1st Edition

A Semantics for Groups and Events

By Peter Lasersohn Copyright 1990
156 Pages
by Routledge

156 Pages
by Routledge

154 Pages
by Routledge

First published in 1990, this dissertation presents an event-based model-theoretic semantics for plural expressions in English. The author defends against counterarguments the hypothesis that distributive predicates are predicates of groups, and not just individuals. By defining the collective/distributive distinction in terms of event structure, he solves formal problems with previous... Read more

Preface; Chapter I: Adverbial Modification and the Interpretation of Distributive Predicates; 0. A few preliminaries 1. The distributive-collective dichotomy 2. "Intrinsic" distributives and collectives 3. Distributive predication as predication on groups 4. Group-sensitive adverbials 5.Conjoining collective and distributive verb phrases; Chapter II: Group Action and Spatio-Temporal Proximity; 0. Introduction 1. Vagueness and Ambiguity 2. The "proximity" uses if group-sensitive adverbials 3. Semantic effects of adverbial position 4. Quantifier scope 5. Event structure and group action 6. Fragment 2 7. Examples 8. Locative and temporal readings 9. Adjectival and object-oriented readings 10. Distributive predicates revisited 11. Conclusion; Chapter III: The Algebra of Groups and the Algebra of Events; 0. Introduction: Tightening up the model 1. The algebra of groups 2. A note on respectively constructions 3.Committees, etc. 4. The algebra of events as a semilattice 5. Restricting the structure of events 6. Unaugmented and augmented frames; Chapter IV: Quantifiers. Group-Level Properties and Agreement; 0. Are quantifiers sensitive to event structure? 1. Different types of group-level events 2. Event-sensitive quantification 3. Additivity, inclusion and exclusion 4. An argument-restriction account of agreement 5. Some problems 6. Agreement and the inclusion/exclusion distinction 7. Distributive determiners and plural agreement 8. Fewer than two and more than one 9. Remaining problems; References

Biography

Peter Lasersohn