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EUROPEAN PARTITIVES IN COMPARISON
Another instance where disagreement with a definite object gives rise to par¬
titive reading is illustrated in (16). The demonstrative pronoun az ‘that’ with
an objective verb form, has a total reading; it cannot be interpreted as a subset
of any superset (16a). With the disagreeing, subjective, verb form, on the con¬
trary, the interpretation is partitive. This means that the interpretation of az
‘that’ is like that of the superset of a covert subset (16b).*”
(16) Hungarian (Finno-Ugric, Ugric)
a. Az-t rendel-te, ami-t Janos.
that-ACC order-PST.35G>3 what-Acc John
‘She ordered the same [e.g., food] as John!
b. Az-t rendel-t, ami-t Janos.
that-Acc order-PsT.3sG what-Acc John
‘She ordered some of the same [e.g., food] as John!
Also, one of the proper partitive constructions — maximal pronominal parti¬
tives in Falco and Zamparelli*® — can be subject to “reinterpretation via disa¬
greement”. In this case, illustrated in (17), the Hungarian object agreement
provides a new detail to consider, or a dimension, in examining the semantic
and discourse properties of partitives, the inclusion of the speaker or the
addressee in the subset (or their exclusion from the superset). In (17), it is the
choice between object (i.e., default) and subject (ie., irregular) agreement that
determines the availability of the inclusive interpretation. In (17b), the irregu¬
lar, subject agreement pattern leads to the inclusive interpretation. The objec¬
tive, default, agreement in (17a) remains neutral as far as inclusivity is concerned.
(17) Hungarian (Finno-Ugric, Ugric)
a. Csak kettö-nk-et hiv-tak meg.
only tWo-1PL-ACC invite-PST.3PL>3 PV
‘Only (the) two of us were invited’ (Speaker either included or not.)
b. Csak kettő-nk-et hív-tak meg.
only tWo-1PL-ACC invite-PST.3PL PV
‘Only the two of us were invited’ (Speaker included.)
Another context where a proper partitive construction can be interpreted as
an inclusive construction is shown in (18). In this possessive construction, if
the possessed noun exhibits default agreement with the (over or covert,
59 Klemm: Magyar történeti mondattan, 127; Bartos: Az inflexiós jelenségek, 758.
10 Falco — Zamparelli: Partitives, 7.
s 24 +