Partitive pronouns in intransitive contexts in Italian and Dutch

Abstract

In the literature it is often assumed that partitive pronouns can only be used in combination with elliptical objects of transitive or unaccusative verbs. Some counterevidence has been provided as well, however, showing that partitive pronouns may also occur with intransitive verbs. In this paper it is investigated, by means of a Grammaticality Judgment Task, if native speakers of Italian and Dutch accept the use of the partitive pronoun with three types of intransitive verbs, in combination with an elliptical quantified adverbial NP. It is shown that both groups of participants were quite ready to accept the partitive pronoun in these cases, in some contexts more than in others. Various explanations for the results are considered and one more specific suggestion is made to account for the data, also based on a comparison with other constructions and other languages.