The Syntax of Appositive Relativization

Appositive relative clauses differ in some essential respects from restrictives. I argue that appositive relatives and appositions can be put together as a third class of coordination denoting specification. Thus, an appositive is a specifying conjunct to the visible antecedent. It is a semi-free relative with a pronominal head that is normally empty. Therefore, its internal syntax is equivalent to that of restrictive relatives; hence there is one syntax for both types of relative clauses. In essence it is the context of specifying coordination that accounts for the different behavior of appositives. In the light of this analysis, the properties of appositive relatives (as opposed to restrictives) are systematically reviewed.