The alternance between adjectives and adverbs as individual and event modifiers

Authors

  • Maria José Gnatta Dalcuche Foltran UFPR

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/rel.v81i0.17285

Keywords:

Semântica de eventos, adjetivos, advérbios

Abstract

Semantic theories postulate that adjectives modify participants and adverbs modify events. This assumption poses some problems to the analysis of adjectives in environments that are typical of adverbs – a construction that is characteristic of Romance Languages and especially very productive in Brazilian Portuguese. The present article shows the advantages of analyzing adjectives also as event-modifiers. This forces us to redimension the class of adjectives to include also predicative adverbs, solving the problem regarding the categorial status of such predicators. Based on a comparison with resultative constructions  - typical of German Languages – the present work refers to some issues for reconsidering the syntax of adverbs.

Author Biography

Maria José Gnatta Dalcuche Foltran, UFPR

Professor associado do Departamento de Linguística, Letras Clássicas e Vernáculas da Univrsidade Fedral do Paraná. Bolsista PQ do CNPq.

How to Cite

Foltran, M. J. G. D. (2010). The alternance between adjectives and adverbs as individual and event modifiers. Revista Letras, 81. https://doi.org/10.5380/rel.v81i0.17285

Issue

Section

Dossiê: Nos domínios do verbo