Three Readings of Most
In this paper we show that most DPs in subject position can receive three kinds of truth-condition, yielding a proportional reading, a ‘regular’ superlative reading and a ‘partition-based’ superlative reading. We propose an analysis of the three readings that views them as resulting from the interac...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Linguistic Society of America
2020
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/127649 |
| Summary: | In this paper we show that most DPs in subject position can receive three kinds of truth-condition, yielding a proportional reading, a ‘regular’ superlative reading and a ‘partition-based’ superlative reading. We propose an analysis of the three readings that views them as resulting from the interaction of several components, including (a generalized version of) the superlative operator -est, covert and overt movement, and focus. Furthermore, we explain how movement affects the distribution of readings of most. |
|---|