Information Sheet: Contexts licensing Negative Polarity Items

Overview

• Clausemate Negation (CMN): Negation particle (not) in the same clause.

• Non-Clausemate Negation (nCMN): Negation particle (not) occurs in the matrix clause, while the NPI appears in the subordinate clause.

• N-Word (NW): NPI is in the scope of an N-Word (such as nobody, nothing, never in English).

• kein `kein-negation': NPI is in the scope of kein (German negative determiner).

• without: NPI is in the scope of without.

• Restrictor of Universal Quantifier (UNIV): NPI is in the restriction of a universal quantifier.

• Downward-Entailing (DENT): NPI is in the scope of a downward-entailing expression (such as few, hardly).

• only: NPI is in the scope of only.

• Negative Verb (NV): NPI is in the scope of a non-affirmative predicate (doubt, fear, it is impossible/improbable that) or of an adversative attitude predicate (be surprised, regret).

• Question (QUE): NPI occurs within a yes-no-question.

• Conditional (IF): NPI is in the scope of a conditional operator (if).

• Comparative (COMP): NPI is in the scope of a comparative.

• Superlative (SUP): NPI is in the scope of a superlative.

• Imperative (IMP): NPI is in the scope of an imperative.