Plurality in Generic Sentences

총칭문과 복수성

Generic sentences assert generic properties of single individuals or those of plural individuals. It means the generic quantifier Gen can quantify over single and plural entities. Among the generic meaning information represented in terms of the tripartite structure, the information not in the nuclear scope part, but rather in the restrictor part is related to which individuals generic sentences assert of. The plurality in the nuclear scope part cannot be described by making the generic operator Gen quantify over plural entities: Generic sentences with collective predicates like gather, and those with dependent plurals predicate of generic properties of single individuals. On the contrary, the plural information in restrictor part leads Gen to quantify eve. plural entities.