A pragmatic approach to approximatives: What approximatives consist in

Abstract

This article introduces the research on approximative adverbs (i.e., Spanish casi and apenas). Theoretical linguistics is interested in how approximative adverbs function insofar as such forms present some problematical semantic-pragmatic properties. For this reason, this article offers an overview of some theoretical notions related to approximative adverbs, yielding a modular analysis of casi and apenas that distinguishes these forms from other adverbs.