The English It-Cleft: A Constructional Account and a Diachronic Investigation

by Amanda Patten

This book examines the structure and function of the English it-cleft configuration from within the framework of construction grammar. It defends a straightforward extraposition-from-NP analysis (on which the cleft clause is a restrictive relative, modifying the initial it) and claims that all types of it-cleft involve nominal predication. Support for this analysis comes from three main areas: (a) the central role of definiteness in the creation...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3110277808
• ISBN13: 9783110277807
• Release Date: December 2012
• Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary