15   Numerals (NUM) and classifiers (CL)

Numerals (NUM) and classifiers (CL) typically appear in pairs forming NUMCLPs. While the classifier appears after the numeral, it is the numeral that is the obligatory element for heading a NUMCLP:

(185)
三人はテーブルのかみ手に坐った。

( (IP-MAT (PP (NP (NUMCLP (NUM 三)
                          (CL 人)))
              (P は))
          (NP-SBJ *)
          (PP (NP (PP (NP (N テーブル))
                      (P の))
                  (N かみ手))
              (P に))
          (VB 坐っ)
          (AXD た)
          (PU 。))
  (ID 947_aozora_Harada-1960))

(186)
ついで三度――兇猛な声で――『芳一』

( (FRAG (ADVP (ADV ついで))
        (NP-MSR (NUMCLP (NUM 三)
                        (CL 度)))
        (PU ――)
        (PP (NP (IP-REL (NP-SBJ *T*)
                        (ADJN 兇猛)
                        (AX な))
                (N 声))
            (P で))
        (PU ――)
        (-LRB- 『)
        (NP-VOC (NPR 芳一))
        (-RRB- 』))
  (ID 188_aozora_Togawa-1937))

WNUM combines with a CL to form a NUMCLP. Examples are:

何, いくら, いく, 幾, おいくら, 何百, 何十, なっ, お幾ら, 幾つ, 何千, 何万, 零点幾, 幾度, 幾万, 何百年, 何時, 何年, 何千何百何, 何千人, 何十万

Classifiers are basically nominal in nature. They do not appear in isolation, but are always paired with a NUM. Here are examples of CLs:

円, 回, 階, 階建て, ヶ月, ヶ国, 項, 号, 時, 時間, 時間目, セット, 足, (いく)つ, 月, 度, 名, 日, 人, 年, 年間, パーセント, 杯, 匹, 分, 本, 枚, 面

While being complex, a NUMCLP functions much like a Q or QN. None of these classes combine directly with other constituents, but rather they all head NPs, which can be either quantifying or referring expressions. See the section 29 for details on the various kinds of functions these expressions can have and the conditions that bear on their functions.