On the structure of English Relative Clauses in the feature-Checking Theory

Abstract

This paper concerns the structure of relative clauses within the Minimalist Theory framework or Feature-Checking Theory(Chomsky 1995). I argue that the Korean relative clauses (RCs) and English RCs are base-generated in [Spec, NP], and that the Korean RCs move syntactically to [Spec, AgrP] occurring between DP and NP while the English ones stay in situ. In both languages, the relative head noun moves to Agro from No. The paper consists of 4 sections. Section 1 is Introduction. Section 2 is concerned with the structure of NPs. Section 3 deals with Feature-Checking between Adjective and Head noun. Section 4 is devoted to the account of the structure of RCs in English. Section 5 is Conclusion.