Aspectual implications of the semantics of plural indefinites

Abstract

Prefinal version, draft April 2005. The singular/plural distinction raises many questions for the semantics of indefinite noun phrases, as witnessed by a lively debate in the recent literature. In this paper, I relate this discussion to some old questions in the aspectual literature. The study focusses on French, in order to avoid interference with the bare/non-bare distinction and generic reference. On the one hand, sentences involving plural indefinite NPs of the form des N are characterized as atelic or durative, whereas both indefinite singular NPs (un N) and definite singular and plural NPs (le N/les N) lead to telicity or terminativity. On the other hand, des NPs are the only NPs that allow bare habitual readings, as in Paul repare des bicyclettes (‘Paul repairs bikes’). I treat des NPs as plural indefinites in the article paradigm of French count nouns, and argue that weak quantificational force and lack of determined reference characterize their semantics This combination leads to atelicity, because there is nothing in the semantics of des NPs that can bound the mapping from individuals to events. It allows bare habitual readings, because there is nothing that blocks the combination of a cumulative interpretation with a one-one relation between individuals and events.