Substance nouns like waterwater or houtwood have the feature [-shape]: the entities described by such nouns have measure (e.g. weight, volume) but no outline, and for this reason they can be included in the supercategory of non-count nouns. The entities denoted by substance nouns do not qualify as sets either, since they do not consist of individual members.

Since substance nouns have no definite outline, they cannot co-occur with the indefinite article, but require the use of the null article ∅ instead, as shown by example (48a). Example (48b) shows that substance nouns cannot be pluralized either; consequently, subject noun phrases headed by these nouns always trigger singular agreement on the finite verb. The primed examples in (48) show again that substance nouns can be modified by a [-count] quantifying expression like een beetjea little but not by [+count] quantifying expressions like enkelesome/a few.

Individual nouns have the feature [+shape]: they denote entities with a definite outline, such as autocar or tafeltable and can thus be included in the supercategory of count nouns. They can be used to refer to persons, animals and things (e.g. manman, honddog, autocar). Since the entities denoted by individual nouns are conceived as individuals, they also have the feature [-set].

Example (49a) shows that in singular indefinite noun phrases individual nouns cannot be preceded by the indefinite null article, but must be preceded by the article eena. If more than one entity is referred to, the plural form of the noun is preceded by the null article, as in (49b). Subject noun phrases headed by individual nouns trigger number agreement on the finite verb, which is singular in (49a) and plural in (49b).

Plural individual nouns refer to non-singleton sets and can therefore be modified by [+count] quantifying expressions like enkelesome/a few. Singular individual nouns, however, cannot co-occur with [-count] quantifiers like een beetjea bit. This is illustrated by (50a) and (50b), respectively.

For completeness’ sake, note that Section 22.2.2 will show that there is an exception to the general rule that singular individual nouns must be preceded by the indefinite article eena: predicatively used individual nouns denoting a profession, function or position can be used without the indefinite article; cf. Jan is leraarJan is a teacher.

Mass nouns have the features [+set] and [-shape]: they denote entities that are conceived as a non-singleton set, but the set as a whole lacks a definite outline. Examples of these nouns are veecattle, politiepolice, geboomtetrees and meubilairfurniture. Example (51a) shows that mass nouns, like substance nouns, cannot co-occur with the indefinite article but use the null article ∅ instead, and (51b) shows that they cannot be pluralized. Accordingly, they only combine with singular finite verb forms when heading a subject noun phrase.

As non-count nouns, mass nouns can be modified by [-count] quantifying expressions such as een beetjea bit (of), but not by [+count] quantifiers like enkelesome or een aantala number (of). This is shown by (52a) and (52b), respectively.

A further distinction can be made according to whether the set denoted by the mass nouns is homogeneous (consisting of identical or similar members) or heterogeneous (consisting of members that differ in shape, color, function etc.). Nouns belonging to the former category, such as politiepolice, do not allow modification by allerleiall sorts of or velerleimany sorts of, whereas nouns belonging to the latter class, like vee or meubilair, speelgoedtoys, snoepgoedsweets do (Vossen 1995).

Collective nouns differ from mass nouns in that they have the feature [+shape]: they denote entities that are conceived as a non-singleton set that has a definite outline in the sense that it consists of a restricted (though possibly unknown) number of members and is, as such, bounded. Examples of collective nouns are groepgroup, kuddeflock, verzamelingset, clubclub, verenigingclub/society, regeringgovernment and collectiecollection. Collective nouns behave largely like individual nouns; example (54a) shows that they can be preceded by the indefinite article een, but not by the null article, while (54b) shows that the plural is used when more than one set is referred to. Consequently, subject noun phrases headed by these nouns will trigger number agreement on the finite verb.

Plural collective nouns can be modified by [+count] quantifiers like enkelesome and een aantala number (of); singular collective nouns, however, cannot be preceded by [-count] quantifiers like een beetjea bit (of). This is shown by (55a) and (55b), respectively.

A substantial subclass of collective nouns exhibit special behavior in the sense that they are preferably followed by a plural individual noun that specifies their members. Collective nouns like kudde therefore usually occur as the first noun in a binominal noun phrase. Examples with the collective noun kuddeflock are given in (56).

Although binominal noun phrases often contain collective nouns (because they denote a designated number of members), it is not a prerequisite that the first noun be a collective noun; Chapter 18 will show that collective nouns are only one subtype of a wider range of nouns that can be used in binominal noun phrases.

Substance nouns can occasionally be used as individual nouns. This can be done by conversion (∅-derivation), by adding the diminutive suffix -je or one of its allomorphs, or by combining the noun with the indefinite article eena. We will discuss the three cases in the order given.

Cases in which mass nouns are used as individual nouns are rare and idiosyncratic, which might be expected since they involve not only a shift in the feature [±shape] but also a shift in the feature [±set]. However, such instances are not completely impossible and always involve the use of a pluralized mass noun referring to different kinds of the denoted entity rather than to the mass itself. Thus, example (68a) is definitely marked but acceptable in an informal context where different kinds of police (e.g. state police, county police, municipal police) are being distinguished. Such cases clearly cannot involve ellipsis, since the corresponding binominal construction in (68b) requires the noun politie to be singular; cf. *drie soorten politiespl.

Still, it should be repeated that conversions like (68a) are quite rare: (69) shows that it is impossible with most mass nouns, and that a binominal construction or compound noun must be used to convey the intended message.

The use of [+shape] as [-shape] nouns only involves the use of individual nouns as substance nouns. We are dealing with conversion in all cases. Food-related contexts are typical of this kind of use: the nouns kip/meloenchicken/melon, which normally refer to entities, are used in (70a&b) to refer to an unbounded quantity of edible parts of those entities.

Not all individual nouns referring to edible entities accept this kind of conversion quite so readily. In particular, nouns denoting small objects like besberry or rozijnraisin in (71a) resist a substance interpretation. However, this seems to hold only for objects that are normally conceptualized as separate objects, possibly because they are consumed in this way. This would explain why the examples in (71b), which also involve small objects of a definite shape, are acceptable; most people use the substance in powder form.

However, nouns like besberry or aardbeistrawberry also resist conversion in examples such as (72), which are supposed to refer to substances flavored with an extract of berries/strawberries, while this is easily possible with nouns like meloenmelon. This suggests that it is the prototypical, rather than the actual use of the noun that counts.

Conversion is less common in non-culinary contexts and often yields less acceptable results. Nevertheless, examples such as (73) are conceivable, especially in a generic reading.

Another case that may involve the use of [+shape] nouns as [-shape] nouns is discussed in Subsection IVB.

Combinations of an indefinite article and a non-count noun are usually not acceptable; the same holds for plural individual nouns. This is illustrated again by the primeless examples in (74). These combinations become perfectly acceptable when preceded by the exclamative element wat, as in the primed examples. In these cases, the noun phrases take on the form of an exclamation, conveying the idea of an unexpectedly large quantity or quality; the water may be very dirty, the furniture extremely beautiful, and the books of extraordinary quality.

The use of the indefinite article is also possible in other exclamative surroundings, as shown in (75); the exclamative reading is triggered by the use of the ethical dative me and/or the empathic particle toch, and the use of the noun phrases in the primeless examples in (74) is licensed.

Subsection I has shown that the quantifier een beetjea bit (of) normally occurs only with non-count nouns like the substance noun waterwater in (76a) and the mass noun meubilairfurniture in (76b). With individual nouns such as boekbook in (76c), the modifier een beetje is normally not possible.

Nevertheless, example (76c) is marked with the number sign “#”, because it may be acceptable in a very specific reading and in a context characterized by a high degree of informality. Illustrations are given in (77). These examples express a (positive or negative) evaluation on the part of the speaker: he is referring to qualities, not physical entities, thus turning the individual nouns boek and man into substance nouns. A substance noun reading is supported by the fact that the subjects in (77) cannot be pluralized.

Given the right context, every individual noun can be converted into a substance noun in this way, although the result is always stylistically marked. The examples in (78) show that quantifying expressions like te veeltoo much, niet genoegnot enough and een hoeveelheida quantity, which are normally only found with substance nouns or plural count nouns, may trigger an interpretive effect similar to that of een beetje in combination with singular individual nouns.

In a similar way, collective nouns can be used as mass nouns; cf. example (79). Use and effect are comparable to conversion from individual to substance noun. Again, conversion is more likely to be acceptable in contexts involving an evaluation on the part of the speaker: (79a), for instance, gives the impression of a sports club with a fair number of members and a certain status, while (79b) suggests a stamp collection of considerable size and quality.