Abstract
This paper explores a novel analysis of adjectives in the comparative and the positive based on the notion of a trope, rather than the notion of a degree. Tropes are particularized properties, concrete manifestations of properties in individuals. The point of departure is that a sentence like ‘John is happier than Mary’ is intuitively equivalent to ‘John’s happiness exceeds Mary’s happiness’, a sentence that expresses a simple comparison between two tropes, John’s happiness and Mary’s happiness. The analysis received particular support from various parallels between adjectival constructions and corresponding adjective nominalizations which make reference to tropes.
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Moltmann, F. Degree structure as trope structure: a trope-based analysis of positive and comparative adjectives. Linguist and Philos 32, 51–94 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-009-9054-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-009-9054-5