3.1.2.3. Exhaustive
Exhaustivity refers to number information, but it also specifies the position of members of a set within the signing space. Exhaustivity can be encoded in agreement and spatial verbs. It is conveyed through a distributive morpheme, which is expressed by a repetition of the verbal root and is always interpreted on the internal argument (the theme) in a transitive construction. In the example below, the repetition of the verb (examine++) marks numerosity and distribution of the object.
professor ix student each++ control++
‘The professor examines each of the students.’ (recreated from Mazzoni, 2008: 164)
As for intransitive constructions, the distributed morpheme is admitted only with unaccusative verbs, such as melt. In the example below, exhaustivity is marked by repetition of the verb.
piecea pieceb piecec butter melta meltb meltc
‘Each piece of butter has melted.’ (recreated from Mazzoni, 2008: 164)
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