In search of the function of the Dutch partitive genitive: a corpus analysis

peer reviewed ; Perhaps the most puzzling of the Dutch vestigial genitives is the partitive genitive with indefinite pronouns and numerals, as in (1) and (3). What is most noteworthy is its stubborn resilience in the face of deflexion, even though other partitive genitives have long given way to alternative s-less constructions, such as close appositions, and even though such an alternative is occasionally attested for the partitive genitive at issue as well, as shown in (2) and (4) (Van der Horst 2008: 1624-1625). This has led numerous researchers to assume a new, grammatical function for thi... Mehr ...