The paper by Manfred Krifka explores the similarities between nominal and verbal expressions in semantics, focusing on the distinction between mass/count nouns and atelic/telic verbs. Krifka clarifies that the relevant distinction is not between mass and count nouns but between cumulative and quantized predicates. Cumulative predicates, like "beer," refer to collections without clear limits, while quantized predicates, like "a book," refer to specific, limited objects. Similarly, atelic verbs describe activities without a terminal point, and telic verbs describe accomplishments with a terminal point. Krifka introduces the concepts of nominal reference and temporal constitution, defining them as cumulative and quantized, respectively. He argues that the nominal reference type of verbal arguments often controls the temporal constitution of the complex verbal expression. For example, a quantized argument yields a telic verb, while a cumulative argument yields an atelic verb. The paper then delves into the theoretical prerequisites, including lattice structures and measure functions, to formally capture these distinctions. Lattices are used to represent the cumulative and quantized reference types, while measure functions are used to handle expressions like "five ounces of gold." Krifka defines various relations and operations to characterize different reference types and measure functions, ensuring they are compatible with the lattice structure. In the semantics of nominal predicates, Krifka applies these formalisms to analyze mass nouns, quantized predicates derived from mass nouns (e.g., "five ounces of gold"), and count noun constructions. He explains how these constructions are semantically represented and how they relate to each other, including the distinction between singular and plural forms. For verbal predicates, Krifka proposes a semantic framework inspired by Davidson, where events are the basic entities. Verbal predicates are represented as one-place predicates of events, and thematic relations (agent, patient, etc.) are used to relate syntactic arguments to the event. The paper discusses how the reference properties of nominal arguments can influence the temporal constitution of verbal predicates, using space-time diagrams to visualize these relationships. Overall, the paper provides a detailed formal framework for understanding the similarities between nominal and verbal expressions in semantics, emphasizing the role of reference types and temporal constitution in capturing their meanings.The paper by Manfred Krifka explores the similarities between nominal and verbal expressions in semantics, focusing on the distinction between mass/count nouns and atelic/telic verbs. Krifka clarifies that the relevant distinction is not between mass and count nouns but between cumulative and quantized predicates. Cumulative predicates, like "beer," refer to collections without clear limits, while quantized predicates, like "a book," refer to specific, limited objects. Similarly, atelic verbs describe activities without a terminal point, and telic verbs describe accomplishments with a terminal point. Krifka introduces the concepts of nominal reference and temporal constitution, defining them as cumulative and quantized, respectively. He argues that the nominal reference type of verbal arguments often controls the temporal constitution of the complex verbal expression. For example, a quantized argument yields a telic verb, while a cumulative argument yields an atelic verb. The paper then delves into the theoretical prerequisites, including lattice structures and measure functions, to formally capture these distinctions. Lattices are used to represent the cumulative and quantized reference types, while measure functions are used to handle expressions like "five ounces of gold." Krifka defines various relations and operations to characterize different reference types and measure functions, ensuring they are compatible with the lattice structure. In the semantics of nominal predicates, Krifka applies these formalisms to analyze mass nouns, quantized predicates derived from mass nouns (e.g., "five ounces of gold"), and count noun constructions. He explains how these constructions are semantically represented and how they relate to each other, including the distinction between singular and plural forms. For verbal predicates, Krifka proposes a semantic framework inspired by Davidson, where events are the basic entities. Verbal predicates are represented as one-place predicates of events, and thematic relations (agent, patient, etc.) are used to relate syntactic arguments to the event. The paper discusses how the reference properties of nominal arguments can influence the temporal constitution of verbal predicates, using space-time diagrams to visualize these relationships. Overall, the paper provides a detailed formal framework for understanding the similarities between nominal and verbal expressions in semantics, emphasizing the role of reference types and temporal constitution in capturing their meanings.