Notes on the comparison class

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of comparison classes in the semantics of gradable adjectives in the positive form, focusing on the case where the comparison class is expressed overtly via a for-phrase (e.g. John is tall for a jockey). Two central questions are addressed: what information does the comparison class provide, and how is this information integrated compositionally? It is shown that the standard of comparison invoked by the positive form can be analyzed as a range of values whose width is based on the degree of dispersion in the comparison class. Compositionally, the comparison class can be analyzed as an argument of a null positive morpheme (contra Kennedy [13]), in parallel to recent proposals for the superlative (e.g. Heim [9]). The implications of the analysis for the choice between degree- and delineation-based analyses of gradable adjectives are discussed. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.