Circumstantial possibility with degrees: The case of German 'bar'-adjectives

Abstract

We analyze German deverbal adjectives formed with the derivational suffix -bar (e.g., les-bar  ‘read-able’). We argue that whether and in what way bar-adjectives are gradable depends on the event description introduced by the verbal stem and is highly context dependent. We discuss Kratzer’s semantic analysis of bar-adjectives and point out limitations of her account. We propose an alternative account where Kratzer’s notion of circumstantial possibility is replaced by a notion of generic success: bar-adjectives express that the action described by their verbal stem can be successfully performed with their individual argument as a patient. Success is measured relative to a contextually given goal. We discuss various bar-adjectives and show that the observed gradability patterns depend on what counts as success relative to a goal.