That-clauses in noun phrase structure

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss aspects of the grammar of non-relative that-clauses following head nouns.1 Specifically, two aspects will be dis-cussed here. The first has to do with the different types of expansions of head nouns which can appear under the form of non-relative that-clauses. The sec-ond, actually a ramification of the first, concerns the nature of the evidence for positing distinct types of that-clauses. In essence, this paper will focus on the complement/modifier divide, as this applies to that-clauses inside NP. Matthews (1981: 231 ff.) and Meyer (1992: 51 ff.), on the one hand, and Grimshaw (1990: 45 ff.), on the other, will be used as background for this discussion. Central to the discussion will be an attempt to sustain the thesis that that-clause complements of nouns do not exist