Free Choice under Ellipsis

Abstract

AbstractThe ellipsis of a VP whose antecedent contains an occurrence of so-called free choiceanyis highly constrained: it is acceptable only if the elided VP is appropriately embedded. We show that while this is unexpected on the common approaches to free choice and ellipsis, it is predicted on a theory ofanythat takes its domain to stand in a dependency relation with a c-commanding alternative-sensitive operator (cf. Lahiri 1998, Focus and negative polarity in Hindi.Natural Language Semantics6(1). 57–123) and that takes free choice inferences to be generated by covert exhaustification in grammar (e.g., Fox 2007, Free choice and the theory of scalar implicatures. In Uli Sauerland & Penka Stateva (eds.),Presupposition and implicature in compositional semantics, 71–120. Palgrave Macmillan; Chierchia 2013,Logic in grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press).