Bare plural: Difference between revisions
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from Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics |
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Bare plurals can have a [[generic interpretation]] (in (i)) or an [[existential interpretation]] (in (ii)): | Bare plurals can have a [[generic interpretation]] (in (i)) or an [[existential interpretation]] (in (ii)): | ||
'' | *''(i) Cats are intelligent.'' | ||
'' | *''(ii) Cats ruined my garden.'' | ||
===Link=== | ===Link=== | ||
Latest revision as of 13:28, 6 March 2008
Bare plural refers to a plural noun phrase without an overt determiner.
Examples
Cats, or pretty girls with blond hair are bare plurals.
Comments
Bare plurals can have a generic interpretation (in (i)) or an existential interpretation (in (ii)):
- (i) Cats are intelligent.
- (ii) Cats ruined my garden.
Link
Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics
Reference
Carlson, G. 1977. Reference to kinds in English. Ph.D. diss., University of Amherst.