3.4.4. Subject vs. object relativization
In LSF, any constituent can function as the head of a relative clause: subject, object, genitive, adjunct or even the whole clause. An example of each type is provided below. In what follows the head noun is in bold, the relative clause is within square brackets and the position of the head in the relative clause is indicated on the right of the example.
rel
a. ix1 prefer little girl pi pet dog Subject rc
'I prefer the little girl who pets the dog.'
rel
b. ix1 prefer dog pi man pet Direct Object rc
'I prefer the dog which the man pets.
rel
c. today meeting met girl pi yesterday poss3 colleague say bravo Indirect Object rc
‘At the meeting today I met the girl to whom yesterday my colleague said bravo.'
rel
d. date pi meeting ix1 not available so move Temporal Adjunct rc
‘I am not available on the date in which the meeting was fixed, let’s move it.’
rel
e. ix1 prefer dog pi with woman walks Adjunct rc
‘I prefer the dog with whom the woman walks.’
rel
f. ix1 prefer [ vet cure dog today ] picenter Clause rc
‘I prefer situations in which a vet cures a dog.’ (Hauser, 2019: 64-65)
Depending of the relative pronoun [Syntax- Section 3.4.2.1.1.], LSF does not have restriction on the type of head. Relative clauses can be headed by human, non-human and inanimate elements. An example of each type is illustrated in the following examples with object relative clauses and the relative pronoun pi.
rel
a. ix1 prefer man pi dog lick Human
‘I prefer the man that the dog lick.’
rel
b. ix1 prefer dog pi man pet Non-human
‘I prefer the dog that the man pet.’
rel
c. ix1 prefer pi toothbrush boy use Inanimate
‘I prefer the toothbrush that the boy use.’ (Hauser, 2019:64)