The use of allemaal as a modifier of noun phrases is limited in the sense that it is only possible in bare indefinite noun phrases: Table 9 shows that allemaal does not combine with singular [+count] noun phrases, nor with plural noun phrases headed by a definite determiner (which is possible in e.g. West-Flemish).

Allemaal is also prohibited in noun phrases headed by pluralia tantum, such as tropen in (125a), and in plurals denoting a conventionally fixed unit, such as Verenigde StatenUS in (125b).

Allemaal readily allows construal with the bare non-count nouns in (126) and with the deverbal nouns in (127), with the exception of nominal infinitives. Note that adding a definite or indefinite article to these examples leads to unacceptability.

The primeless examples of (128) show that noun phrases modified by allemaal are typically weak; they usually require the expletive er to be present when used as a subject. The primed examples of (128), in which the modified noun phrase is topicalized across the expletive, clearly show that allemaal forms a constituent with the noun that follows it (the constituency test).

Having established that the only types of noun phrases with which allemaal can form a constituent are bare plurals and bare non-count nouns, we will move on to discuss the meaning of allemaal as a modifier of the noun phrase and the restrictions it imposes on other elements with the noun phrase.

Subsection I has shown that allemaal can be used as a modifier in noun phrases headed by a plural count noun or a non-count noun. However, it differs from al and alle (+ Num) in that it does not express universal quantification: an example such as allemaal boeken cannot be rendered in English by “all books”. In this respect, the dependent use of allemaal differs from its prototypical use as a floating quantifier, which is discussed in Section 21.1.5.2, sub II. The following subsections discuss the semantic contributions that dependent allemaal can make.

In standard Dutch, allemaal can only be construed with bare noun phrases. Table 9 has already shown that it cannot be combined with (in)definite articles, but this also applies to demonstratives and possessives.

Examples such as (134a), where allemaal seems to form a constituent with a [+human] personal pronoun, can be found occasionally, but to the extent that they are acceptable, they seem to involve universal quantification. Since this is the reading typically found with the floating quantifier allemaal in the primed examples in (134), this casts doubt on the assumption that we are dealing with a modifier; cf. Section 21.1.5.2, sub II, for more on the floating quantifier use of allemaal.

Assuming that we can dismiss examples such as (134a) as irrelevant, we can maintain that allemaal can only form a constituent with bare plurals and bare non-count nouns. Note, however, that these categories seem to allow the insertion of the indefinite determiner-like elements dat/dit/zulk soortsuch between allemaal and the noun phrase, although for the majority of speakers these elements must be preceded by van in constructions such as (135).

A question that arises about the examples with van is whether they are partitive constructions (i.e. of the type drie van de boekenthree of the books); cf. Section 20.4. A conclusive answer is difficult to give, but if they were partitive constructions, they would be anomalous in the sense that the suitability of van depends entirely on the presence of the indefinite determiner-like elements dat/dit/zulk soort; in the absence of these, the examples in (135) are unacceptable.

The unacceptable examples in (136) can be saved by placing die between van and the noun, as in (137). These noun phrases instantiate the pseudo-partitive van die N construction discussed in Section 19.2.3.2, sub IIE, whose semantics is close to that of zulke N and is best rendered in English as “such Ns”.

Allemaal thus differs from the other al-quantifiers in that it is the only one that can precede pseudo-partitive phrases; it then receives the “sorting” interpretation discussed in Section 21.1.5.1, sub IIA. Since we saw there that in this reading allemaal generally alternates with allerlei, it should come as no surprise that examples (135b) and (137b) have acceptable counterparts with allerlei, as shown in (138); although some speakers may object to these examples, they are common on the internet.

Finally, example (139) shows that it is impossible to use allemaal as a modifier with noun phrases that are independently quantified.

Example (140a) shows that the modifier allemaal does not behave like a definite determiner with respect to determining adjectival inflection; the attributively used adjective slim cannot be inflected. Here allemaal exhibits the same behavior as the quantifier alle in the somewhat marginal example (140b), repeated from Section 21.1.2.2, sub IIB. However, the two cannot serve as paraphrases of each other; while alle in (140b) expresses universal quantification, allemaal in (140) has the “sorting” interpretation mentioned in Section 21.1.5.1, sub IIA.

Externally, noun phrases modified by allemaal also behave like weak noun phrases, which is evident from the fact that they can occur as subject in expletive er constructions; cf. (130b) and (131b), repeated here as (141).