Deriving the Scalar Structure of Deverbal Adjectives

Focusing on the case of deverbal gradable adjectives such as acquainted, we show that the selective behavior of degree modifiers such as very and well provides an important prove on the semantic typology of adjectives. Specifically, we demonstrate that the distribution of degree modifiers is closely...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Kennedy, Christopher, McNally, Louise
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:1999
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:2206
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/2206
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Adjectives
Aspect
Degree modification
Participles
Adjectius
Aspecte
Modificació de grau
Participis
Descripción
Sumario:Focusing on the case of deverbal gradable adjectives such as acquainted, we show that the selective behavior of degree modifiers such as very and well provides an important prove on the semantic typology of adjectives. Specifically, we demonstrate that the distribution of degree modifiers is closely tied to the scalar structure of the adjectives they modify, and that scale structure also determines one of the core semantic properties of gradable adjectives: the nature of the «standard values» according to which sentences involving adjectival predications are judged to be true. In addition, we show that in the case of deverbal gradable adjectives, scalar structure can be inferred from the aspectual properties of the source verbs, providing a basis for predicting which degree modifiers will be acceptable with which participles.