Abstract
-Er nominals usually obey the External Argument Generalization: the argument of the nominal receives the thematic role that the verb assigns to its external argument. I argue that this syntactic generalization, as well as the exceptions to it, can be explained by semantics. Specifically, -er nominals usually express properties that are inherent in the subject; I argue that they therefore belong to the class of expressions that express such properties—dynamic modals. Crucially, dynamic modals are subject oriented; hence, the proposal that -er nominals are dynamic modals naturally provides an account of the External Argument Generalization.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 91-103 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Morphology |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Feb 2016 |
Keywords
- -Er nominals
- Dynamic modals
- External argument generalization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics