Mixed comparatives and the count-to-mass mapping

Abstract

Previous works used comparative sentences like Sue has more gold/ diamonds than Dan to study the mass/count distinction, observing that mass nouns like gold trigger non-discrete comparative measurement, while count nouns like diamonds trigger counting. These works have not studied comparatives like Sue has more gold than diamonds, which combine a mass noun and a count noun. We show that naturally appearing examples of such ‘mixed comparatives’ usually invoke non-discrete measurement. We analyze the semantics of this effect and other coercisons of count nouns into mass-like meanings: pseudo-partitives (20kg of books), degree interpretations of counting-based denominal adjectives (more bilingual), ‘grinding’ contexts (bicycle all over the place) and number unspecified determiners (most, a lot of ). Based of this analysis we propose a revised system of Rothstein’s context-driven counting. In the proposed account, ‘impure’ semantic atoms replace the role of contextual indices in Rothstein’s account. The effacing/grinding ambiguity in Rothstein’s system is replaced by one general count-to-mass mapping. The common rock-like mass/count polysemy is used as emblematic for this countto-mass mapping instead of the rather rare carpet/ing alternation in Rothstein’s proposal. We show advantages of this revised system in treating count-to-mass phenomena, including the unacceptability of mixed comparatives like #more rock than rocks.