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    Adjectives which do not display attributive agreement cannot display nominal inflection in ellipsis either. However, such adjectives may be used without a following noun if they have the same form which they have when they appear before a following noun: that is, they are uninflected.

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    If an adjective does not allow regular attributive agreement, then it does not allow markers of noun ellipsis either. Examples include geographical adjectives in -er and the lexical adjectives lofter left and rjochter right. They resist overt marking of attributive agreement and overt marking of noun ellipsis, as shown below:

    Example 1

    a. *De Grinslanner-e boeren
    the Groningen.PL farmers
    The Groningen farmers
    b. *Twa rjochter-e hannen
    two right.PL hands
    Two right hands
    c. *De Fryske boeren en de Grinslanner-e / Grinslanner-e-n
    the Frisian farmers and the Groningen.NE Groningen.NE.PL
    The Frisian farmers and the Groningen ones
    d. *Twa rjochter-e / rjochter-e-n
    two right.NE right.NE.PL
    Two rights

    However, the adjectives can be used without a following noun if they have the same form which they have when they appear before a following noun: that is, they are uninflected:

    Example 2

    a. De Fryske boeren en de Grinslanner
    the Frisian farmers and the Groningen
    The Frisian farmers and the Groningen ones
    b. Twa lofter hannen of twa rjochter
    two left hands or two right
    Two left hands or two right hands

    Similarly, substance adjectives in -en usually do not have attributive inflection. Correspondingly, they do not have inflection in noun ellipsis either:

    Example 3

    De houten boaten of de izeren
    the wooden boats or the iron
    The wooden boats or the iron ones

    Loanwords ending in a full vowel do not have attributive agreement and they do not have a marker for noun ellipsis either. Conversely, words which exhibit attributive agreement must also exhibit the marker for noun ellipsis:

    Example 4

    a. In pears-e broek of in lila
    a purple.CG trousers or a lavender
    Purple trousers or lavender ones
    b. In lila broek of in pears-e
    a lavender trousers or a purple.NE
    Lavender trousers or purple ones
    c. *In lila broek of in pears
    a lavender trousers or a purple
    Lavender trousers or purple ones

    These remarks apply not only to the marker of noun ellipsis -e, but also to the marker -en and the marker -enien. So the markers of noun ellipsis -e, -en and -enien are only found on adjectives that show overt attributive agreement in -e.

    References:
      ABOUT THIS TOPIC
      Author(s):
      Eric Hoekstra, Joke Weening
      Category:
      Frisian Syntax
      Publication date:
      14 May 2020
      Keywords:
      uninflected
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