Determiners and relative clauses

©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! !http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! ! ! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! Paola!Benincà! [email protected]! University-of-PaduaDOI!to!be!assigned! ! Abstract:!In!the! present! paper,! I! consider! first! the! behaviour! of! singular! count!nouns,!showing!that,!in!the!limited!set!of!contexts!in!which!they!are! found,! a! specific! kind! of! modification! is! in! many! cases! necessary.! The! modification!is!represented!by!a!variant!of!a!kind!defining!relative!clause.!I! briefly! outline! the! main! syntactic! and! semantic! characteristics! of! kind> defining!relatives;!I!then!consider!bare!plural!count!nouns!and!singular!mass! nouns;!I!use!the!Left!Dislocation!construction!as!a!test!that!permits!us!to! explore!the!composition!of!the!DP,!and!to!localise!the!position!of!a!silent! operator.! I! show! that,! in! this! context! too,! the! modifiers! that! permit! the! determiner!to!be!omitted!can!be!semantically!interpreted!as!corresponding! to! a! kind>defining! relative.! Finally,! I! examine! the! so>called! partitive! DPs! introduced!by!di+article,!which!are!often!considered!in!the!literature!to!be! semantically! equivalent! to! bare! nouns,! and! I! show! that! they! are! instead! different,!both!semantically!and!syntactically;!incidentally,!this!permits!us!to! point!out!a!minimal!difference!between!French!and!Italian.! Keywords:-Bare-nouns,-kind7defining-relative-clauses,-silent-quantifiers.-- Resumen:!En! el! presente! artículo! se! trata! primero! el! comportamiento! de! sustantivos!singulares!contables!y!se!muestra!que!en!el!conjunto!limitado!de! contextos! en! que! estos! aparecen,! una! clase! de! modificación! específica! es! necesaria!en!muchos!casos.!Esta!modificación!se!representa!mediante!una! variante! de! cláusula! relativa! definidora.! Tras! brevemente! perfilarse! las! principales! características! sintácticas! y! semánticas! de! las! relativas! definidoras,! se! abordan! los! sustantivos! plurales! contables! escuetos! y! los! sustantivos! no! contables! singulares.! La! construcción! de! dislocación! a! la! izquierda!se!utiliza!como!diagnóstico!para!la!exploración!de!la!composición! del!SD,!así!como!para!la!localización!de!la!posición!del!operador!nulo.!Se! muestra!que,!también!en!este!contexto,!los!modificadores!que!permiten!la! omisión!del!determinante!pueden!recibir!la!interpretación!semántica!de!una! relativa!restrictiva.!Finalmente!se!examinan!las!estructuras!conocidas!como! SDs! partitivos! introducidos! por! di+artículo,! que! han! sido! frecuentemente! consideradas! en! la! bibliografía! como! semánticamente! equivalentes! a! sustantivos!desnudos,!y!se!muestra!que!en!realidad!son!diferentes,!tanto!en! el!plano!semántico!como!en!el!sintáctico.!Además,!esto!nos!permite!señalar! una!mínima!diferencia!entre!el!francés!y!el!italiano.!!! Palabrasclave:!Sustantivosescuetos,- cláusulasderelativodefinidoras,- cuantificadores-nulos.- ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 93! Paola!Benincà! Resumen:!No! presente! artigo,! considero! primeiro! o! comportamento! de! nomes! contáveis! singulares,! demonstrando!que,! no! número! limitado! de! contextos!em!que!surgem,!um!tipo!específico!de!modificação!é,!em!muitos! casos,!necessário.!A!modificação!é!representada!por!uma!variante!de!uma! oração! relativa! de! tipo! restritivo.! Apresento! brevemente! as! principais! caraterísticas! sintáticas! e! semânticas! das! relativas! de! tipo! restritivo;! considero,!em!seguida,!nomes!simples!contáveis!plurais!e!nomes!massivos! singulares;!uso!a!construção!da!deslocação!à!esquerda!como!um!teste!que! nos! permite! explorar! a! composição! do! DP! e! localizar! a! posição! de! um! operador! silencioso.! Demonstro! que,! também! neste! contexto,! os! modificadores! que! permitem! que! o! determinante! seja! omitido! podem! ser! semanticamente!interpretados!como!correspondendo!a!uma!relativa!de!tipo! restritivo.! Finalmente,! examino! os! chamados! DPs! partitivos! introduzidos! por! di+artigo,! que! são! frequentemente! considerados! na! literatura! como! sendo! semanticamente! equivalentes! aos!nomes! simples,! e!demonstro! que,! pelo! contrário,! eles! são! diferentes,! quer! semântica! quer! sintaticamente;! incidentalmente,!tal!permite>nos!destacar!a!diferença!mínima!entre!o!francês! e!o!italiano.!! Palavras5chave:-Nomessimples,-oraçõesrelativasdetiporestritivo,- quantificadores-silenciosos.! 1.!Introduction! In! this! paper1! I! want! to! go! deeper! into! a! subject! that! I! touched! upon! many!years!ago!(Benincà!1980),!and!which!has!recently!become!clearer!to!me! while!studying!an!apparently!unrelated!topic.!! In!the!old!article!I!had!studied!some!aspects!of!the!behaviour!of!bare! nouns!in!Italian,!showing!that!in!some!contexts,!namely!when!the!noun!was! accompanied!by!a!modifier,!it!was!possible!to!have!a!zero!determiner;!I!argued! that!this!was!possible!because!a!null!operator!was!inserted!in!the!apparently! empty!position.! The!modifiers!that!triggered!this!process!were!listed,!but!the!reason!for! why!precisely!those!elements!were!involved!remained!obscure.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 1!I!want!to!dedicate!this!paper!to!Andrew,!to!express!my!old!affection!and!my! admiration!for!the!wonderful!work!he!has!been!doing!in!linguistics!since!I!met!him! many!years!ago.!In!particular,!the!subject!I!have!chosen!for!this!paper!intends!to!tell! Andrew!that!I!find!any!page!he!has!written!about!relative!clauses!among!the!most! clear,!penetrating,!thought>provoking!that!I!have!ever!read!on!this!fascinating!topic.!! I!thank!Guglielmo!Cinque,!Nicola!Munaro!and!Christina!Tortora!for!comments! and!suggestions.! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!ISSN!1989>8525! 94! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! Studying!a!particular!type!of!relative!clause,!the!kind>defining!relatives! (definitorie-in!Italian:!see!Benincà!2012,!Benincà!&!Cinque!forthcoming),!I!have! realised! that! the! modifiers! licensing! an! operator! in! place! of! the! missing! determiner! all! semantically! correspond! precisely! to! a! kind>defining! relative! clause.!! In!the!present!paper,!I!will!first!illustrate!the!contexts!that!license!a!null! determiner!in!Italian,!distinguishing!the!various!cases;!I!will!consider!first!the! behaviour!of!singular!count!nouns,!showing!that,!in!the!limited!set!of!contexts! in! which! they! are! found,! a! specific! kind! of! modification! is! in! many! cases! necessary.! The! modification! is! represented! by! a! variant! of! a! kind! defining! relative!clause.!! I!will!then!briefly!outline!the!main!syntactic!and!semantic!characteristics! of!kind>defining!relatives,!in!particular!in!post>copular!relative!clauses;!I!will! then!consider!bare!plural!count!nouns!and!singular!mass!nouns;!I!will!use!the! Left! Dislocation! construction! as! a! test! that! permits! us! to! explore! the! composition! of! the! DP! with! and! without! a! definite! article,! and! localise! the! position!of!a!silent!operator.!I!will!show!that,!in!this!context!too,!the!modifiers! that! permit! the! determiner! to! be! omitted! can! be! semantically! interpreted! as! corresponding!to!a!kind>defining!relative.!! The!so>called!partitive!DPs!introduced!by!di+article!are!often!considered! in!the!literature!to!be!semantically!equivalent!to!bare!nouns.!I!will!show!that! they!are!instead!different,!both!semantically!and!syntactically;!this!will!permit! us! to! point! out! what! seems! to! be! a! minimal! difference! between! French! and! Italian,!in!this!respect.!!! 1.1.!Determinerless!singular!count!nouns! Bare! nouns! have! limitations,! which! are! less! strong! with! plural! count! nouns! and! singular! mass! nouns! than! with! singular! count! nouns,! as! the! following!examples!show:!in!(1)!we!have!bare!nouns!in!direct!object!position,! and! in! (2)! subjects! of! unaccusative! verbs;! in! parallel! contexts,! bare! count! singular!nouns!are!impossible!(1c)!and!(2c):!! (1)!! a.! Ho!comprato!fiori.!! ! ! I>have!bought!flowers! ! b.! Ho!bevuto!latte.! ! ! I>have!drunk!milk! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 95! Paola!Benincà! ! c.! *Ho!comprato!giornale.! ! ! I>have!bought!newspaper! (2)!! a.! Sono!arrivati!fiori.! ! ! are!arrived!flowers! ! b.! E'ʹ!stato!versato!latte.! ! ! is!been!spilt!milk! ! c.! *E'ʹ!arrivato!ragazzo.! ! ! !!is!arrived!boy! The!preverbal!subject!position!is!in!any!case!forbidden!for!bare!singular! and!plural,!count!and!mass!nouns!(see!section!3).! Bare!singular!count!nouns!are!possible!–!in!post>verbal!position!–!only!in! negative!sentences!or!in!yes>no!questions,!but!again!with!stronger!limitations! than!bare!non>singulars!(plural!and!mass!nouns)2!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 2!The!structures!exemplified!in!(3)!appear!frequently!in!idiomatic!expressions,! as!in!! (i)! a.! Non!c'ʹera!anima!viva.! ! ! not!there.was!living!soul!'ʹThere!was!nobody'ʹ! ------b.! Dar!carta!bianca! ! ! to>give!white!paper!'ʹto!give!full!power'ʹ! See-Renzi!(2001,!427>434),!who!also!suggests!that!in!some!cases!the!bare!object! noun!is!incorporated!in!the!governing!verb;!see!for!example:! (ii)! a.! Non!ho!aperto!libro.! ! ! not!I>have!opened!book!'ʹI!haven'ʹt!studied!at!all'ʹ! !b.! Non!ha!detto!parola.! ! ! not!he.has!told!word!'ʹHe!didn'ʹt!speak'ʹ! See! also! Longobardi! (1994),! who! in! fn! 6! compares! the! productivity! of! the! negative!context!for!the!licensing!of!bare!singulars!in!French!(studied!by!Kayne!1981)! with!the!limitations!that!are!found!in!Italian.!French!needs!a!preposition!de-to!properly! govern!the!bare!singular!noun;!in!Italian!the!kind>defining!relative!has!the!same!result:! with!this!addition,!the!negative!context!is!fully!productive!in!Italian!too.!! A! recent,! very! interesting,! paper! by! Kayne! (2009)! on! definite! and!indefinite! articles! takes! the! position! of! assuming! that! the! numeral! "ʺone"ʺ! does! not! exist! as! a! primitive!of!human!language;!all!languages!have!the!indefinite!article!"ʺone"ʺ,!which!in! some!contexts!licenses!a!silent!SINGLE,!which! gives! the! numeral!interpretation.!He! concludes!that!"ʺLike!negation,!definite!articles!and!indefinite!articles!are!found!in!all! languages,! sometimes! silent,! sometimes! not."ʺ! I! wonder! how! to! account! for! (or! interpret)!the!fact!that!1)!if!a!language!has!one!single!article,!this!is!a!definite!article;!2)! all!languages!(I!know!of)!have!a!pronounced!word!that!means!"ʺone!SINGLE"ʺ,!not!all! languages!have!a!pronounced!article!"ʺone"ʺ.!! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!ISSN!1989>8525! 96! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! (3)! a.! ??Non!è!arrivata!ragazza.! !!!!!!!not!is!arrived!girl!!! ! b.! ??Non!si!è!presentato!studente.! !! !!!not!himself.is!presented!student! ! !c.! ??Non!ho!visto!studente.! !!!!!!not!I>have!seen!student! (4)! a.! Non!si!sono!presentati!studenti.! ! ! not!themselves.are!presented!students! ! b.! Non!ho!comprato!oro.! ! ! not!I>have!bought!gold! Sentences!such!as!(3a>c)!are!better!if!an!adjective,!or!a!PP,!is!added:!! (5)! a.! ?Non!è!arrivata!ragazza!col!bagaglio!intatto.! ! ! !!not!is!arrived!girl!with!the!luggage!undamaged! ! b.! ?Non!si!è!presentato!studente!preparato.! ! ! !!not!himself.is!presented!student!prepared! ! c.! ?Non!ho!visto!studente!attento.! ! ! !!not!I>have!seen!student!attentive! The! same! sentences! become! perfect! if! a! relative! clause! expands! the! adjective!or!the!PP!giving!them!explicitly!the!function!of!predicates:!! (6)! a.! Non!è!arrivata!ragazza!che!avesse!il!bagaglio!intatto.! ! ! not!is!arrived!girl!thad!had!the!luggage!intact! !!!!! b.! Non!si!è!presentato!studente!che!fosse!preparato.! ! ! not!himself.is!presented!student!that!were!prepared! !!!!! c.! non!ho!visto!studente!che!stesse!attento.! ! ! not!I>have!seen!student!that!were!attentive! The!post>nominal!adjective,!as!well!as!the!PP,!of!(5)!is!interpreted!as!a! reduced!relative,!which!appears!explicitly!in!the!corresponding!versions!in!(6).!! The! semantic! interpretation! of! the! N! must! be! 'ʹindefinite! non>specific'ʹ.! The!relative!clause!obligatorily!has!the!subjunctive!mood;!the!relative!is!only! apparently!a!restrictive,!as!I!will!now!show.! 2.!A!profile!of!kind<defining!relative!clauses3! Modern!Standard!Italian!has!a!system!of!relativization!which!uses!lexical! wh>pronouns!or!abstract!wh>elements;!wh>movement!in!restrictive!relatives!on! the!subject!or!on!the!object!leaves!a!gap!that!cannot!be!bound!by!a!clitic:!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 3!For! more! details! see! Benincà! &! Cinque! (forthcoming),! and! references! cited! there.!! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 97! Paola!Benincà! (7)!!Il!ragazzo!che!(*l'ʹ)hai!conosciuto!parte!domani.!! ! the!boy!that!(him).you>have!met,!leaves!tomorrow! When!a!PP!is!relativized,!standard!Italian!uses!relative!pronouns;!in!colloquial! standard!and!regional!Italian,!as!well!as!in!the!dialects,!headed!relative!clauses,! when!a!DP!or!a!PP!is!relativized,!are!introduced!by!a!bare!complementizer,!che,! which! can! co>occur! with! a! resumptive! clitic! expressing! the! grammatical! function!of!the!wh:! (8)! Il!ragazzo!che!gli!ho!dato!il!libro!si!chiama!Mario.! !!!!!!!! the!boy!that!to.him!I.have!given!the!book!is!called!Mario! Non>restrictive!relative!clauses!in!the!colloquial!style!have!a!resumptive! clitic!copying!the!wh:!! (9)!Mario,!che!nessuno!lo!sopporta,!non!sarà!invitato.!! !!!!!!!!!Mario,!that!nobody!him!can!stand,!will!not!be!invited! The! clitic! in! the! relatives! on! the! subject! cannot! be! exemplified! with! Italian,!which!lacks!subject!clitics,!but!with!northern!Italian!dialects:!see!(6a),!in! contrast!with!(6b),!from!Paduan:!! (10)! a.! Un!professore!che!(*el)!gaveva!dedicà!la!vita!ala!scola!se!gà!ritirà!(restrictive)! ! ! a!teacher!that!had!devoted!his!life!to!school!has!retired! !!!!!! b.! Mario,!che!el!gaveva!dedicà!la!vita!ala!scola,!se!gà!ritirà!(non7restrictive)! ! ! Mario,!that!he.had!devoted!his!life!to!school,!has!retired!! Some!apparently!restrictive!relative!clauses!admit,!in!colloquial!Italian,!a! clitic!copy!of!the!wh:!both!the!following!sentences!are!apparently!restrictive,!but! (11a)!cannot!have!a!clitic!copy,!while!(11b)!is!perfectly!grammatical:! (11)! a.! *Ho!conosciuto!un!ragazzo!che!non!lo!conosci!mai!abbastanza.! ! ! !!I!have!met!a!boy!that!you!don'ʹt!know!him!ever!enough.! !!!!! b.! Mario!è!un!ragazzo!che!non!lo!conosci!mai!abbastanza.!! ! ! M.!is!a!boy!that!you!don'ʹt!know!him!ever!enough.! (11b)!belongs!to!the!kind>defining!relative!class;!these!relatives!do!not! have!the!function!of!narrowing!down!the!reference!of!the!head!noun,!which!can! remain!undetermined,!but!that!of!providing!the!features!which!characterize!the! class!they!belong!to.!What!they!have!in!common!with!non>restrictive!relatives!is! precisely!that!the!function!of!the!relative!has!nothing!to!do!with!reference!of!the! head,!since!the!non>restrictive!is!headed!by!a!referential!head,!and!the!kind> defining!does!not!need!to!identify!the!reference!of!the!head.!! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!ISSN!1989>8525! 98! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! The!basic!context!is!that!of!a!post>copular!relative!clause4,!which!forms,! together!with!the!head!noun,!the!predicate!of!a!copular!structure.5! There!are!various!characteristics!which!show!that!these!relative!clauses,! despite!their!appearance,!are!not!restrictive.!Among!other!things,!they!admit! the!post>verbal!negative!adverb!mica!(see!(13)),!and!their!verb!can!have!genuine! epistemic!interpretation!(see!(14)).! The! postverbal! negative! polarity! element! mica! is! possible! in! non> restrictive!relative!clauses!and!impossible!in!restrictive!relative!clauses:! (12)! a.! Hanno!invitato!Mario,!che!non!conosco!mica.!! ! ! they!have!invited!Mario,!whom!I!don'ʹt-know!NEG! !!!!!!!! b.! *Hanno!invitato!il!ragazzo!che!non!conosco!mica.!! ! ! !!they!have!invited!the!boy!that!I!don'ʹt-know!NEG! Interestingly,!kind>defining!relatives!behave!like!non>restrictives:!! (13)! a.! Questi!sono!i!libri!che!non!ho!mica!ancora!letto.!! ! ! these!are!the!books!that!I!haven'ʹt!NEG!yet!read! !!!!!!! b.! Mario!è!un!uomo!che!non!esita!mica!a!rischiare.! ! ! Mario!is!a!man!that!doesn'ʹt!hesitate!NEG-to!risk!! The! possibility! of! using! a! modal! in! genuinely! epistemic! readings! in! Italian!is!admitted!in!non>restrictive!but!not!in!restrictive!relatives,!as!shown!in! (14):! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 4!Jiménez>Fernández!(2012)!develops!a!very!interesting!analysis!of!semantic!and! pragmatic!aspects!of!copular!structures,!in!particular!the!relation!between!individual! level!/!stage!level!predicates,!on!the!one!hand,!and!the!possibility!for!their!subjects!to! be! topics,! on! the!other.! His! conclusions! have! indirect! but! precise! relevance! for! the! present!issue;!I!will!hopefully!deal!with!them!in!future!work.! 5!In!Benincà!and!Cinque!(forthcoming)!we!present!some!phenomena!of!English! dialects!that!are!only!found!with!this!class!of!relatives,!in!particular!contact!relatives!on! the!subject;!another!interesting!context!is!described!in!Radford!(1981:!270>1)!as!a!rule!of! relative!clauses!apparently!restricted!to!un>tensed!(infinitival)!relatives:! (i)!a.!!He!is!looking!for!someone!on!whom!to!put!his!trust.! !!!!! b.! He!is!looking!for!something!about!which!to!complain.! !!!!! c.! *He!is!looking!for!something!which!to!complain!about.! ! ! (cf.!I!have!discovered!the!thing!which!they!have!complained!about).! Probably!the!>!still!mysterious!>!reason!of!this!phenomenon!does!not!directly! have!to!do!with!the!un>tensedness! of!the!relative!clause!but!with! the!kind>defining! nature!of!the!interpretation!of!the!head,!which!is!induced!by!the!un>tensed!verb.!! ! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 99! Paola!Benincà! (14)!! a.! Il/Un!ragazzo!che!deve!partire!presto!la!mattina!arriva!sempre!stanco!! ! (restrictive:-deontic-interpr.-only)! ! ! the/a!boy!that!has!to!leave!early!in!the!morning!always!arrives!tired! !b.!Mario,!che!deve!partire!presto!la!mattina,!arriva!sempre!stanco!! ! ! ! (non7restrictive:-both-epistemic-and-deontic-interpretation)! ! ! Mario,!who!has!to!leave!early!in!the!morning,!always!arrives!tired! If!we!insert!an!apparent!restrictive!clause!in!a!DP!which!is!the!predicate! of!a!copular!structure!(as!in!15),!the!epistemic!interpretation!becomes!possible! (or,!in!other!cases,!obligatory,!for!semantic!reasons,!as!in!(15b)):! (15)! a.! Mario!è!un!uomo!che!deve!alzarsi!molto!presto!la!mattina!! ! !! (epistemic-or-deontic-interpretation)!! !Mario!is!a!man!that!must!get!up!very!early!in!the!morning! ! b.! Mario!è!un!uomo!che!deve!amare!molto!i!suoi!figli.! !Mario!is!a!man!that!must!love!his!children!very!much!(only-epistemic-interpretation)! The!cases!we!have!seen!above,!where!a!bare!singular!noun!was!admitted,! in!the!post>verbal!position!of!negative!and!interrogative!contexts!were!precisely! determined!by!a!kind>defining!relative,!in!explicit!or!reduced!form.!This!kind!of! relative!will!play!an!interesting!role!also!in!bare!plural!count!nouns.! 3.!Bare!plurals!and!mass!nouns! Bare!plural!and!mass!nouns,!differently!from!singular!count!nouns,!do! not!need!a!negative!or!interrogative!context!to!be!licensed;!like!bare!singular! nouns,!though,!they! can!only!appear!in!post>verbal! position,!unless!they!are! modified!in!the!way!that!we!will!see.! Subjects!of!unergative!and!intransitive!verbs!cannot!be!bare,!neither!in! preverbal!nor!in!post>verbal!position6:!! (16)! a.! *Passeggiano!ragazzi.! ! ! !!they>walk!boys! ! b.! *Ragazzi!stanno!vendendo!fiori.! ! ! !!boys!are!selling!flowers!! ! c.! *Ragazzi!camminano!nel!parco.!! ! ! !!boys!they>walk!in!the!park! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 6!There!are!narrative! contexts!and! tense>moods!that!render!these!cases!more! acceptable,!possibly!if!the!bare!noun!is!in!some!sense!given!as!part!of!a!list!of!features! characterising!a!situation.!This!interesting!aspect!is!not!relevant!at!the!moment.! ! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!ISSN!1989>8525! 100! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! The! preverbal! position! is! not! permitted! even! for! bare! subjects! of! unaccusatives:! (17)!a.!*Fiori!sono!arrivati!ieri!a!casa!di!mia!madre.! ! ! !!flowers!are!arrived!yesterday!! ! b.! *Pesce!è!stato!pescato!nell'ʹAdriatico.!! ! ! !!fish!has!been!fished!in!the!Adriatic!sea! As!direct!objects,!bare!plural!count!nouns!and!bare!singular!mass!nouns! are!perfectly!grammatical:! (18)! a.! Ho!comprato!fiori.! ! ! I!have!bought!flowers! ! b.! Ho!versato!latte.!! ! ! I!have!spilt!milk! The!ungrammatical!sentences!in!(16>17)!become!perfectly!grammatical!if! we!add!a!kind>defining!specification:! (19)! a.! Fiori!di!grande!bellezza!sono!arrivati!ieri!a!casa!di!mia!madre.! ! ! flowers!of!great!beauty!are!arrived!yesterday!at!my!mother'ʹs!home! ! b.! Pesce!di!scarso!pregio!è!stato!pescato!nell'ʹAdriatico.!! ! ! fish!of!low!quality!has!been!fished!in!the!Adriatic!sea! (20)! a.! Passeggiavano!ragazzi!dall'ʹaspetto!curioso.! ! ! walked!boys!of!curious!look! ! b.! Ragazzi!dall'ʹaspetto!curioso!vendevano!fiori!/!camminavano!nel!parco.!! ! ! boys!of!curious!look!sold!flowers!/they>walked!in!the!park! 3.1.!Operators!of!bare!nouns! Bare! plural! count! nouns! (and! singular! mass! nouns)! have,! then,! less! restrictions!than!bare!singular!count!nouns;!they!are!nevertheless!impossible!in! preverbal!position!(see!(16>17)),!unless!they!are!modified,!as!in!(19>20).! It!still!seems!that!the!necessity!of!a!negative!or!interrogative!context!for! singular! count! nouns! has! to! be! based! on! Kayne'ʹs! (1981)! analysis:! there! is! a! variable! (an! Empty! Category)! that! has! to! be! properly! bound! by! a! c> commanding! operator.! To! account! for! the! difference! between! singular! and! plural!count!nouns,!one!can!hypothesize!that!singular!nouns!have!–!at!least!>! two!silent!functional!heads!whose!features!have!to!be!bound!(interpreted)!by!a! c>commanding! operator:! one! is! bound! by! person! agreement,! and! this! is! the! reason!why!it!has!to!be!in!post>verbal!position,!the!other!needs!to!be!licensed!by! an!operator!(provided!by!a!negative!or!interrogative!context).!The!difference! between!singular!and!plural!bare!nouns!could!be!linked!to!the!fact!that!bare! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 107! Paola!Benincà! (36)! a.!!Sì,!le!ho!viste.!! ! ! yes,!them.I>have!seen! !!!!!!!! b.!!Sì,!ne!ho!viste.!! ! ! yes,!of>them.I>have!seen! The!same!effect!can!be!observed!with!mass!nouns;!the!di+article!partitive! is!not!appropriate!as!direct!object!to!get!an!individual!level!description,!which! requires!instead!a!bare!N:! (37)! a.! Mario!(è!uno!che)!beve!birra,!ma!non!ne!beve!quasi!mai.! ! ! Mario!(is!a!man!that)!drinks!bier,!but!he!drinks!of>it!almost!never! !!!! b.! ??Mario!(è!uno!che)!beve!della!birra.! ! ! ! !Mario!(is!a!man!that)!drinks!of>the!bier! !!!!! c.! *Mario!(è!uno!che)!beve!della!birra!ma!non!ne!beve!quasi!mai.! ! ! !!Mario!(is!a!man!that)!drinks!bier,!but!he!drinks!of>it!almost!never! With! the! partitive! di+art.! in! Italian! we! can! only! have! a! stage! level! or! habitual!interpretation,!but!not!a!genuinely!individual!level!one.!! The!internal!structure!of!di+art.-probably!contains!an!indefinite!quantifier! QUANTITY!(NUMBER,! or!AMOUNT,!depending!on!the!count/mass!class!of! the!Noun),!followed!by!the!partitive!preposition!and!the!article,!obligatory!in! Italian.!9! Comparing! Italian! with! French,! Kayne! (2004,! 2012)! underlines! the! difference! of! French! and! Italian! with! respect! to! the! presence! of! the! definite! articles,!which!gives!the!minimal!pair!(38a,!b):! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! 9!It!is!tempting!to!connect!this!structure!with!other!cases!where!the!preposition! di-is!related!to!NUMBER/AMOUNT!in!Italian:! (i)!a.!Voglio!più!libertà!/!libri.! ! ! I!want!more!freedom!/!books! !!!!!!b.!Ne!voglio!*(di)!più.! ! ! of>it.I>want!(of)!more! The!same!pattern!is!produced!with!meno-‘less’.!Possibly,!this!has!something!to! do! with! the! comparative! nature! of! the! quantification! (where! dihas! the! function! of! English!than).!But!another!phenomenon!>!found!in!spoken!Tuscan,!and!in!some!dialects! (Emilian)!>!is!represented!by!the!quantifier!molti,-which!can!be!preceded!by!di:!dimolto- ‘very,!much’,!dimolti-‘many’).!In!modern!Florentine!(J.!Garzonio,!p.c.)!this!form!is!only! used!–!very!naturally!>!when!molto,-molti-is!accompanied!by!a!silent!N!or!a!trace,!not! when!the!N!is!pronounced.!This!case!has!–!at!first!sight!–!possible!affinities!with!the! partitive!di+art.,!but!the!matter!is!still!unclear!to!me.-! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!ISSN!1989>8525! 108! Determiners!and!relative!clauses! (38)! a.!*Jean!boit!bière.! !!!!!!!!b.!Giovanni!beve!birra.! !! ! John!drinks!beer! In!French!only!(39)!is!possible:! (39)!Jean!boit!de!la!bière.! !J.!drinks!of.the!bier! It!is!not!clear!if!(39)!can!have!an!individual!level!interpretation.!If!it!does,! the!difference!could!reside!in!the!semantics!of!the!definite!article,!which!is!an! existential!operator!in!Italian!but!not!in!French.! 5.!Summing!up! The! aim! of! this! brief! analysis! was! to! further! reflect! on! the! semantic! features!that!are!involved!in!the!constructions!with!bare!nouns,!with!respect!to! the!referential!features!the!head!Noun!is!endowed!with,!in!determinerless!DPs! on!the!one!hand,!and!in!relative!clauses,!on!the!other.! To!demonstrate!the!presence!of!an!operator!in!the!functional!structure!of! bare!plurals!and!singular!mass!nouns!I!have!used!a!test!based!on!the!different! form!of!the!resumptive!clitic!that!appears!with!left!dislocation!of!these!nominal! structures.! !It!seems!that!the!impossible!bare!DPs!are!excluded!because!their!status! with! respect! to! referential! features! is! not! complete;! they! can! be! rescued! if,! through!the!addition!of!a!specific!type!of!predicate,!they!are!assigned!to!the! 'ʹclassified'ʹ!category,!which!means!'ʹneither!definite!nor!indefinite'ʹ.!! REFERENCES! Benincà,!Paola.!1980.!Nomi!senza!articolo,!Rivista-di-Grammatica-Generativa-5,!51– 62.! Benincà,!Paola.!2012.!Frasi!relative!e!strutture!copulari.!In!Vincenzo!Orioles!&! Paolo! Borghello! (eds.),! PerRobertoGusmani.- StudiinRicordo.! Udine:! Forum!Editrice.! Benincà,! Paola! &! Guglielmo! Cinque.! Forthcoming.!Kind>defining! relative! clauses!in!the!diachrony!of!Italian.! Haïk,!Isabelle.!1982.!On!clitic!en-in!French,!Journal-of-Linguistic-Research-2!(1),!63– 87.! ! ©!Iberia:!An!International!Journal!of!Theoretical!Linguistics!vol!4.1,!2012,!92>109! ! ! http://revistas.ojs.es/index.php/iberia!! ISSN!1989>8525! 109! Paola!Benincà! Jiménez>Fernández,!Ángel!L.! 2012.!What!information!structure!tells! us!about! individual/stage>level! predicates,! Borealis.- AnInternationalJournalofHispanic-Linguistics-1,!1–32.! Kayne,!Richard!S.!1981.!ECP!extensions,!Linguistic-Inquiry-12,!93–133.![Reprinted! in! Richard! S.! Kayne.! 1984.! ConnectednessandBinaryBranching.! 47–86.! Dordrecht:!Foris].! Kayne,!Richard!S.!2003.!Romance!partitives!and!the!syntax!of!quantity.!Ms.!! Kayne,!Richard!S.!2004.!Some!preliminary!comparative!remarks!on!French!and! Italian! definite! articles.! Ms.! [Published! in! Richard! S.! Kayne.! 2009.! Comparisons-and-Contrast.!Oxford/New!York:!Oxford!University!Press].! Kayne,!Richard!S.!2009.!More!articles!than!meet!the!eye.!Ms.! Longobardi,!Giuseppe.!1994.!Reference!and!proper!names,!Linguistic-Inquiry!25,! 609–665.!! Renzi,! Lorenzo.! 2001.! L’articolo.! In! Lorenzo! Renzi,! Giampaolo! Salvi! &! Anna! Cardinaletti!(eds.),!Grande-Grammatica-Italiana-di-Consultazione,-vol.-I.!371– 437.!Bologna:!Il!Mulino.! Radford,! Andrew.! 1981.! TransformationalSyntax.! Cambridge:! Cambridge! University!Press.! ! Reception!date/Fecha!de!recepción/Data!de!recepção:!02/08/2012! Revision!date/Fecha!de!revisión/Data!de!revisão:!02/08/2012! Acceptation!date/Fecha!de!aceptación/Data!de!aceitação:!02/08/2012! ! Paola!Benincà! ! [email protected]! University!of!Padova! !