Inferential Interrogatives with qué in Spanish

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Thank you so much for bringing this paper to our attention. This is a very, very relevant topic!

The discussion is well motivated, and the author shows good mastery of the argument, including the bibliography. 

However, the text must be made clearer at various points, the examples must be discussed and illustrated in more detail and additional motivation and support must be put forward for several of the claims made in the article. The more extensive comments are to be found in the paper iself, via the 'comment' function. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Only minor problems have been detected, which can be easily corrected. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thanks so much for your comments on our paper. We have taken into account every suggestions made in your review and have replied to each comment in the attached document. Thanks so much for having contributed in making the paper more solid.

Best,

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper deals with the evidential properties of inferential interrogative sentences with quéin Spanish. This interrogative type exhibits the shape of a wh-question but the interpretation of a polar question. To account for the construction, authors assume a multiple-layered system in the line of Speas and Tenny’s (2003) Speech Act projection and Bianchi’s (2006) Finiteness projection.

The article has the value of including a theoretical analysis within the left periphery structure in which the speaker and the addresse occupy a functional position. This theoretical framework is appropriate and is used to answer relevant aspects related to the intepretation of the construction analyzed.

Prior to the development of the formal proposal, section 2 and 3 show the grammatical properties displayed by inferential interrogatives with qué, including variation, and also the recent analyses of the construction.

According to the article, the contrast in the anchoring of the different adverbs with different clause participants is evidence of the activation of the interrogative flip in Spanish evidential interrogatives with qué, demonstrating the Addressee’s raising to a higher position where it controls discourse oriented adverbs. There is a previous work analysing this same phenomenon in the case speaker oriented adverbs in Spanish:

Kim, Sang Yoon (2012). “Una explicación formal de la orientación y distribución de los adverbios de actos de habla”. Revista Española de Lingüística, 42, 2, 127-152.

In conclusion, the article shows the knowledge of previous studies and the theoretical framework, resulting in a coherent, interesting study that will help for the development of further research within the same theoretical framework.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thanks so much for your contribution to our paper. We have added the reference you have brought to our attention. It definitely establishes a broad background for the connection between adverbs and discourse roles. Thanks!

Best,