ABSTRACT

What is the relationship between the structure of existential sentences and their meaning? How do hearers interpret existential sentences using pragmatic assumptions? This study attempts to account for the relationship between the structure of existential sentences (ES) and their meaning. The study of ES has received a great deal of attention because the construction has complex syntactic properties, is associated with restrictions of a semantic nature, and provides an interesting area for investigation at a pragmatic level.

chapter |5 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|75 pages

Syntax of ES

chapter 2|29 pages

Opacity, Specificity, and ES

chapter 3|43 pages

The Quantification Effect

chapter 4|31 pages

Further Aspects of the QE

chapter 6|31 pages

The Meaning of ES: Further Aspects

chapter 7|9 pages

Conclusion