Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Similatives and the argument structure of verbs

  • Published:
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I begin with the observation in Haspelmath and Buchholz (1998) that languages tend to use the same morpheme to mark the standard of comparison across equation constructions. In English, it is the morpheme as, in similatives like John danced as Sue (did) and equatives like John is as tall as Sue (is). The first goal of this paper is to provide an analysis of as that accounts for its distribution across these constructions. The second goal of this paper is to provide an account of Haspelmath and Buccholz’s second observation, which is that while languages can form equatives with parameter markers (PMs; the first as in John is as tall as Sue (is)), languages generally do not form similatives with parameter markers. I suggest that equation constructions are a test for lexicalized argumenthood, i.e. that the equation of a non-lexicalized argument prohibits the presence of a PM, and, for English, vice-versa. This leads to the conclusion that, contrary to recent claims (Piñón 2008; Bochnak 2013), verbs, unlike adjectives, generally do not lexicalize degree arguments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. I could find only one counterexample to this second generalization, the Hungarian similative in (i).

    1. (i)
      figure d

    HB present (i) without discussing the etymology of the relevant morphemes so I unfortunately cannot offer speculation about why or how it is that Hungarian is exceptional in this respect. Because of (i), and knowing that there are likely other counterexamples, I have characterized this generalization of HB as a strong cross-linguistic tendency, rather than a universal.

  2. Examples from Haspelmath and Buchholz (1998) and Henkelmann (2006) will be annotated with ‘HB’ and ‘H’, respectively, followed by the page number on which they occur in the original text.

  3. This identity restriction seems particularly important when we consider that indirect comparatives like This board is longer than that board is wide cannot undergo elision of the parameter (Bartsch and Venneman 1972; McCawley 1988; Kennedy 1999). See Lechner (2001, 2004) for relevant discussion. Of course, this is only true of clausal comparatives; see e.g. Pancheva (2006) or Bhatt and Takahashi (2007) for syntactic and semantic analyses of phrasal comparatives.

  4. Interestingly, this interpretation is possible when the PM is removed, as in John is tall, as Sue is. I will discuss these constructions (called “generic equatives”) in Sect. 4.2.

  5. While the distributive interpretation is generally available, the collective reading of (37) is unavailable to some speakers.

  6. Tenny (2000) refers to them as ‘messing around’ readings; and Bochnak (2011, 2013) calls them ‘evaluative’ readings. When the modifier half is involved (as opposed to other modifiers that can have a prototypical reading, like completely), the prototypical reading translates precisely as in a half-assed way or did a half-assed job of in colloquial English.

  7. With an intonation break before the SM, generic equatives, like similatives, receive an interpretation like, ‘That chair is light, just like a feather is light.’ As I discussed earlier, these ‘pause similatives’ seem to be related, but I will not provide a complete semantics for them here. Perhaps, with the incorporation of something like a comma intonation, we could analyze them as an equation of propositions or possible worlds, which could account for their truth conditions.

  8. A related wonder comes from Edit Doron (p.c.): If locations are ontological primitives, as times are, why can’t similatives receive a reading in which they equate the location of two events? What sets times and manners apart from other domains?

References

  • Alrenga, Peter. 2007. Dimensions in the semantics of comparatives. PhD Thesis, UC Santa Cruz.

  • Armstrong, Sharon, Lila Gleitman, and Henry Gleitman. 1983. What some concepts might not be. Cognition 13: 263–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, Chris. 2007. Parasitic scope. Linguistics and Philosophy 30: 407–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartsch, Renate and Theo Venneman. 1972. The grammar of relative adjectives and comparison. Linguistische Berichte 20: 19–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barwise, Jon and John Perry. 1983. Situation semantics. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatt, Rajesh and Shoichi Takahashi. 2007. Direct comparisons: Resurrecting the direct analysis of phrasal comparatives. In Proceedings of SALT XVII, eds. Masayuki Gibson and Tova Friedman, 19–36. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bochnak, M. Ryan. 2011. Quantity and gradability across categories. In Proceedings of SALT XX, eds. Nan Li and David Lutz, 251–268. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bochnak, M. Ryan. 2013. Two sources of scalarity within the verb phrase. In Studies in the composition and decomposition of event predicates, eds. Boban Arsenijević, Berit Gehrke, and Rafael Marín, 99–123. Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Borsley, Robert. 1981. Wh-movement and unbounded deletion in Polish equatives. Journal of Linguistics 17: 271–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brasoveanu, Adrian. 2008. Sentence-internal readings of same/different as quantifier-internal anaphora. In Proceedings of WCCFL XVII, eds. Natasha Abner and Jason Bishop, 72–80. Somerville: Cascadilla Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brasoveanu, Adrian. 2009. Comparative correlatives as anaphora to differentials. In Proceedings of SALT XVII, eds. Tova Friedman and Satoshi Ito, 126–143. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bresnan, Joan. 1973. Syntax of comparative clause construction in English. Linguistic Inquiry 4: 275–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caponigro, Ivano. 2002. On the source of maximality in wh-constructions cross linguistically. In Proceedings of the 38th meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, eds. Mary Andronis, Erin Debenport, Anne Pycha, and Keiko Yoshimura, 129–143. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caponigro, Ivano. 2003. Free not to ask: On the semantics of free relatives and wh-words cross-linguistically. PhD Thesis, UCLA.

  • Caponigro, Ivano. 2004. The semantic contribution of wh-words and type-shifts: Evidence from free relatives cross linguistically. In Proceedings of SALT XIV, ed. Robert Young, 38–55. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caudal, Patrick and David Nichols. 2005. Types of degrees and types of event structures. In Event arguments: Foundations and applications, eds. Cecile Maienborn and Angelika Wöllstein, 277–300. Berlin: De Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, Noam. 1977. On wh-movement. In Formal syntax, eds. Peter Culicover, Thomas Wasow and Adrian Akmajian, 71–132. San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, Peter. 1982. Imbabura Quechua. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corver, Norbert. 1997. Much-support as last resort. Linguistic Inquiry 28: 119–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, Donald. 1969. The individuation of events. In Essays in honor of Carl G. Hempel, ed. Nicholas Rescher, 216–234. Dordrecht: Reidel.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dowty, David Roach. 1979. Word meaning and Montague Grammar. Dordrecht: Reidel.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, Wolfdietrich. 1987. Grammatik des klassischen Arabisch. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haspelmath, Martin and Oda Buchholz. 1998. Equative and similative constructions in the languages of Europe. In Adverbial constructions in the languages of Europe, eds. Johan van der Auwera and Dónall Ó Baoill, 277–334. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hay, Jennifer, Chris Kennedy, and Beth Levin. 1999. Scalar structure underlies telicity in “degree achievements”. In Proceedings of SALT IX, eds. Tanya Matthews and Devon Strolovitch, 127–144. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, Irene. 2000. Degree operators and scope. In Proceedings of SALT X, eds. Brendan Jackson and Tanya Matthews, 40–64. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, Irene. 1985. Notes on comparatives and related matters. Ms., University of Texas, Austin.

  • Heim, Irene. 2006. Remarks on comparative clauses as generalized quantifiers, Ms., MIT.

  • Henkelmann, Peter. 2006. Constructions of equative comparison. Sprachtypologie und Universallenforschung 59: 370–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinrichs, Erhard. 1985. A compositional semantics for aktionsart and NP reference for English. PhD Thesis, Ohio State University.

  • Horn, Larry. 1972. On the semantic properties of logical operators in English. PhD Thesis, UCLA.

  • Husband, Matthew. 2013. Rescuing manner/result complementarity from certain death. In Proceedings of the 47th annual Chicago Linguistics Society. Chicago: CLS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, Pauline. 1995. On the quantificational force of English free relatives. In Quantification in natural language, eds. Emmon Bach, Eloise Jelinek, Angelika Kratzer, and Barbara Partee, 451–486. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns, Kate. 2007. Telic senses of deadjectival verbs. Lingua 117: 26–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Chris. 1999. Projecting the adjective: The syntax and semantics of gradability and comparison. New York: Garland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Chris. 2012. The composition of incremental change. In Telicity, change and state: A cross-categorial view of event structure, eds. Violeta Demonte and Louise McNally, 103–121. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Chris and Beth Levin. 2008. Measure of change: The adjectival core of degree achievements. In Adjectives and adverbs: Syntax, semantics and discourse, eds. Louise McNally and Chris Kennedy, 156–182. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, Chris and Louise McNally. 2005. Scale structure, degree modification and the semantic typology of gradable predicates. Language 81: 345–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koontz-Garboden, Andrew and John Beavers. 2012. Manner and result in the roots of verbal meaning. Linguistic Inquiry 43: 331–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krifka, Manfred. 1989. Nominal reference, temporal constitution and quantification in event semantics. In Semantics and contextual expression, eds. Renate Barsch, Johan van Bentham, and Peter van Emda Boas, 75–115. Dordrecht: Foris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krifka, Manfred. 1990. Four thousand ships passed through the lock: Object-induced measure functions on events. Linguistics and Philosophy 13: 487–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krifka, Manfred. 1992. Thematic relations as links between nominal reference and temporal constitution. In Lexical matters, eds. Ivan Sag and Anna Szabolcsi, 29–54. Stanford: CSLI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladusaw, William. 1979. Polarity as inherent scope relations. PhD Thesis, University of Texas, Austin.

  • Landman, Fred. 2000. Events and plurality: The Jerusalem lectures. Berlin: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Landman, Meredith. 2006. Variables in natural language. PhD Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

  • Landman, Meredith and Marcin Morzycki. 2003. Event kinds and the representation of manner. In Proceedings of WECOL 14, eds. Nancy Mae Antrim, Grant Goodall, Martha Schulte-Nafeh, and Vida Samiian, 136–147. Fresno: California State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lascarides, Alex and Nicholas Asher. 1993. Temporal interpretation, discourse relations and commonsense entailment. Linguistics and Philosophy 16: 437–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lechner, Winfried. 2001. Reduced and phrasal comparatives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 19: 683–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lechner, Winfried. 2004. Ellipsis in comparatives. Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee-Goldman, Russell. 2012. Supplemental relative clauses: Internal and external syntax. Journal of Linguistics 48: 573–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, Beth and Malka Rappaport-Hovav. 2013. Lexicalized meaning and manner/result complementarity. In Studies in the composition and decomposition of event predicates, eds. Boban Arsenijević, Berit Gehrke, and Rafael Marín, 49–70. Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McCawley, John. 1988. The syntactic phenomena of English. Chicago: University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNally, Louise and Chris Kennedy. 2002. Degree vs. manner well: A case study in selective binding. In Cuadernos de lingüística IX: In memorium Ken Hale, ed. Maria Arche, 159–166. Instituto Universario Ortega y Gasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pancheva, Roumyana. 2006. Phrasal and clausal comparatives in Slavic. In FASL 14: The Princeton meeting, eds. J. Lavine, S. Franks, M. Tasseva-Kurkichieva, and H. Filip, 236–257. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piñón, Christopher. 2000. Happening gradually. In Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, eds. L. Conathan, J. Good, D. Kavitskaya, A. Wolf, and A. Yu. Vol. 26, 445–456. Berkeley: University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piñón, Christopher. 2005. Adverbs of completion in an event semantics. In Perspectives on aspect, eds. H. Verkuyl, H. de Swart, and A. van Hout, 149–166. Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Piñón, Christopher. 2008. Aspectual composition with degrees. In Adjectives and adverbs: Syntax, semantics and discourse, eds. Louise McNally and Chris Kennedy, 183–219. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts, Chris. 2002a. The lexical semantics of parenthetical-as and appositive-which. Syntax 5: 55–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potts, Chris. 2002b. The syntax and semantics of as-parentheticals. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 20: 623–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rappaport-Hovav, Malka. 2008. Lexicalized meaning and the internal temporal structure of events. In Theoretic and cross linguistic approaches to the semantics of aspect, ed. Susan Rothstein, 13–42. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rappaport-Hovav, Malka and Beth Levin. 2010. Reflections on manner/result complementarity. In Syntax, lexical semantics and event structure, eds. E. Doron, M. Rappaport-Hovav, and I. Sichel, 21–38. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rett, Jessica. 2006. How many maximizes in the Balkan sprachbund. In Proceedings of SALT XVI, eds. M. Gibson and J. Howell, 190–207. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rett, Jessica. 2007. Antonymy and evaluativity. In Proceedings of SALT XVII, eds. M. Gibson and T. Friedman, 210–227. Ithaca: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rett, Jessica. 2008. Degree modification in natural language. PhD Thesis, Rutgers University.

  • Rett, Jessica. 2010. Equatives, MPs, and NPIs. In Logic, language and meaning: Proceedings of the 18th Amsterdam colloquium, eds. M. Aloni, H. Bastiaanse, T. de Jager, and K. Schulz, 364–373. Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rett, Jessica. 2013. Measure phrase equatives and modified numerals. Ms., UCLA.

  • Rullmann, Hotze. 1995. Maximality in the semantics of wh-constructions. PhD Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

  • Schwarzschild, Roger. 2006. The role of dimensions in the syntax of noun phrases. Syntax 9: 67–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzschild, Roger. 2008. The semantics of the comparative and other degree constructions. Language and Linguistic Compass 2: 308–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzschild, Roger and Karina Wilkinson. 2002. Quantifiers in comparatives: A semantics of degree based on intervals. Natural Language Semantics 10: 1–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seuren, Pieter. 1973. The comparative. In Generative grammar in Europe, eds. F. Keifer and N. Ruwet. Dordrecht: Reidel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seuren, Pieter. 1984. The comparative revisited. Journal of Semantics 3: 109–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solt, Stephanie. 2009. The semantics of adjectives of quantity. PhD Thesis, CUNY.

  • Stassen, Leon. 1985. Comparison and universal grammar: An essay in universal grammar. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stowell, Tim. 1987. As so, not so as. Ms., UCLA.

  • Svenonius, Peter and Chris Kennedy. 2006. Northern Norwegian degree questions and the syntax of measurement. In Phases of interpretation, ed. Mara Frascarelli, 129–157. Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tenny, Carol. 1994. Aspectual roles and the syntax-semantics interface. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tenny, Carol. 2000. Core events and adverbial modification. In Events as grammatical objects, eds. Carol Tenny and James Pustejovsky, 285–334. Chicago: CSLI Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ultan, Russell. 1972. Some features of basic comparative constructions. Stanford Working Papers on Language Universals 9: 117–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Umbach, Carla. 2011. Intensifiers and measure phrases combined with verbs. Ms., Heinrich-Heine Universität.

  • van Schaaik, Gerjan. 1998. On the usage of gibe. In Proceedings of the 7th international conference on Turkish linguistics, ed. Gerjan van Schaaik, 422–457. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verkuyl, Henk. 1993. A Theory of Aspectuality: The interaction between temporal and atemporal structure. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • von Stechow, Arnim. 1984. Comparing semantic theories of comparison. Journal of Semantics 3: 1–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, Evan. 1977. Discourse and logical form. Linguistic Inquiry 8: 101–139.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks to audiences at California Universities Semantics and Pragmatics (CUSP) 4 at USC and the Workshop on Aspect and Argument Structure of Adjectives and Participles (WAASAP) at the University of Greenwich. I am grateful to Natasha Abner for her help in data research, Adrian Brasoveanu, Sam Cumming, Louise McNally, Craig Sailor and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions, and to Flavia Adani, Isabelle Charnavel, Thomas Graf, Hilda Koopman, Hadas Kotek, Sven Lauer, Denis Paperno, Elena Staraki and Floris Van Vugt for their participation in a survey.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCLA Linguistics, 3103L Campbell Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Jessica Rett

Authors
  1. Jessica Rett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica Rett.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rett, J. Similatives and the argument structure of verbs. Nat Lang Linguist Theory 31, 1101–1137 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-013-9201-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-013-9201-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation