Home Chapter 7. The Finnish existential clause
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 7. The Finnish existential clause

Aspect, case marking and quantification of the S argument
  • Tuomas Huumo
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
Search
Existential Constructions across Languages
This chapter is in the book Existential Constructions across Languages

Abstract

I analyze the case marking (nominative vs. partitive) and quantification of the Finnish existential S argument (Se). I focus on Se arguments quantified by mass quantifiers (e.g. paljon ‘much’) and number quantifiers (e.g. usea ‘many’). I discuss grammatical, semantic and discourse functions of the Se argument, with an emphasis on the aspectual and quantificational meanings expressed by the construction. I argue that a quantified Se designates a bounded quantity even when marked with the partitive case, which otherwise expresses unbounded quantity. This has important repercussions to the clause-level aspectual meaning of the existential construction, especially in uses where the aspectual profile of the clause is based on nominal aspect and thus on the quantity expressed by the Se.

Abstract

I analyze the case marking (nominative vs. partitive) and quantification of the Finnish existential S argument (Se). I focus on Se arguments quantified by mass quantifiers (e.g. paljon ‘much’) and number quantifiers (e.g. usea ‘many’). I discuss grammatical, semantic and discourse functions of the Se argument, with an emphasis on the aspectual and quantificational meanings expressed by the construction. I argue that a quantified Se designates a bounded quantity even when marked with the partitive case, which otherwise expresses unbounded quantity. This has important repercussions to the clause-level aspectual meaning of the existential construction, especially in uses where the aspectual profile of the clause is based on nominal aspect and thus on the quantity expressed by the Se.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Funding vii
  4. Contributors ix
  5. Chapter 1. Existential constructions 1
  6. Part I. Existence and related constructions
  7. Chapter 2. Existential predication and have-possessive constructions in the languages of the world 34
  8. Chapter 3. Impersonal existence in the weather domain 68
  9. Part II. Existence and information structure
  10. Chapter 4. Pure existentials vs. pure presentationals 102
  11. Chapter 5. Presentational clefts, existentials and information structure 139
  12. Chapter 6. On a continuum from categorical to thetic judgment 180
  13. Part III. Existence and quantification
  14. Chapter 7. The Finnish existential clause 220
  15. Chapter 8. Partition and existence 245
  16. Part IV. Existence and negation
  17. Chapter 9. Is the French verb manquer ‘lack, miss’ a negative existential predicate? 284
  18. Chapter 10. ‘To be’ and its negation in Latvian 301
  19. Chapter 11. Words also exist in a world 325
  20. Index 347
  21. Language index 352
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.76.07huu

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Funding vii
  4. Contributors ix
  5. Chapter 1. Existential constructions 1
  6. Part I. Existence and related constructions
  7. Chapter 2. Existential predication and have-possessive constructions in the languages of the world 34
  8. Chapter 3. Impersonal existence in the weather domain 68
  9. Part II. Existence and information structure
  10. Chapter 4. Pure existentials vs. pure presentationals 102
  11. Chapter 5. Presentational clefts, existentials and information structure 139
  12. Chapter 6. On a continuum from categorical to thetic judgment 180
  13. Part III. Existence and quantification
  14. Chapter 7. The Finnish existential clause 220
  15. Chapter 8. Partition and existence 245
  16. Part IV. Existence and negation
  17. Chapter 9. Is the French verb manquer ‘lack, miss’ a negative existential predicate? 284
  18. Chapter 10. ‘To be’ and its negation in Latvian 301
  19. Chapter 11. Words also exist in a world 325
  20. Index 347
  21. Language index 352
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 11.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/hcp.76.07huu/html
Scroll to top button