Clausal Substantivization in Spanish: Syntax and Constraints

Abstract

The nominal distribution of finite clauses in many languages has been explained by positing a nominal projection of some sort on top of the (verbal) CP. Additional evidence of such nominality has been drawn from the fact that in many of those languages a determiner can indeed top the CP projection (D + CP), thus creating a DP. In standard Spanish, speakers may optionally add such a determiner under certain semantic circumstances. Spanish finite clauses in principle fall under such a syntactic account. However, despite their nominal distribution, a constraint remains which apparently challenges such generalization. Finite clauses introduced by the complementizer que (‘that’)—que-clauses—may not combine with a determiner in spite of meeting all expected requirements. This paper offers a revision of the nominality of the Spanish finite que-clause. Special attention is devoted to the role of the determiner, arguing for a differentiation between the general nominality of finite clauses and the optional creation of a DP (D + CP) in certain contexts in Spanish. Furthermore, the paper includes an analysis of the unexpected constraint in prepositional contexts in terms of strict adjacency, which makes it possible to account for the lack of the D layer while retaining the nominality of que-clauses in Spanish.