Sums and quantifiers

The present article is on the semantics of plural noun phrases. Perhaps the semantics of no category is studied as thoroughly as that of noun phrases. Yet, the resulting theory of generalised quantifiers is mainly developed by disregarding the fact that most noun phrases are plural. Since it restricts itself to properties of ‘plain’ individuals rather than of sums or groups, it does not elucidate the typical phenomena of statements about such collections. Conversely, the familiar proposals concerning the semantics of plurals normally concentrate on a small number of noun phrases and leave unclear which options there are in collectivising the theory of generalised quantification.

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