Pseudo-relatives and their left-periphery

In this article I propose a new analysis of Pseudo-Relative clauses ('PRs') within the Cartographic model (Rizzi 1997 a.o.). Heretofore, the apparently contradictory behaviour of PRs in the syntactic tests used to determine their structure has been very problematic. Based on new data from Italian, I show that PRs are Small Clauses with a ForceP projection. Moreover, I explain the inconsistent results of the syntactic tests by claiming that PRs can be embedded in different syntactic environments. More specifically, they can be inserted as 'bare' Small Clauses into the matrix clause or be part of a bigger structure: i.e., a Complex-DP, a locative adjunction or a 'Larsonian' structure.