COMITATIVE COORDINATION - A CASE-STUDY IN GROUP FORMATION

This paper argues that in Russian a (singular) NP can combine with a c omitative PP to form a complex plural NP, and that this NP denotes a g roup in the sense of Landman (1989). A single-headed GPSG analysis of the construction is proposed and argued for, and the implications of t he analysis for number agreement are discussed. The semantic propertie s of the construction (and its counterpart in Polish) are subsequently detailed and are compared with those of 'ordinary' NP coordination: t he preliminary conclusion is that the construction differs both in den otation and in conventional meaning from NP coordination.