Eckhard Bick - VISL

mais=de [mais=de] ADV @>A ‘more than’
$2.000 [2.000] NUM M/F P @>N '2.000'
habitantes [habitante] N M/F P @P< ‘inhabitants’
Even the whole of the comparative structure, including its nominal base, may function
as a premodifier, making the syntactic break even more gross (2f2). One solution is to
give mais/menos a nominal reading and assign it the functional tag that would otherwise
belong to its head (here: @PN
vila @NPHR de @N< não @>A mais DET @P< de @KOMP< 2.000 @>N habitantes
@PA) for
mais=de (menos=de).
(2f2)
mais=de [mais=de] ADV @>A ‘more than’
dez [dez] NUM M/F P @>N ‘ten’
dias [dia] N M P @>A ‘days’
depois [depois] ADV @ADVL ‘afterwards’
Also in equalitative comparison structures both adjects (2g) and NPs (2h) can be
modified, the first typically by the intensifier adverb tão..como/quanto, the second by
the quantitative determiners tanto..quanto or tal..qual. A special ambiguity problem
arises from the fact that both tanto, quanto and qual also have an ADV reading and can
function as intensifiers, too.
(2g)
para [para] PRP @