This article works out a semantic typology of predicates which is needed for the explanation of some strong linguistic data : 1) some predicates cannot combine with any quantifier (dubbed in the paper holist predicates, e.g. to be numerous) ; 2) the inferences from the satisfaction of a predicate by an individual to the satisfaction by its parts is a lexical matter. The paper discusses and extends previous work by Dowty (1987), Yoon (1996), and related works; its main focus is to connect this lexical typology of predicates to some known problems of classical theories of plurality for handling definite references.