2018 Volume 34 Issue 2 Pages 235-265
This paper explores the syntactic structure of transparent free relatives (TFRs), exemplified by John is what you might call a bookworm. By observing that TFRs share properties with specificational pseudoclefts and equatives, we characterize TFRs as instances of specifying coordination. Specifically, we analyze TFRs as small clauses with the wh-clause (what you might call) and the pivot of the construction (a bookworm) mediated by Koster's (2000) colon head representing specifying coordination. The analysis successfully accounts for the construction's transparency with respect to categorial matching and number agreement and overcomes empirical or theoretical difficulties that previous analyses faced.
