ABSTRACT
On the basis of some comparative evidence the author argues for the existence of two distinct non-restrictive relative constructions, one essentially identical to the ordinary restrictive construction, the other distinct from the ordinary restrictive construction. Non-restrictive relatives are usually conceived of as a unitary type of relative clause. One general consequence of the analysis is that the properties which are generally attributed to the non-restrictive construction turn out to be representative only of the nonintegrated type. More interesting is the converse case, where the matrix is declarative and the non-restrictive interrogative or imperative. In more careful styles of Italian the 'internal' Head, despite its nondistinct-ness from the 'external' one, may be retained in il quale-nonrestrictives, but not in che/cui-nonrestrictives. Speech act adverbs like frankly, honestly and performative verbs used performatively, have been claimed to occur only in non-restrictive relatives, and thus to be able to discriminate between non-restrictives and restrictives.
