Generic and non-generic interpretations for singular and plural subjects: Experimental studies on genericity

This paper focuses on the morphosyntax of generic subjects in novel concept acquisition. Pitting the well-studied bare plural against the indefinite and definite singular in a picture book study, we found that indefinite singular subjects evoke, at first glance, similar behavioural results to the bare plural. However, considering their semantic differences, we investigated whether their underlying semantic representations are, in fact, treated the same. Further analyses show potentially more fine-grained interactions between the type of predicated property and the morphosyntax of the subject, in line with linguistic and psychological predictions.