Attributive and predicative adjective agreement in Germanic and Romance &proidentification

1996 ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Enrique Mallén
Keyword(s):  
Predicative Adjective

scholarly journals The semantics of Scandinavian pancake constructions

Linguistics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-575
Author(s):  
Tor Arne Haugen ◽  
Hans-Olav Enger
Keyword(s):  
Current Paper ◽  
Semantic Relationship ◽  
Virtual Reference ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Subject ◽  
New Feature ◽  
Predicative Adjective ◽  
Spatial Boundedness ◽  
Semantic Agreement

Abstract A classical topic in the syntax of the mainland Scandinavian languages is so-called pancake clauses where there seemingly is disagreement between the subject and the predicative adjective, as in Pannekaker er godt ‘Pancakes(f):indf:pl be:prs good:n:sg’; the subject is in the plural, whereas the predicative adjective is in the neuter singular. According to one of the several approaches, these clauses display a type of semantic agreement. Recently, it has also been argued that there are at least four different types of pancake constructions. In this article, the semantic relationship between the different constructions is investigated further. It is argued that, diachronically, pancake agreement started with subjects interpreted as virtual, ungrounded processes, and that the absence of grounding has been reinterpreted as absence of spatial boundedness in the latest kind of pancake construction. The analysis is supported by a diachronic corpus investigation. The emphasis on virtual reference is a new feature with the current paper, and it enables us to set aside an objection against the semantic agreement analysis. The diachronic corpus investigation enables us to revise, empirically, earlier suggestions as to when the pancake constructions originated: They are well attested from the mid-1800s, in both Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk.

scholarly journals Formell og semantisk adjektivkongruens i norsk

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-540
Author(s):  
Tor A. Åfarli ◽  
Øystein A. Vangsnes
Keyword(s):  
Head Noun ◽  
Attributive Adjective ◽  
Predicative Adjective ◽  
Semantic Agreement

This article provides an empirically based overview and discussion of types of adjectival agreement in attributive and predicative posisitions in Norwegian. In particular, we focus on two empirical facts that are quite striking: 1) With semantic agreement in predicative position, there are apparently no formal agreement features in the predication subject that trigger agreement on the predicative adjective; 2) Even though there is not alway formal agreement betwen the predication subject and a predicative adjective, there is always strict formal agreement between the head noun and an attributive adjective.

Peas and pancakes: On apparent disagreement and (null) light verbs in Swedish

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunlög Josefsson
Keyword(s):  
Close Relation ◽  
List Type ◽  
Type Number ◽  
Light Verbs ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Apparent Disagreement ◽  
Predicative Adjective ◽  
Semantic Agreement

Two variants of what looks like disagreement between a subject and a predicative adjective are explored: (i)(ii) Having shown how Construction NOM and Construction PROP differ, I demonstrate that the subject of Construction PROP is clausal. I argue that the topmost XP of the subject phrase of both constructions contains a null neuter element. This accounts for the neuter predicative agreement; hence the idea of default agreement or semantic agreement can be dismissed. I also argue that the subject in (ii) contains a vP, the head of which is a null light verb. Other instances of null light verbs in Swedish are identified too. Finally, I propose an analysis that accounts for the close relation between Construction PROP and the corresponding construction with a med-phrase ‘with-phrase’.

scholarly journals Ranking Dutch intensifiers: a usage-based approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-359
Author(s):  
MICHAEL RICHTER ◽  
ROELAND VAN HOUT
Keyword(s):  
Information Content ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Shannon Information ◽  
Use Value ◽  
Stacking Order ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Language Corpus ◽  
Information Values ◽  
Large Corpus ◽  
Predicative Adjective

ABSTRACTThe present approach estimates the strength of intensifiers in Dutch by computing their information values in a language corpus, that is, contextual information content (Cohen Priva, 2008; Piantadosi, Tily, & Gibson, 2011) and Shannon Information (Shannon & Weaver, 1948), to respectively explain the use value and the expressive value of intensifiers when they intensify a predicative adjective. Conflicting strength values help in understanding the high number of intensifiers commonly available in particular languages and the constant need for adding new ones. Our approach underlines the relevance of two measures of information content (IC) for ranking intensifiers: (i) IC in context: the more combinatorial or transitional options an intensifier has, the higher its contextual information content and consequently its use value; and (ii) IC in relation to all alternative intensifiers: the higher the surprisal value that the occurrence of an intensifier evokes, the higher its expressive value. We shall investigate the validity of these two measures by researching a large corpus of Dutch tweets and shall test whether the values of these two measures can predict the stacking order in sequences of intensifiers.

scholarly journals Predicative Adverbs and Adjectives with Infinitival Subjects. A Corpus Investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-150
Author(s):  
Adam Przepiórkowski ◽  
Agnieszka Patejuk
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Polish Literature ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Predicative Adjective ◽  
National Corpus

The aim of this paper is to compare two Polish predicative constructions with infinitival subjects, namely those with predicative adverbs and those with predicative adjectives. The latter construction, of the form “predicative adjective + copula + infinitival subject”, has hardly been noticed in Polish literature on predication, copulas, or infinitival subjects. On the basis of corpus data, mainly from the National Corpus of Polish, we demonstrate that this construction is much rarer than the analogous construction with predicative adverbs. We also show that roughly the same predicates may be expressed as either adverbs or as adjectives when the subject is an infinitival phrase – any observed differences are not systematic but rather stem from lexical gaps and differences in the meanings of particular adverbs and adjectives. In particular, certain modal predicates may only be expressed as adjectives because the corresponding adverbs do not express the same non-epistemic modal meanings. Finally, we provide new corpus evidence for an earlier claim that predicative adjectives are much rarer than adverbs when the subject is infinitival because they require this subject to undergo covert nominalisation; as adverbs combine with infinitival subjects directly, they are usually preferred.

Scandinavian pancake sentences as semantic agreement

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Olav Enger
Keyword(s):  
Predicative Adjective ◽  
Semantic Agreement

This paper deals with Scandinavian sentences where the predicative adjective apparently disagrees with its subject, such as pannekaker er godt ‘pancakes-pl. is good-neut.sg.’, vodka er sunt ‘vodka-masc. is healthy-neut.sg.’. In this paper, the use of neuter in such sentences is seen as a case of semantic agreement. Thereby, pancake sentences comply with Corbett's (1979) agreement hierarchy. The controllers in pancake sentences are low on the individuation scale. This is the reason why they are neuters. The controllers in pancake sentences are mirror-images of the controllers in more well-known examples of semantic agreement. Not only morphosyntax but also semantics, pragmatics and discourse play a role in agreement.

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