellipsis on a direct/prepositional object is triggered by the subject. Unlike what is the case in the complex sentences in (122), it occasionally seems to be possible for the empty noun to precede the overtly realized one in simple clauses, as shown in the primed examples.

    126
    a. Het oude paard trapte (naar) het jonge [e].
      the old horse  kicked  towards  the young
      'The old horse kicked (in the direction of) the young one.'
    a'. Het oude [e] trapte (naar) het jonge paard.
    b. Het oude paard staat naast het jonge [e].
      the old horse  stands  next.to  the young
    b'. Het oude [e] staat naast het jonge paard.

    The cases of N-ellipsis in the primeless and primed examples of (126) seem to behave differently in various respects. For example, the primed examples require a special intonation contour; contrastive accent (indicated by small capitals) must be placed on the attributive adjectives. Another conspicuous difference is that the overt and empty noun need not have the same number in the primeless examples, whereas this seems to be required in the primed examples. This can easily be demonstrated in (127) by means of the neuter noun paard'horse', which takes the determiner het in the singular and the determiner de in the plural.

    127
    a. Het oude paard trapte (naar) de jonge [e].
      the old horse  kicked  towards  the young
      'The old horse kicked (in the direction of) the young ones.'
    a'. ?? Het oude [e] trapte (naar) de jonge paarden.
    b. Het oude paard staat tussen de jonge [e].