Syntax: Transformations: Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are embedded phrases that modify an NP. In their simplest form, they are headed by relative pronouns such as 'which', 'who', 'whose', 'whom', and 'that', which can originate in various positions within the clause. Wh relative pronouns move from their position in deep structure to [Spec, CP] leaving a ‘gap.’ Different types of relative clauses include: subject, object, oblique, or genitive. Examples: Subject: The woman [who ___ bought flowers] is my aunt. Object (transitive verb): The man [who I saw ___] is a famous actor. Object (ditransitive verb): She is the girl [who I gave a book to ____]. Oblique: The friend [who I told you about ___] got a new apartment. Genitive: The neighbor [whose dog I walk____] is moving. The relative pronoun 'that' differs from Wh pronouns in that it does not undergo movement. Instead, it originates and remains at C (head of CP). In this case, an empty operator (OP) is needed to fill the gap position. Examples: Subject: The dog [that OP buried his bone] forgot where it was. Object (transitive): The author wrote a book [that his publisher liked OP]. Object (intransitive): She liked the present [that we gave OP to her]. Note that sometimes relative pronouns are missing, especially in natural speech (e.g. The friend I told you about; The dog I saw last week) In this exercise we will use overt relative pronouns. For each of the sentences below, draw the syntactic tree. Answers are in both simple and X-bar form.