@cite{wellwood-2015}: On the Semantics of Comparison Across Categories #
@cite{wellwood-2015}
Data, compositional derivation, and verification theorems from
@cite{wellwood-2015}. All comparative sentences — nominal, verbal, and
adjectival — share a uniform DegP pipeline in which much introduces a
monotonic measure function μ. The cross-categorial parallel
(mass/atelic/GA vs count/telic/non-GA) follows from mereological status,
and dimensional restriction (§3.4) follows from whether the measured
domain is linearly ordered.
Data Sources #
- §2.1: Nominal comparatives (mass vs count nouns)
- §2.2: Verbal comparatives (atelic vs telic VPs)
- §3.1–3.2: Adjectival comparatives (gradable vs non-gradable adjectives)
- §3.3: Morphosyntactic evidence (
more=much+-er, @cite{bresnan-1973}) - §3.4: Dimensional restriction patterns
- §5: Number morphology and measurement (grammar shifts measurement)
- §6.3:
verydistribution and covertmuch
Compositional Derivation (§2.3, §3.2) #
The comparative is derived compositionally via the DegP:
⟦much_μ⟧^A = A(μ)— introduces the measure function from the variable assignment (eq. 37)⟦-er⟧— introduces strict comparison (>) against a standard⟦Deg'⟧ = ⟦much_μ + -er⟧ = λd.λα. μ(α) > d(eq. 37.i, 45.i)⟦ABS⟧ = λg.λd.λα. g(α) ≥ d— links degrees to predicates in the than-clause (eq. 38.ii)⟦than⟧ = λD. max(D)— selects maximal degree (eq. 38.i)- Predicate Modification conjoins DegP with the base predicate
- Existential closure over the matrix eventuality
The result for all three domains (eqs. 42, 48, 65):
∃α. role(a, α) ∧ P(α) ∧ μ(extract(α)) >
max{d | ∃α'. role(b, α') ∧ P(α') ∧ μ(extract(α')) ≥ d}
Under unique-event assumptions, this reduces to μ(extract(α_a)) > μ(extract(α_b)),
bridging to comparativeSem (@cite{schwarzschild-2008}) and
statesComparativeSem (@cite{cariani-santorio-wellwood-2024}).
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Observed felicity of much/more with different lexical categories.
Mass nouns and atelic VPs are felicitous with much and allow multiple
measurement dimensions. Count nouns and telic VPs are anomalous.
GAs are felicitous but lexically fix a single dimension.
Non-GAs are anomalous (not comparable).
Examples from the paper:
- "Al bought more coffee than Bill did." ✓ (VOLUME or WEIGHT)
- "? Al has more idea than Bill does." ✗
- "Al ran more than Bill did." ✓ (DURATION or DISTANCE)
- "? Al graduated high school more than Bill did." ✗
- "Al's coffee is hotter than Bill's." ✓ (TEMPERATURE)
- "? This table is more wooden than that one." ✗
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.instBEqMuchFelicityDatum.beq x✝¹ x✝ = false
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.massNounDatum = { category := Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.massNoun, felicitousWithMuch := true, multipleDimensions := true }
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.countNounDatum = { category := Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.countNoun, felicitousWithMuch := false, multipleDimensions := false }
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.atelicVPDatum = { category := Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.atelicVP, felicitousWithMuch := true, multipleDimensions := true }
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.telicVPDatum = { category := Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.telicVP, felicitousWithMuch := false, multipleDimensions := false }
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Number morphology and telicity shifts affect available dimensions (§5).
(104) a. "Al found more rock than Bill did." (WEIGHT, VOLUME, *NUMBER) b. "Al found more rocks than Bill did." (*WEIGHT, *VOLUME, NUMBER)
(105) a. "Al ran in the park more than Bill did." (DIST, DUR, NUMBER) b. "Al ran to the park more than Bill did." (*DIST, *DUR, NUMBER)
Shifting from mass → count (plural morpheme) or atelic → telic restricts measurement to NUMBER, blocking extensive dimensions.
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Ex. 104: mass → count via plural morpheme.
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Ex. 105: atelic → telic via directional PP.
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What is actually measured in a comparative — the ontological domain whose mereological structure determines available dimensions.
The key §3.4 insight: dimension type (intensive vs extensive) tracks the measured domain, not lexical category.
- entity : MeasuredDomain
- event : MeasuredDomain
- state : MeasuredDomain
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Dimension reversal: the same syntactic category can measure different ontological domains, and the available dimensions follow from the measured domain, not from the syntactic category.
- form : String
- category : LexCat
- dimensionName : String
- measuredDomain : MeasuredDomain
- intensive : Bool
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(82a): GA measuring states → intensive.
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(82b): GA measuring states → intensive.
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(83a): Mass noun measuring entities → extensive.
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(83b): Mass noun measuring entities → extensive.
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(84a): Reversal — GA but extensive, because measured domain is entity.
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(84b): Reversal — GA but extensive, because measured domain is entity.
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(85a): Reversal — noun but intensive, because measured domain is state.
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(85b): Reversal — noun but intensive, because measured domain is state.
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(89a): Reversal — verb but intensive, because measured domain is state.
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(87a): Atelic VP measuring events → extensive.
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.happyMorningDatum = { adjective := "happy", modifier := "in the morning", form := "happy in the morning" }
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.patientPlaygroundDatum = { adjective := "patient", modifier := "with Mary on the playground", form := "patient with Mary on the playground" }
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Deg' = much_μ + -er: the comparative degree head.
⟦Deg'⟧^A = λd.λα. A(μ)(α) > d
much_μ introduces the measure function A(μ) from the variable
assignment (⟦much_μ⟧^A = A(μ), eq. 37); -er introduces the
strict comparison (>). Their combination is the semantic core
shared by all comparatives: a degree-parameterized predicate
that holds of α iff its measure exceeds d.
Note: the denotation of much_μ is simply A(μ) — a variable
assignment lookup — not a predicate. The monotonicity condition
(that A(μ) be StrictMono on a part-whole ordering) is a felicity
condition on the assignment, not part of the denotation.
(§2.1 eq. 37.i, §2.2 eq. 45.i)
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.Deg' μ d a = (μ a > d)
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ABS: type-shifter linking degrees to eventuality predicates.
⟦ABS⟧^A = λg.λd.λα. g(α) ≥ d
Used in the than-clause to create a set of degrees from a measure function. The weak inequality (≥) in ABS contrasts with the strict inequality (>) in Deg': the matrix uses >, the standard uses ≥, following @cite{von-stechow-1984}.
(§2.1 eq. 38.ii)
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.ABS μ d a = (μ a ≥ d)
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⟦than⟧ = λD. max(D): a degree δ is the maximum of a degree set iff it belongs to the set and no element exceeds it.
(§2.1 eq. 38.i; @cite{von-stechow-1984}, @cite{heim-2001})
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.IsMaxDeg S δ = (δ ∈ S ∧ ∀ d ∈ S, d ≤ δ)
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Nominal comparative derivation (§2.1, eqs. 36–42) #
"Al drank more coffee than Bill did"
Bottom-up composition (eq. 37):
1. ⟦Deg'⟧^A = λd.λα. A(μ)(α) > d (eq. 37.i: IE, FA)
2. ⟦DegP⟧^A = λα. A(μ)(α) > δ (eq. 37.ii: FA with δ)
3. ⟦NP⟧^A = λy. coffee(y) ∧ A(μ)(y) > δ (eq. 37.iii: PM)
4. ⟦eP⟧^A = εy[coffee(y) ∧ A(μ)(y) > δ] (eq. 37.iv: ε)
5. ⟦VP⟧^A = λe. drink(e)(εy[...]) (eq. 37.v: FA)
6. ⟦vP⟧^A = λx.λe. Agent(e)(x) ∧ VP(e) (eq. 37.vi: EI)
7. ⟦S⟧^A = λe. Agent(e)(a) ∧ VP(e) (eq. 37.vii: FA)
8. = ⊤ iff ∃e[Agent(e)(a) ∧ ...] (eq. 37.viii: ∃-closure)
Than-clause (eqs. 39–41):
δ = max(λd.∃e[Agent(e)(b) ∧ drink(e)(εy[coffee(y) ∧ A(μ)(y) ≥ d])])
Full truth conditions (eq. 42):
∃e[Agent(e)(a) ∧ drink(e)(εx[coffee(x) ∧ A(μ)(x) >
max(λd.∃e'[Agent(e')(b) ∧ drink(e')(εy[coffee(y) ∧ A(μ)(y) ≥ d])])])]
Abstracting away ε, with `themeOf` extracting the measured entity:
∃ea. Agent(a, ea) ∧ P(ea) ∧ μ(theme(ea)) >
max{d | ∃eb. Agent(b, eb) ∧ P(eb) ∧ μ(theme(eb)) ≥ d}
Verbal comparative derivation (§2.2, eqs. 43–48) #
"Al ran more than Bill did"
1. ⟦Deg'⟧^A = λd.λα. A(μ)(α) > d (eq. 45.i)
2. ⟦DegP⟧^A = λα. A(μ)(α) > δ (eq. 45.ii)
3. ⟦VP⟧^A = λe. run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) > δ (eq. 45.iii: PM)
4. ⟦vP⟧^A = λx.λe. Agent(e)(x) ∧ run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) > δ (eq. 45.iv: EI)
5. ⟦S⟧^A = λe. Agent(e)(a) ∧ run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) > δ (eq. 45.v: FA)
6. = ⊤ iff ∃e[Agent(e)(a) ∧ run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) > δ] (eq. 45.vi: ∃-closure)
Than-clause (eq. 47):
δ = max(λd.∃e[Agent(e)(b) ∧ run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) ≥ d])
Full truth conditions (eq. 48):
∃e'[Agent(e')(a) ∧ run(e') ∧ A(μ)(e') >
max(λd.∃e[Agent(e)(b) ∧ run(e) ∧ A(μ)(e) ≥ d])]
Adjectival comparative derivation (§3.2, eqs. 58–65) #
"Al's coffee is hotter than Bill's"
1. ⟦hot⟧ = λs.hot(s) (eq. 58)
2. ⟦much_μ hot⟧^A = λd.λs. hot(s) ∧ A(μ)(s) ≥ d (eq. 60)
3. After -er: λd.λs. hot(s) ∧ A(μ)(s) > d (eq. 61)
4. ⟦DegP⟧ = λs. hot(s) ∧ A(μ)(s) > δ (eq. 62)
5. ∃s[Holder(s)(a) ∧ hot(s) ∧ A(μ)(s) > δ] (eq. 65)
Tree (97) — adjectival with modifiers via PM:
⟦more patient with Mary on the playground⟧ =
λs. A(μ)(s) > δ ∧ patient(s) ∧ with(s)(m) ∧ on(s)(p)
The than-clause degree set: the set of degrees d such that some b-eventuality satisfying P has a measured value at least d.
{d | ∃α'. role(b, α') ∧ P(α') ∧ μ(extract(α')) ≥ d}
This is the ABS-mediated degree set from the than-clause (eq. 40 for nominal, eq. 47 for verbal, eq. 63 for adjectival).
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The paper's compositional comparative truth condition (eqs. 42, 48, 65).
"a V-s more P than b does" is true iff there exists an a-eventuality ea satisfying P, and a degree δ that is the max of the than-clause degree set, such that μ(extract(ea)) > δ.
This is the result of composing:
(1) much_μ introduces the measure function A(μ)
(2) -er introduces strict comparison (>) against the standard δ
(3) The than-clause provides δ = max{d | ∃eb. role(b,eb) ∧ P(eb) ∧ μ(extract(eb)) ≥ d}
(4) Predicate Modification conjoins the degree condition with the base predicate
(5) Existential closure over the matrix eventuality
The three domains differ only in the thematic role, extraction function, and measured ontological sort:
| Domain | role | extract | Measured | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal | Agent | themeOf | Entity | "more coffee than" |
| Verbal | Agent | id | Event | "ran more than" |
| Adjectival | Holder | id | State | "hotter than" |
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Nominal comparative (§2.1, eq. 42): "Al bought more coffee than Bill did."
Measured domain: entities (via themeOf).
Role: Agent. Extract: themeOf (the consumed/affected entity).
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.nominalComparative frame P themeOf μ a b = Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.comparativeTruth frame.agent P themeOf μ a b
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Verbal comparative (§2.2, eq. 48): "Al ran more than Bill did."
Measured domain: events directly (extract = id). Role: Agent.
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.verbalComparative frame P μ a b = Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.comparativeTruth frame.agent P id μ a b
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Adjectival comparative (§3.2, eq. 65): "This coffee is hotter than that coffee."
Measured domain: states directly (extract = id). Role: Holder.
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Under unique-event assumptions, the max of the than-clause degree set is μ(extract(eb)), and the comparative reduces to direct comparison.
When b has a unique P-eventuality eb, the than-clause degree set {d | μ(extract(eb)) ≥ d} has max = μ(extract(eb)), so the comparative becomes μ(extract(ea)) > μ(extract(eb)).
Adjectival comparative under maximality reduces to μ(sb) < μ(sa).
CSW's statesComparativeSem is definitionally μ sb < μ sa.
All comparative domains under maximality = comparativeSem
(Rett/Schwarzschild) on measured values.
State domains are dimensionally restricted when linearly ordered.
If two admissible measures disagree on some pair, the domain is NOT dimensionally restricted.
Map LexCat to MereologicalStatus using the theory's bridges.
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.lexCatToStatus Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.gradableAdj = Semantics.Lexical.Measurement.gradableToStatus
- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.lexCatToStatus Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.LexCat.nonGradableAdj = Semantics.Lexical.Measurement.nonGradableToStatus
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- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.measuredDomainRestricted Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.MeasuredDomain.state = true
- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.measuredDomainRestricted Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.MeasuredDomain.entity = false
- Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.measuredDomainRestricted Phenomena.Comparison.Studies.Wellwood2015.MeasuredDomain.event = false
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§6.3: very distribution tracks overt vs covert much.
- GAs:
muchis covert →verycombines directly ("very hot", *"very much hot") - N/V:
muchmust be overt →veryrequires overtmuch("very much coffee", *"very coffee")
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The very distribution follows from whether much is overt or covert:
GAs have covert much, so very combines directly (eq. 118).
N/V require overt much, so very must co-occur with much (eq. 117).
very without overt much correlates with CUM (felicitous with much):
GAs are CUM and don't require overt much; N/V are CUM but require it.
The asymmetry: GAs have covert much, N/V need overt much.
Connection to @cite{krifka-1998}'s CUM/QUA propagation #
@cite{wellwood-2015}'s cross-categorial parallel — mass nouns pattern with atelic VPs, count nouns with telic VPs — is explained by @cite{krifka-1998}'s telicity-through-quantization theory. Krifka shows that the VP inherits its mereological status from the NP via the incremental theme role:
CUM propagation: CumTheta(θ) ∧ CUM(OBJ) → CUM(VP θ OBJ) "eat apples" is CUM because APPLES is CUM and EAT's theme is cumulative.
QUA propagation: UP(θ) ∧ SINC(θ) ∧ QUA(OBJ) → QUA(VP θ OBJ) "eat two apples" is QUA because TWO-APPLES is QUA and EAT's theme is SINC.
Wellwood's claim that much-felicity tracks mereological status then
follows compositionally: an atelic VP is felicitous with much because
it inherits CUM from its mass-noun object; a telic VP is infelicitous
because it inherits QUA from its quantized object.
The bridge theorems below connect Krifka's formal CUM/QUA predicates
(on VP denotations) to Wellwood's MereologicalStatus classification
and statusPredictsFelicitous.
CUM(VP) → VP is measurable by much (cumulative status).
If @cite{krifka-1998}'s CUM propagation gives us CUM(VP θ OBJ), the VP's
mereological status is .cumulative, predicting felicity with
much and availability of multiple measurement dimensions
(DURATION, DISTANCE, etc.).
QUA(VP) → VP is NOT measurable by much (quantized status).
If @cite{krifka-1998}'s QUA propagation gives us QUA(VP θ OBJ), the VP's
mereological status is .quantized, predicting infelicity with
much. Only NUMBER remains as a measurement dimension.
Grammar shifts measurement (§5): telicization of a CUM VP yields a QUA VP.
@cite{wellwood-2015} ex. 105: "ran in the park more" (atelic, CUM, extensive dimensions) vs "ran to the park more" (telic, QUA, NUMBER only).
@cite{krifka-1998}'s theory explains why: the directional PP introduces a quantized path argument, and QUA propagation through SINC transmits QUA to the VP, blocking extensive measurement.
This theorem connects the two accounts: given a CUM VP (from CUM propagation) and a QUA VP (from QUA propagation with a different object), the measurement status shifts from cumulative to quantized.
A cross-categorial comparison construction template: the same DegP shell applies across syntactic categories. @cite{wellwood-2015} §2, @cite{bresnan-1973}
- domain : String
Syntactic domain (nominal, verbal, adjectival)
- comparativeExample : String
Example comparative sentence
- equativeExample : String
Example equative sentence
- degreeWord : String
The degree word used
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@cite{bresnan-1973} decomposition: more = -er + much.
Wellwood's cross-categorial claim: the SAME QP underlies more
across nominal ("more coffee"), verbal ("ran more"), and adverbial
("more quickly") domains. The adjectival domain ("taller") differs
only by Much Deletion (Rule 10): much deletes before adjectives.
The formal QP structure and suppletion are in Bresnan1973.
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The surface form "more" derives from Bresnan's suppletion.
Wellwood §6.3: GAs have "covert much" — very combines directly
with the adjective without overt much ("very hot", *"very much hot").
This is exactly Bresnan's Rule 10 (Much Deletion): much → ∅ before
an adjective. The formal muchDeletionApplies predicate from
Bresnan1973 captures when the deletion fires.
N/V retain overt much because Much Deletion only applies before A.
adjFollows = false → Much Deletion does not apply.