Distributivity, collectivity and cumulativity *

This handbook article provides an overview of the major empirical phenomena discussed in connection with the theoretical concepts of distributivity, collectivity, and cumulativity. Topics include: an operational denition of distributivity; the dierence between lexical and phrasal distributivity; atomic vs. nonatomic distributivity; collectivity and thematic entailments; two classes of collective predicates (exemplied by be numerous vs. gather); how to distinguish between cumulative and collective readings; interactions of distributivity and collectivity; and a list of other relevant review papers and handbook articles. Typological generalizations and examples from a wide range of languages are discussed throughout the article.