The Syntax of Free Relatives in English

An alternate to the usual transformational analysis of English free relative clauses is offered. The rule of Wh-movement is shown to be unnecessary for clause gapping. The assumption of the base-generated Wh-phrase as a clause head is a more succinct approach. Feature induction, syntactic binding, & agreement are used to explain the differences between English free relatives, interrogatives, & their relationship with Island Constraints. The work argues for a Rule of Controlled Pro-Deletion & is a restriction of the space of potential grammars available to the lang. T. Adams Muranaka