Two kinds of distributivity

This paper argues that lexical and operator-based analyses of distributivity
are not in conflict, but are both necessary components of any theory of distributivity
that aims to account for all the relevant data. I use several contrasts between plural
definites (e.g. the girls) and group NPs (e.g. the group of girls) to show that we
need an operator-based analysis of distributivity; this kind of distributivity is available
with plural definites but not with group subjects, which can be explained under the
common assumption that group NPs denote atoms rather than sums and hence do not
allow quantification over their individual parts. At the same time, we need a lexical
theory of distributivity to account for the various distributive interpretations that we
do find with groups; a formalisation of such a theory is outlined in the final section of
this paper.