displaced relative clause

[James Harbeck]

On 2012-07-01, at 12:58 PM, Michael Newman wrote:
> 
> "At first, people were angry who didn't even know what I'd said. "

I find this syntax quite unexceptional. In fact, I'm willing to bet I can find instances of it in Shakespeare and the King James Bible, and published works from every era between then and now. Just for example off the top of my head, "He jests at scars that never felt a wound" (Romeo and Juliet); "They also serve who stand and wait" (20th century, I think). And it's a construction that is comfortable enough in the casual idiom I'm used to (up here in the currently notfrozen north) -- something like "People are coming who haven't been here in ages."

It does make a nice sytnactic exercise, though. In your example, one might speculate that "people" was raised from after "angry", but in the other cases it might be better analyzed as a raising of the VP. Or there could just be a second subject in the relative that is deleted or merged into the complementizer. Perhaps someone who has a deeper background in syntax can say what the current thought is (if there is agreement) on this construction.

James Harbeck.
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