Formal Approaches to Semantic Microvariation: Adverbial ...

As mentioned above, a major problem with the EC analysis is that it leaves the
nature of the empty category inside the direct object undefined. This is because, as
noted by Obenauer (1994), the syntax of the construction would suggest that type of
the EC next to the de NP is different from the type of other empty categories that we
observe in natural language. In particular, while most empty categories that have been
proposed are traces or null pronouns (elements of type e), having the EC denote an
individual does not make much sense in QAD 8 , since what is empty in this construction
is not a whole QNP, but rather just a determiner.
I therefore propose that the EC in a QAD construction is, in fact, adverbial; that is,
I propose that de phrases never appear bare in the language. In the rare cases in which
they seem to appear bare, they are selected by an empty determiner, call it EC, whose
definition is given in (100).
(100) For all P ∈ P(E), R ∈ P(E × E × E), (EC(P))(R) = S ∈ P(E × E × E),
such that S = {< y,e,x >: R(e,y,x) & P(x)}
This revision of the EC analysis allows us propose that de phrases denote bare properties
and may only appear ‘bare’ in derived direct object position, without proposing
that complex predicates containing de phrases have exactly the same properties as syntactically
incorporated bare nouns in polysynthetic languages.
2.2.3 Consequences
A number of syntactic and semantic consequences follow from my proposal. Firstly,
as discussed above, I predict the fact that QAD is only possible with the direct object.
This explains almost all of what are considered locality effects under a movement
8 pace Azoulay-Vicente (1989)
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