Abstract
This paper is concerned with the meaning, function and form of noun phrases headed by abstract nouns such as objective, problem or assumption. These nouns, labelled here as ‘shell nouns’, have been extensively investigated but, so far, the research focus has been on a limited range of patterns, meanings and functions. This is demonstrated here through a review of three widely held assumptions about shell nouns, namely that they are contextually unspecific and semantically abstract, that they encapsulate or package stretches of text, and that they favour definite and demonstrative determiners (e.g. this, these). The value of this paper, therefore, lies in its critical review and appraisal of previous and current research on shell-nounhood, with special emphasis on its complexity and on some of the challenges and gaps to be addressed and filled in by future research.
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