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Are Numerals of Category D or Adj?

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Cardinal numerals, in phrases like two books, seem to function like quantifiers like all or few at least in terms of their function as counting elements. In the case of one big book, the one can stand in place of an obligatory determiner (normally we’d require a determiner like a or the -- leaving off the determiner makes the phrase ungrammatical (*big book). This suggests, then, that numerals are of category D. However, consider the case of these two books. In this phrase, the numeral functions more like an adjective, in that it appears between the deictic article these and the noun. What category are numerals? That’s a difficult question to answer, and one that requires more theoretical tools than I can give you in this book, at this stage in your learning at least. I tell my own students that for the purposes of doing assignments in this book either analysis is plausible, and possibly both situations exist.

Syntax

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