Degrees and manners as kinds

Abstract

Abstract We examine equative constructions in Dutch, comparing it to their counterparts in two other Germanic languages, namely English and German. We observe that there is significant variation in the morphosyntax of equative constructions based on whether what is being compared is a gradable adjective or a verb (e.g. Kim is as tall as Sue and Kim ran as Sue (did)) across the three languages and that the morphosyntax corresponds to meaning differences, determining what exactly can be compared in these constructions. Based on these observations, we propose an account for Dutch equative constructions based on eventuality kinds, which has implications for the semantics of comparison constructions in general in relation to the ontological status of degrees and manners in the grammar.