Testing the distribution of pair-list questions with quantifiers

Abstract

Questions with quantifiers such as ‘Which book did every student read?’ can receive a pair-list reading, but the availability of this reading depends on the quantifier, as well as the environment of the question (matrix or embedded under various predicates), with possible interactions between these factors. The details of these interactions have been a subject of debate in the literature. We tested the acceptability of pair-list readings with 5 quantifiers (most, two, no, every, and fewer than three) in 4 different environments (matrix, find out, be certain, and wonder). Our results confirm that the availability of pair-list interpretations for questions with quantifiers depends heavily on both the quantifier and the environment in which the question appears, and more specifically that there is a qualitative divide between responsive and rogative predicates, not between intensional and extensional predicates.