On the availability of inverse scope reading in Dutch doubly-quantified thetic sentences

Abstract

This study investigates the availability of inverse scope readings in Dutch doubly quantified sentences, focusing on thetic (general rule-based) versus categorical (individual-focused) contexts. Although previous research suggests that inverse scope readings are rarely available in Dutch simple transitive sentences, we show that such readings are available and that the availability of such readings correlates with the theticity and tense of the doubly quantified sentences. Building on Mandarin experiments by Wu (2019, 2023), the study adopts a 2x2 design for Dutch, manipulating utterances’ tense (present vs. past) and context (thetic vs. categorical). The results of a scope judgment task (N=113) show that inverse scope is significantly more acceptable in thetic contexts than in categorical ones, and marginally less acceptable in sentences about the past compared to the present. These results challenge the isomorphic scope interpretation typically proposed for Dutch doubly quantified simple transitions and contradict the claim that indefinite subjects cannot be interpreted non-specifically in Dutch. Furthermore, this study provides cross-linguistic evidence for the impact of the thetic-categorical distinction on the quantifier scope and calls for further investigation into the interaction between temporal marking, thetic-categorical distinction, and scope interpretations.