addressed in PM (don't worry nornen, there was no ::::storm involved)

What is addressed in PM? I would like to know why you seem to think that some of your advice should apply only to Kuniklo and some should apply to all Esperanto speakers. Personally, when I post language advice to forums, I give generic advice that applies to anyone. Is there some particular reason why you might want to give Kuniklo some grammatical advice that applies to Kuniklo alone, and some advice that applies to any Esperantist who might have the same question?

erinja:What is addressed in PM? I would like to know why you seem to think that some of your advice should apply only to Kuniklo and some should apply to all Esperanto speakers. Personally, when I post language advice to forums, I give generic advice that applies to anyone. Is there some particular reason why you might want to give Kuniklo some grammatical advice that applies to Kuniklo alone, and some advice that applies to any Esperantist who might have the same question?

It wasn't for giving Kuniklo any language advice. It was a response to thee for......well, read thy own PMs and thee will see "for ...." (and hopefully appreciate my following lernu's edicts)

nornen:This example has nothing to do with a phrase of the form "quantity DE nominal phrase". In your example the "de ili" refers to (is dependant on/of) "ricevis" and is found only by chance behind "tri". Try moving the parts of the sentence around in order to determine which belong to the same phrase: "Mi ricevis kvin dolarojn de mia avino kaj de ili (sc. miaj geonkloj) [mi ricevis] tri [dolarojn]."
There is no relation between "tri" and "de ili".

You just described the relationship between "tri" and "de ili." "Tri" is the direct object of the verb which "de ili" modifies. I do see what you mean, though, that it can't be compared to the other examples.

sparksbet:

nornen:This example has nothing to do with a phrase of the form "quantity DE nominal phrase". In your example the "de ili" refers to (is dependant on/of) "ricevis" and is found only by chance behind "tri". Try moving the parts of the sentence around in order to determine which belong to the same phrase: "Mi ricevis kvin dolarojn de mia avino kaj de ili (sc. miaj geonkloj) [mi ricevis] tri [dolarojn]."
There is no relation between "tri" and "de ili".

You just described the relationship between "tri" and "de ili." "Tri" is the direct object of the verb which "de ili" modifies. I do see what you mean, though, that it can't be compared to the other examples.

I have to revoke what I said. Zamenhof used for instance "iom de" (and not as a haphazard yuxtaposition, but actually as a single phrase). He used a lot more of "iom da", but he did use "iom de", too.

From the six hits for "\Wiom de\W" in Z's works, this one seems to fit the construction "quantity DE nominal phrase":

Z:donante al neniu el ili iom de la karno de siaj infanoj

nornen:From the six hits for "Wiom deW" in Z's works, this one seems to fit the construction "quantity DE nominal phrase":

Z:donante al neniu el ili iom de la karno de siaj infanoj

The deciding factor is the definite article. da always refers to an indefinite mass. If you're talking about an individual, known quantity, you must use de:
Ĉu vi volas iom da kuko? - Do you want some cake?
Ĉu vi volas iom de la kuko? - Do you want a piece of the cake (we were talking about)?

Z:donante al neniu el ili iom de la karno de siaj infanoj

[/quote]But it's de la.

It seems to me that when there is a determiner so that the reference is specific rather than general, the tendency in Esperanto is to 'de' rather than 'da'. But usage may be erratic.

So kilogramo da pomoj, but dum duono de la tempo.

For me, 'da la' sounds a bit unnatural.

sudanglo:For me, 'da la' sounds a bit unnatural.

11 hits in the Tekstaro, but 8 of them are typos, and 3 are just bad.

sudanglo:For me, 'da la' sounds a bit unnatural.

Usually yes, but there are a few cases where "la" shows a type of thing rather than an identified thing, and in those cases "da la" is acceptable. PMEG has a few examples.

Kirilo81:

sudanglo:For me, 'da la' sounds a bit unnatural.

11 hits in the Tekstaro, but 8 of them are typos, and 3 are just bad.

No, 7 are bad : 5 of senigi (iun) da la (io); la sorto da la hejmo; la urbo abomenata da la prokuratoro - they must uze 'de' here.
And the other 4 are:
la plej multon da la boatoj
parton da la insulo
la privilegiojn da la partia funkciulino
multe da la originala nordana vortaro