Adverbial Quantification, Complex Conditionals, and Focus

No abstract

Conditionals

This article introduces the classic accounts of the meaning of conditionals (material implication, strict implication, variably strict conditional) and discusses the difference between indicative and subjunctive/counterfactual conditionals. Then, the restrictor analysis of Lewis/Kratzer/Heim is introduced as a theory of how conditional meanings come about compositionally: if has no meaning other than serving to mark the restriction to an operator elsewhere in the conditional construction. Some recent alternatives to the restrictor analysis are sketched. Lastly, the interactions of conditionals (i) with modality and (ii) with tense and aspect are discussed. Throughout the advanced research literature is referenced while the discussion stays largely non-technical

Whatever

This paper is an extended meditatio` oe issues raised in Dayal's (1997) paper o the ro48jqyO"I"j"yo --ever in free relatives (FRs) as in this example: (1) There's a loyoo (FRs) as in this example:y`"8IVyO`jII"yo (2) There's alo o garlic in whatArlo isco"z""V (3) There's alo o vio8zVy in whatever Parker writes. Our immediate intuitio aboi (1) is that --ever indicates speaker'signor'sy` We hear the speaker as signaling that shedoyzjq kno whatArlo isco`qV8z while at the same time asserting thatno matter whatArlo isco""V`V there's alo o garlic in it. The FRwitho` --ever in (2) carriesno such signalo ignoy"8"` The taskbefoq us isto make precise the natureo theco`z"VqyO"q o --ever in (1). If at allpoyzqz"I wewoz8 liketo relate this useo FRs with --ever to the oe in (3), which seemsto callfo a treatmento whatever as a universal quantifiero soa soan Let'slo' at oy recentcharacterizatio o the speaker's ignoer's whatever: "In the speaker's ignoer's reading, whatever quantifies oua epistemicwostem So in a sentence like Whatever I cooked is greeno reading `Whatever it is that IcoV4z` it is green', whatever epistemically accessiblewoces in which Icozqj soqjIyOq4 Suchwohy` will include this thing being green and atojqq" it being green and apozj"q andso o (Iatrido andVarlozjyOq 1998). Theoey"qz idea then appearsto beto treat asintro`yOq` universalquantificatio oua epistemic alternatives. We wo`j give (1) a paraphrase like "In all epistemically accessiblewocess there's a loo garlic in the thing thatArlo iscoz4"""y Dayal presents an analysis preciselyaloi these lines. The technical aspectso herproq4z4 are asfoz"`4" (4) Anal sis D (Da al's Implementatio4 a. whatever j [... t j ...] IPdenoyI at w = #Q # i-alternatives # f(w)(s) [Q(i)(#x[P(i)(x)]] where P is the pro"..

Modal Comparisons: Two Dilletantes in Search of an Expert

We express our puzzlement over the role of the German comparative form “eher” in metalinguistic and modal comparisons. We can’t do this alone. We have data, we have observations, we have speculations, but we need you to tell us what to do with them. We want to sit down with you and work on this together

Modal Comparisons: Two Dilettantes in Search of an Expert

In this short squib, Kai von Fintel and I express our puzzlement over the role of the German comparative form “eher” in metalinguistic and modal comparisons. We can’t do this alone. We have data, we have observations, we have speculations, but we need you to tell us what to do with them. We want to sit down with you and work on this together