Modification of DPs by epistemic modal adverbs

Abstract

I argue that when epistemic modal adverbs form constituents with DPs, the modal takes scope only over the DP. In contrast with sentences with higher adjoined adverbs, sentences with modal-modified DPs carry actuality entailments. Composition of type st,st modals and type se DP intensions is mediated by shifting the DP into a property-type expression by a variant of Partees ident. Precedent comes from work on Concealed Questions (Frana 2006, Schwager 2008) and Grosus (2003, 2007) analysis of Transparent Free Relatives.