A Taxonomy of Uses of Demonstratives

Abstract

This chapter presents a preliminary taxonomy of the various ways in which demonstrative noun phrases are used, with particular focus on examples from English. The classification of demonstrative uses begins with a consideration of the semantic value of the demonstrative NP—whether the speaker is using the demonstrative to denote or refer to an entity, a kind, a predicate, or a variable in a quantificational domain—and then further categorizes the uses of demonstratives on the basis of various pragmatic considerations that influence their interpretation. The taxonomy includes many uses previously identified in the literature as well as other uses that have not heretofore been discussed.