Projecting the Adjective: The Syntax and Semantics of Gradability and Comparison

Argues that gradable adjectives -- like bright, dense, and short -- denote measure functions, that is functions from objects to abstract representations of measurement, or scales and degrees. Shows how that notion can provide a foundation for principled explanations of a wide range of syntactic and semantic properties of gradable adjectives and the constructions in which they appear, ranging from the syntactic distribution of gradable adjectives to the scopal characteristics of comparatives, and the empirical effects of adjectival polarity.