Thematic Relations as Links between Nominal Reference and Temporal Constitution

Abstract

This paper treats the correspondence between the reference type of NPs (i.e., mass nouns, count nouns, measure constructions, plurals) and the temporal constitution of verbal predicates (i.e., activities, accomplish-ments). A theory will be developed that handles the well known influence of the reference type of NPs in argument positions on the temporal consti-tution of the verbal expressions, assuming an event semantics with lattice structures and thematic roles as primitive relations between events and ob-jects. Some consequences for the theory of thematic roles will be discussed, and the effect of partitive case marking on the verbal aspect, as in Finnish, and of aspectual marking on the definiteness of NPs, like in Slavic, will be explained. 1