Specificational there-clefts: functional structure and information structure

In the English grammar tradition only presentational-eventive there clefts have been recognized, e.g. there’s a family of brush turkeys have moved in. In this article I present functional-structural and information structure arguments for recognizing specificational there-clefts, i.e. clefts that specify a value for a variable. I distinguish two types which hinge on whether the matrix is a listing or a canonical existential. Listing there-clefts enumerate one or more instances as corresponding to the variable, e.g. You are quite right David, it was engineered, seems there's only me and you who can see this. Quantifying there-clefts indicate the absolute quantity of instantiation of the variable, e.g. Look at the shape of it. There’s only one thing that’s that shape.

Publication year:2016

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