Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Raising Analysis of Relative Clauses: Evidence from Adjectival Modification

  • Published:
Natural Language Semantics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper provides a new argument for the raising analysis of relative clauses. This argument is based on the observation that certain adjectival modifiers on the head of a relative clause can be interpreted in positions internal to the relative clause. It is shown that the raising analysis of relative clauses is able to generate the readings corresponding to the relative clause internal interpretation of adjectival modifiers and that two competing analyses of relative clauses, the matching analysis and the head external analysis, are not able to do so.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Åfarli, T.: 1994, 'A Promotion Analysis of Restrictive Relative Clauses', Linguistic Review 11(1), 81-100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, S.: 1996, Wh-constructions and Transparent Logical Form, PhD dissertation, Universität Tübingen. Distributed as SfS-report 04-96.

  • Bhatt, R.: 1999, Covert Modality in Non-finite Contexts, PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.

  • Bianchi, V.: 2000, 'The Raising Analysis of Relative Clauses: A Reply to Borsley', Linguistic Inquiry 31(1), 123-140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borsley, R. D.: 1997, 'Relative Clauses and the Theory of Phrase Structure', Linguistic Inquiry 28, 629-647.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brame, M. K.: 1968, 'A New Analysis of the Relative Clause: Evidence for an Interpretive Theory', unpublished manuscript, MIT.

  • Bresnan, J. and J. Grimshaw: 1978, 'The Syntax of Free Relatives in English', Linguistic Inquiry 9(3), 331-391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, G. N.: 1977, 'Amount Relatives', Language 53(3), 520-542.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N.: 1965, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N.: 1977, 'On Wh-movement', in P. Culicover, T. Wasow, and A. Akmajian (eds.), Formal Syntax, pp. 71-132. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N.: 1993, 'A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory', in K. Hale and S. Keyser (eds.), The View from Building 20: Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger, pp. 1-52. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N.: 1995, The Minimalist Program (Studies in Linguistics 28), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N.: 1998, Minimalist Inquiries: The Framework (MIT Occasional Papers in Linguistics 15), MITWPL, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cresti, D.: 2000, 'Ellipsis and Reconstruction in Relative Clauses', in Proceedings of NELS 30, pp. 154-163. GLSA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

  • Fiengo, R. and R. May: 1994, Indices and Identity (Linguistic Inquiry Mongraphs 24), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, D.: 1999, 'Reconstruction, Binding Theory, and the Interpretation of Chains', Linguistic Inquiry 30(2), 157-196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, D.: 2000, Economy and Semantic Interpretation (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs 35), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, D.: 2001, 'Antecedent Contained Deletion and the Copy Theory of Movement', Linguistic Inquiry 33, to appear.

  • Gawron, J. M.: 1996, 'Comparatives, Superlatives, and Resolution', Linguistics and Philosphy 18, 333-380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groos, A. and H. van Riemsdijk: 1979, 'Matching Effects in Free Relatives: A Parameter of Core Grammar', in A. Belleti, L. Brandi, and L. Rizzi (eds.), Theory of Markedness in Generative Grammar: Proceedings of the 4th GLOW Conference, pp. 171-216. Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.

  • Grosu, A. and F. Landman: 1998, 'Strange Relatives of the Third Kind', Natural Language Semantics 6(2), 125-170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, I.: 1987, 'Where Does the Definiteness Restriction Apply? Evidence from the Definiteness of Variables', in E. Reuland and A. ter Meulen (eds.), The Linguistic Representation of (In)definiteness, pp. 21-42. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, I.: 1992, 'Kroch, Cinque, Negative Islands,' handout from 1992 lecture, MIT.

  • Heim, I.: 1995, 'Superlatives: A Case Study on the Division of Labor of Syntax and Semantics', unpublished manuscript, MIT.

  • Heycock, C.: 1995, 'Asymmetries in Reconstruction', Linguistic Inquiry 26, 547-570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iatridou, S., E. Anagnostopoulou, and R. Izvorski: 2001, 'Some Observations about the Form and Meaning of the Perfect', in M. Kenstowicz (ed.), Ken Hale: A Life in Language, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackendoff, R. S.: 1972, Semantic Interpretation in Generative Grammar (Studies in Linguistics 2), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kayne, R. S.: 1994, The Antisymmetry of Syntax (Linguistic Inquiry Monographs 25), MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, C.: 2000, 'Comparative (Sub)deletion and Ranked, Violable Constraints in Syntax', in Proceedings of NELS 30, GLSA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

  • Larson, R.: 1985, 'Bare-NP Adverbs', Linguistic Inquiry 16(4), 595-621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebeaux, D.: 1990, 'Relative Clauses, Licensing, and the Nature of the Derivation', in Proceedings of NELS 20, pp. 318-332. GLSA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

  • Lees, R. B.: 1960, The Grammar of English Nominalizations, Mouton, The Hague.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lees, R. B.: 1961, 'The Constituent Structure of Noun Phrases', American Speech 36, 159-168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linebarger, M.: 1980, The Grammar of Negative Polarity, PhD dissertation, MIT. Distributed by MIT Working Papers in Linguistics.

  • Montague, R.: 1974, 'English as a Formal Language', in R. H. Thomason (ed.), Formal Philosophy: Selected Papers of Richard Montague, pp. 188-226. Yale University Press, New Haven. Originally published in 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munn, A.: 1994, 'A Minimalist Account of Reconstruction Asymmetries', in Proceedings of NELS 24, GLSA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

  • Partee, B.: 1975, 'Montague Grammar and Transformational Grammar', Linguistic Inquiry 6, 203-300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Postal, P.: 1993, 'Remarks on Weak Crossover Effects', Linguistic Inquiry 24, 539-556.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quine, W. V. O.: 1960, Word and Object, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinhart, T. and E. Reuland: 1991, 'Anaphors and Logophors: An Argument Structure Perspective', in J. Koster and E. Reuland (eds.), Long-Distance Anaphora, pp. 282-321. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reinhart, T. and E. Reuland: 1993, 'Reflexivity', Linguistic Inquiry 24(4), 657-720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero, M.-I.: 1997, 'The Correlation between Scope Reconstruction and Connectivity Effects', in E. Curtis, J. Lyle and G. Webster (eds.), Proceedings of the 16th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, CSLI, Stanford, Cal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, J. R.: 1964, 'A Partial Grammar of English Superlatives', unpublished MA thesis, University of Pennsylvania.

  • Ross, J. R.: 1984, 'Inner Islands', in C. Brugman and M. Macaulay (eds.), Proceedings of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, Berkeley Linguistics Society, Berkeley, Cal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Safir, K.: 1982, Syntactic Chains and the Definiteness Effect, PhD dissertation, MIT. Distributed by MIT Working Papers in Linguistics.

  • Safir, K.: 1999, 'Vehicle Change and Reconstruction in A?-chains', Linguistic Inquiry 30, 587-620.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauerland, U.: 1998, The Meaning of Chains, PhD dissertation, MIT. Distributed by MIT Working Papers in Linguistics.

  • Schachter, P.: 1973, 'Focus and Relativization', Language 49(1), 19-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharvit, Y.: 1999, 'Functional Relative Clauses', Linguistics and Philosophy 22(5), 447-478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stjepanovi´c, S.: 1998, 'Extraction of Adjuncts out of NPs', paper presented at the Comparative Slavic Morphosyntax Workshop, Indiana University.

  • Szabolsci, A.: 1986, 'Comparative Superlatives', in N. Fukui, T. R. Rapoport, and E. Sagey (eds.), Papers in Theoretical Linguistics (MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 8), pp. 245-265. MITWPL, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vergnaud, J.-R.: 1974, French Relative Clauses, PhD dissertation, MIT.

  • Zlati?, L.: 1998, 'Slavic Noun Phrases are NPs, not DPs', paper presented at the Comparative Slavic Morphosyntax Workshop, Indiana University.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, University of Texas, Calhoun 501, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Rajesh Bhatt

Authors
  1. Rajesh Bhatt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bhatt, R. The Raising Analysis of Relative Clauses: Evidence from Adjectival Modification. Natural Language Semantics 10, 43–90 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015536226396

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015536226396

Keywords

Search

Navigation