Temporal interpretations of definite DPs: The view from European Portuguese child language

Abstract

ABSTRACTSentences involving definite DPs can give rise to a “simultaneous” reading where the property expressed by the DP holds at the time introduced by the verb’s tense or an “indexical” reading where the property expressed by the DP holds at the utterance time. This article discusses an experiment showing that children prefer simultaneous readings to indexical readings. I argue that the findings can be explained once we assume that the simultaneous reading arises from a bound variable analysis of a temporal pronoun inside the DP, whereas the indexical reading arises from a free variable analysis of this temporal pronoun. Under the view defended here, children have preferences for bound variable interpretations in the temporal domain that are to be assimilated to preferences cited in previous studies for bound variable interpretations in the nominal domain.