Beyond the (in)definiteness restriction: A unified semantics for have

Abstract

In this paper, the main properties of the verb have and their connection with the (in)definiteness restriction  are  studied.  Several  varieties  are  characterized,  in  addition  to  the  well-known existential-have construction: restricted existence, the locative reading, the essential and accidental readings, idiomatic constructions, etc. It is argued that it is possible to provide a uniform semantics for these constructions, starting with the idea that have denotes a function attributing essential properties. The proposed analysis is implemented in Generalized-Quantifier Theory.