Determiners and possessives in Old English and Polish 255
which means that such apparent nouns can be considered as adjectives with the noun
ellipted (cf. Fischer 2000).
Apart from the obligatory character of the adjective, which seems to function as
a complement in the noun phrase, possessive-determiner constructions are limited in
one more way. Specifically, as shown by Allen (2006), only the se, seo, þat paradigm is
licit in these combinations, while the proximal demonstratives forms þes, þis, þēos are
ruled out. This fact is interesting as it shows the split within determiner paradigms and
their different syntactic role in the noun phrase (cf. Giusti 1997).
Now let us turn to the Polish data. In grammar books very little space, if any, is
devoted to the combination of determiners following possessives. Topolińska (1984)
does not give any examples of that type. She only mentions cases where adjectival
demonstratives taki, taka, takie follow possessives. They are slightly different, as,
according to Topolińska, they occupy a different slot from the determiners under dis-
cussion in this paper. One example is given below:
(24) Wasza taka postawa
your.sg.nom.f such.sg.nom.f attitude.sg.nom.f
jest dla mnie miłą niespodzianką
is for me nice.sg.inst.f surprise.sg.inst.f
‘Such an attitude of yours is a nice surprise to me.’
(Topolińska 1984: 379)
She suggests that in (24) both the determiner and the possessive can undergo rhemati-
zation through inversion. In other words, the marked order can focalize either of these
elements. It is the intonation that determines which element is actually emphasized.
Our corpus research reveals that combinations of possessives with determiners
are not impossible, though quite rare in Polish. Consider the following examples:
(25) Jeżeli mój ten projekt,
if my.sg.nom this.sg.nom project.sg.nom
który niby miałem podpisać, był zły...
which apparently be_supposed.past 1 sg sign.inf was bad...
‘if this project of mine, which I was supposed to sign, was bad...’
(PELCRA_7123000000081, commission of inquiry on Orlen 2005, 17th
May: 11, the Chancellery of the Sejm)
(26) A na imię jak twojej tej narzeczonej jest?
and on name how your.sg.dat.f this.sg.dat.f fiancée.sg.dat.f is
‘and what is your fiancée’s name?’
(PELCRA_7203010000189, family meeting, conversations)
(27) A oni od razu wyczuli moją
but they immediately sense.past 3 pl my.sg.acc.f