The syntax and semantics of nominal modifiers in Spanish: interpretations, types and ordering facts

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the main facts and theories regarding nominal modifiers, with attention to the internal division of the low DP-structure (gender, number and N). The article presents first the notion of modification seen from the perspectives of semantics and syntax (§1); adjective classes are discussed in §2. §3 discusses the contrasts between prenominal and postnominal adjectives; §4 discusses the ordering of adjectives in sequences; §5 reviews the main theories that account for the facts discussed in §3 and §4. §6 moves to prepositional modifiers, presenting facts and theories about them. §7 presents the conclusions.

Keywords

• modification
• adjectives
• intersectivity
• restrictivity
• adjective ordering
• prepositional modifiers