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Some restrictions on clefts that highlight predicate nominals1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Renaat Declerck
Renaat Declerck
Affiliation:
Catholic University of Leuven, Campus Kortrijk, Belgium
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Extract

It is well known that a cleft whose focal item functions as predicate nominal in the WH/that-clause is often unacceptable, or at least questionable:

(I) (a) *It's a genius that he is. (Leech & Svartvik, 1975: 181)

(b) *It's a conductor that John is. (Stockwell et al. 1977:107)

(c) *It's the football coach that John is. (Emonds, 1976:140)In this article I will investigate different types of clefts highlighting predicate nominals. I will point out five different restrictions that may lead to partial or complete unacceptability and develop a theory that can account for them.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Linguistics , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , March 1984 , pp. 131 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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