The name of the adjective
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Hagit Borer
Abstract
On the basis of data from English, French, Hebrew and Spanish, this paper argues that (apparent) adjectives which function as nominals belong to two distinct classes. One small class consists of true nouns that are homophonous with adjectives but are not derived from them. The other one consists of true attributive adjectives which modify a null N, and whose range of interpretations cross-linguistically depends on the conditions on the licensing and identification of null Ns in a given structure and in a given language. We further claim that while the former group can appear in any context where nouns are typically licensed, the latter group is restricted to strong environments. This, we argue, is because referential pro, the assumed head of N-ellipsis structures, is always definite.
Abstract
On the basis of data from English, French, Hebrew and Spanish, this paper argues that (apparent) adjectives which function as nominals belong to two distinct classes. One small class consists of true nouns that are homophonous with adjectives but are not derived from them. The other one consists of true attributive adjectives which modify a null N, and whose range of interpretations cross-linguistically depends on the conditions on the licensing and identification of null Ns in a given structure and in a given language. We further claim that while the former group can appear in any context where nouns are typically licensed, the latter group is restricted to strong environments. This, we argue, is because referential pro, the assumed head of N-ellipsis structures, is always definite.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Adjectives 1
-
Part I. Syntax
- Syntactic positions of attributive adjectives 29
- The syntactic differences between long and short forms of Russian adjectives 53
- The name of the adjective 85
- Adjectives in Mandarin Chinese 115
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Part II. Semantics
- Comparisons of similarity and difference 155
- Characterizing superlative quantifiers 187
- Superlative adjectives and the licensing of non-modal infinitival subject relatives 233
- Sentential complementation of adjectives in French 265
- Spanish adjectives within bounds 307
- Languages index 333
- Subject index 335
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Adjectives 1
-
Part I. Syntax
- Syntactic positions of attributive adjectives 29
- The syntactic differences between long and short forms of Russian adjectives 53
- The name of the adjective 85
- Adjectives in Mandarin Chinese 115
-
Part II. Semantics
- Comparisons of similarity and difference 155
- Characterizing superlative quantifiers 187
- Superlative adjectives and the licensing of non-modal infinitival subject relatives 233
- Sentential complementation of adjectives in French 265
- Spanish adjectives within bounds 307
- Languages index 333
- Subject index 335
