1st Edition

Projecting the Adjective The Syntax and Semantics of Gradability and Comparison

By Christopher Kennedy Copyright 1999
    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    First Published in 1999. The main argument presented in this volume is that gradable adjectives like bright, dense and short denote measure functions- functions from objects to abstract representations of measurement, or scales and degrees. This proposal is shown to provide a foundation for principled explanations of a wide range of syntactic and semantic properties of gradable adjectives and the constructions in which they appear, ranging from the syntactic distribution of gradable adjectives to the scopal characteristics of comparatives and the empirical effects of adjectival polarity.

    Chapter 1 Gradable Adjectives; Chapter 2 Projecting the Adjective; Chapter 3 Polar Opposition and the Ontology of Comparison; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index;

    Biography

    Christopher Kennedy