1999 Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 169-180
In this paper we will investigate the issue of the semantic restrictions on some constructions which contain a predicative adjective. In previous studies, most linguists have made use of the notion of stage-level vs. individual-level for explicating semantic properties of the constructions. However, this notion fails to take care of exceptional cases and leaves many problems unsolved, being inappropriate for limiting the occurrence of adjectives in the constructions. As an alternative analysis, we propose an idea that every adjective has a semantic property which potentially indicate a prominent point in time, i.e., Turning Point. By considering the type of Turning Point together with the meaning inherent to each construction, we argue that the semantic restrictions on the constructions are properly predicted and motivated with full generality.
