Unrealized Arguments and the Grammar of Context

The Grammar of Silence: Unrealized Arguments in English

In null instantiation (NI), an optionally unexpressed argument is interpreted either anaphorically or existentially. Accurately predicting a predicator’s NI potential is challenging, as it’s not solely determined by semantic factors (like a verb’s Aktionsart) or pragmatic factors (such as the discourse prominence of arguments).

While highly constrained, NI potential isn’t simply a matter of lexical idiosyncrasy. Instead…