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Volume 9, Issue 2
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Abstract

Abstract

In the event quantity construction, ‘much’ is a quantity adjective. What ‘much’ modifies is the root of the verb and the root has to move to the light verb position to be categorically defined. The quantity adjective ‘much’ functions to introduce a measure function which measures the event denoted by the verb along the dimension valued by the assignment function , and the domain to which the measure function applies must be monotonic. So, the ‘modification’ relation between the quantity adjective ‘much’ and its modifyee essentially differs from that between a typical gradable adjective like ‘sweat’ and its modifyee. This explains how the quantity adjective ‘much’ differs from the typical adjective in syntax and semantics.

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2022-12-06
2025-07-13

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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): event; measure function; monotonicity; quantity adjective; root

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