Pseudo-scoping out of relative clauses: an ‘individual concept’ approach

Abstract

Sentences where a definite DP is modified by a relative clause containing a universal quantifier (relative clause DPs), like the supervisor that each volunteer reported to, license readings which carry separate presuppositions of uniqueness and existence for each volunteer—henceforth, ‘varying definite readings’ (VDRs). Barker 2022 argues that these readings involve the universal DP scoping out of the relative clause and above the definite and proposes to analyze them using a non-local scope shifting mechanism, like quantifier raising (QR). In this paper, we argue that this is a case of pseudo-scope. Instead, we argue for a functional interpretation of the DP and propose that VDRs result from the definite DP denoting an ⟨e, e⟩ function, from volunteers to supervisors. As support for this claim, we draw a parallel between relative clause DPs and ‘bare DPs’ (the same definite DP but without the relative clause/embedded universal). We observe that both kinds of DPs license VDRs and thus should be analyzed in the same way—yet bare DPs have no universal to undergo QR. Further support for a pseudo-scope analysis comes from one undergeneration and one overgeneration challenge for the QR approach.