A Grammar of Italian Sign Language (LIS)

A subject clause (or subjective) is a subordinate argument clause carrying the syntactic function of a subject (SYNTAX 2.2.1). Subject clauses (within brackets) can be: i) simple declarative clauses, with no special interpretation (e.g. ‘[That Gianni will come] should be clear to you’), ii) relative clauses (SYNTAX 3.4) (e.g. ‘[Whoever has finished the exam] can go out’), or iii) interrogative clauses (SYNTAX 1.2.3) (e.g. ‘[Whether I am coming or not] is uncertain’). In the following, however, we will only treat simple declarative clauses, referring to the relevant sections for the other two types.

         In LIS, verbs that can take as an argument a subject clause include seem (a), be_astonishing (b), strange (c), and obligation (d).

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         a.            gianni arrive seem

         ‘It seems that Gianni has arrived.’

         b.            gianni work resign be_astonishing

         ‘It is surprising that Gianni has resigned.’

         c.            gianni arrive strange

         ‘It is strange that Gianni has arrived.’

         d.            gianni arrive obligation

         ‘It is compulsory for Gianni to come.’