Earticle

This study introduces the following English amalgam cleft and attempts to offer an adequate analysis for this construction: He needs a break is what he needs. One popular analysis posits a Topic-Comment structure in which this sentence consists of two independent finite clauses linked by the copula is. This study, however, observes that the apparent finite clause preceding the copula displays the properties of the root clause and thus claims that this part is not really an independent clause linked with the following wh-clause. Under the Topic-Comment analysis, the copula is regarded as a Topic marker. But this study claims that it is a usual copula that appears in clefts in general. The analysis that reflects the above claims is offered as follows: He needs [FocP a break [TP pro is [what he needs] TP] FocP]. This structure well captures the fact that the [DP a break] is understood as the direct object of the matrix verb need as well as the subject of the copula is. The discussion of the study advocates for the direct complementation analysis involving FocP, against the previous Topic-Comment analysis. Further, this study extends the proposed analysis to a similar construction named subject contact relatives, showing that amalgamation of the two apparent clauses is in fact widely made through FocP complementation.