Cumulative readings of modified numerals: A plural projection approach

Abstract

This paper addresses cumulative readings of modified-numeral DPs (MNs) like exactly two boys. Based on new German data, we argue that MNs are interpreted in situ in cumulative sentences, while the maximality condition contributed by the numeral modifier can take wider scope. We present an analysis that combines the Plural Projection system (Schmitt, 2019 a.o.), a surface-compositional approach to cumulativity, with a two-dimensional semantics for the numeral modifiers (Krifka, 1999 a.o.) and derives widest scope for the maximality condition. We then discuss ‘non-maximal’ readings of MNs (Buccola and Spector, 2016). We show that the availability of such readings depends on the syntactic positions of the MNs, which supports the idea that they are interpreted in situ, and sketch a way of deriving this fact.