Events and Grammar

by Susan Rothstein (Editor)

Overview

In recent years, the study of events and their role as implicit arguments of predicates has been at the center of much important work in semantics and the syntax/semantics interface. This volume brings together fourteen original studies by leading scholars in semantics and the syntax/semantics interface, covering a broad spectrum of research into the role of events in grammar. The papers extensively address the following topics, among others: event arguments and thematic argument structure; the role of events in verbal aspectual distinctions; events and the distinction between stage and individual level predicates; the role of events in the analysis of plurality and scope relations, the mass/count distinction, and propositional attitudes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402002892
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	11/30/2001
Series:	Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy , #70
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1998
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

Generalizing Tense Semantics for Future Contexts.- Thematic Roles and the Individuation of Events.- Plurality of Mass Nouns and the Notion of “Semantic Parameter”.- Progressives, States and Backgrounding.- An Overt Syntactic Marker for Genericity in Hebrew.- On Generic and Existential Bare Plurals and the Classification of Predicates.- Scope or Pseudoscope? Are there Wide-scope Indefinites?.- The Origins of Telicity.- Plurals and Maximalization.- Events in the Semantics of Collectivizing Adverbials.- Stativity and Theticity.- Cognate Objects as Reflections of Davidsonian Event Arguments.- Subject-oriented Adverbs are Thematically Dependent.- Aspect Shift.- Index of Names.- Index of Subjects.

Editorial Reviews

Scholars working in semantics and at the interface between syntax and semantics offer 14 studies of events and their role as implicit arguments of predicates. They explore such themes as event arguments and thematic argument structure; the role of events in verbal aspectual distinctions; events and the distinction between predicates at the stage and individual levels; and the role of events in analyzing plurality and scope relations, the mass-count distinction, and propositional attitudes. Specific topics include generalizing tense semantics for future contexts, generic and existential bare plurals and the classification of predicates, stativity and theticity, cognate objects as reflections of Davidsonian event arguments, and aspect shifts. Of interest to scholars and students of theoretical linguistics. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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