§7 Quantification (pp. 227-259)

There are two issues to deal with in the theory of quantification outlined in this chapter. One is syntactic: English sentences with quantifiers in them are hypothesized to have a syntactic structure that is different from their superficial structure. The other is, of course, semantic: what do sentences with quantifiers in them mean?

Some syntactic background

Examine the following sentences:

  1. Xena threw her chakram to Gabrielle.
    1. Who threw her chakram to Gabrielle?
    2. What did Xena throw to Gabrielle?
    3. Who did Xena throw her chakram to?
  2. Gabrielle hid the dagger under Xena's pillow.
    1. I saw the person who/that hid the dagger under Xena's pillow.
    2. I saw the thing that Gabrielle hid under Xena's pillow.
    3. I saw the thing that Gabrielle hid the dagger under.
  3. Hercules took the sword from Iolaus.
    1. Not a soul took the sword from Iolaus.
    2. Not a thing did Hercules take from Iolaus.
    3. Not a one did Hercules take a sword from.
  4. Iolaus led a centaur into a trap.
    1. Some people can led a centaur into a trap; some can't.
    2. Some centaurs Iolaus can led into a trap; some he can't.
    3. Some traps Iolaus can led a centaur into; some he can't.

Simplified movement analyses for each construction type.

 


Previous class

 Calender


Next class
Inception: 9/27/99. Last revision: 9/27/99.