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Chapter 11: Relative Clause Constructions

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Chapter 11: Relative Clause Constructions Chapter 11: Relative Clause Constructions Syntactic Constructions in English Kim and Michaelis (2020) Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 1 / 54 1 Introduction 2 Nonsubject Wh-Relative Clauses 3 Subject Relative Clauses 4 That-Relative Clauses 5 Infinitival and Bare Relative Clauses 6 Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses 7 Island Constraints on the Filler-Gap Dependencies 8 Conclusion Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 2 / 54 Basic properties English relative clauses, which modifies a preceding NP, are also a type of long distance dependency constructions. (1) a. The video [which [you recommended ]] was really terrific. b. The video [which [I thought [you recommended ]]] was really terrific. c. The video [which [I thought [John told us [you recommended ]]]] was really terrific. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 3 / 54 Basic properties (cont'd) There are several different properties that we can use to classify English relative clauses. First, we can classify them by the type of missing element in the relative clause. (2) a. the student who won the prize b. the student who everyone likes c. the baker from whom I bought these bagels d. the person whom John gave the book to e. the day when I met her f. the place where we can relax Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 4 / 54 Basic properties (cont'd) Second, relative clauses can be classified according to the type of relative pronoun. In English we find wh-relatives, that-relatives, and bare relatives. (3) a. The president [who [Fred voted for]] has resigned. b. The president [that [Fred voted for]] dislikes his opponents. c. The president [ [Fred voted for]] has resigned. Third, relative clauses can also be classified according to the finiteness of the clause. (4) a. He is the kind of person [with whom to consult ]. b. These are the things [for which to be thankful ]. c. We will invite volunteers [on whom to work ]. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 5 / 54 Basic properties (cont'd) In addition, English allows so-called `reduced' relative clauses. (5) a. the person (who is) standing on my foot b. the prophet (who is) descended from heaven c. the bills (which were) passed by the House yesterday d. the people (who are) in Rome e. the people (who are) happy with the proposal These examples are `reduced' in the sense that the string `wh-phrase + be' appears to be omitted, as indicated by the parentheses. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 6 / 54 Non-subject wh-relative clauses: bipartite structure One thing we can observe here is that like wh-questions, relative clauses have bipartite structures: a relative pronoun (including a wh-element) and a sentence with a missing element (S/XP). (6) a. the senators [who [Fred met ]] b. the apple [that [John ate ]] c. the problem [ [you told us about ]] (7) a. wh-element S/XP b. that S/XP c. [ ] S/XP Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 7 / 54 Non-subject wh-relative clauses: example tree A sample tree (8) N0 0 h i Ni S rel i senators 1 NP[rel i] S[gap h 1 NPi] who NP VP[gap h 1 NPi] Fred V[gap h 1 NPi] met The relative pronoun's rel value is identical to the index value of the antecedent nominal. (9) a. the man [who you think knows/*know the answer] b. the men [who you think know/*knows the answer] Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 8 / 54 Postnominal modifiers (10) a. the people [happy with the proposal] b. the person [standing on my foot] c. the bills [passed by the House yesterday] d. the paper [to finish by tomorrow] e. the student [in the classroom] Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 9 / 54 Postnominal modifiers (cont'd) (11) NP DP N0 VP the 1 N0 h i mod h 1 N0i V boy h i PP mod h 1 N0i standing on my foot Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 10 / 54 Head-modifier construction (12) head-mod construction: XP ! [mod h 1 i], 1 H Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 11 / 54 Restriction on postnominal modifiers Not all phrases can function as postmodifiers. In particular, a base VP or finite VP cannot be found in this environment. (13) a. *the person [stand on my foot] b. *the person [stood on my foot] c. *the person [stands on my foot] A complete sentence with no missing expression cannot serve as a postnominal modifier either. (14) a. *The student met the senator [John met Bill]. b. *The student met the senator [that John met Bill]. c. *The student met the senator [for John to meet Bill]. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 12 / 54 HEAD-REL MOD CONSTRUCTION Since all the relative clauses (except bare relatives) are introduced by a relative pronoun, it is reasonable to assume that a clause with the [rel i] feature also bears the mod feature as a constructional constraint. (15) head-rel mod construction: " # rel i N0 ! 1 N0,S i mod h 1 i The construction, as a subtype of the head-mod construction, basically ensures that a clause marked with the rel feature modifies a preceding noun with the identical index value. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 13 / 54 HEAD-REL MOD CONSTRUCTION: example tree (16) N0 h i hd-rel-mod-cxt S 2 3 hd-filler-cxt 3 N0 i 6 0 7 6mod h 3 N i7 4 5 rel i h i senators 2 NP[rel i] S gap h 2 i h i whom NP VP gap h 2 i h i Fred V gap h 2 i met Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 14 / 54 Syntactic identity relation between gap and filler Since the relative clause is a type of the head-filler construction, there must be a total syntactic identity between the gap and the filler with a rel value. (17) a. Jack is the person [[NP whom] [Jenny fell in love with [NP ]]]. b. Jack is the person [[PP with whom] [Jenny fell in love [PP ]]]. (18) a. *Jack is the person [[NP whom] [Jenny fell in love [PP ]]] . b. *Jack is the person [[PP with whom] [Jenny fell in love with [NP ]]]. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 15 / 54 Long distance dependency: example tree (19) N0 S 0 " # 2 Ni rel i mod h 2 N0i K 1 NP S video h ic h it rel i gap h 1 NPi VP which NP h ir gap h 1 NPi S IV h i r gap h 1 NPi VP thought NP h i gap h 1 NPi you recommended Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 16 / 54 Nonlocal REL feature Just like the que feature, the nonlocal rel feature can also come from a deeper position within the nonhead daughter of the relative clause. (20) a. I met the critic [whose remarks [I wanted to object to ]]. b. This is the friend [for whose mother [Kim gave a party ]]. c. The teacher set us a problem [the answer to which [we can find in the textbook]]. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 17 / 54 Nonlocal REL feature: example tree (21) N0 S 2 3 mod h 2 N 0i 0 i 2 Ni 6 7 6gap h i 7 4 5 rel i N 1 PP S friend h ir h i rel i gap h 1 PPi NP VP P h i NP h i rel i gap h 1 PPi O DP for h i N0 Kim gave a party rel i whose mother Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 18 / 54 Subject relative clauses: basic properties With respect to the modification function, subject relative clauses do not differ greatly from non-subject relative clauses. One major difference is that the presence of a relative pronoun (including that) is obligatory, and bare relative clauses are ungrammatical. (22) a. We called the senators [who] met Fred. b. The kid picked up the apple [that] fell down on the ground. (23) a. *[The student [ met John]] came. b. *[The problem [ intrigued us]] bothered me. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 19 / 54 Subject relative clauses: example tree (24) N0 S 2 3 rel i 0 3 Ni 6 7 6mod h 3 N 0i7 4 i 5 gap h i `S' j VP senators 1 NP[rel i] 2 3 spr h i 6 7 6comps h i7 4 5 gap h 1 NPi V 2 3 spr h i 6 7 who 6comps h 2 NPi 7 2 NP 6 7 6 7 6gap h 1 NPi 7 4 5 arg-st h 1 NP, 2 NPi met Fred Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 20 / 54 No bare subject relatives but embedded subject gap relatives This analysis does not license bare subject relatives. However, the analysis also predicts that the subject of an embedded clause can be gapped. (25) a. He made a statement [which [S everyone thought [S was really interesting and important]]]. b. They all agreed to include those matters [[S which [everyone believed [S had been excluded from the Treaty]]]]. Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 21 / 54 Embedded subject gap relatives: example tree (26) 0 Ni S 0 " i # 3 Ni rel 0 mod h 3 Ni i 1 NP S statement h i h i rel i gap h 1 NPi VP which NP h i gap h 1 NPi `S' j everyone V VP h i gap h 1 NPi V thought h i AP gap h 1 NPi was interesting . Syntactic Constructions Chapter 11 22 / 54 Complementizer that vs. relative pronoun that As noted earlier, that can be used either as a complementizer or as a relative pronoun. (27) Complementizer that: a. Mary knows that John was elected. b. That John was elected surprised Frank.
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