What a NOUN!

[amir-zeldes]

For exclamative "what a NOUN", EWT has either det or det:predet for the "what" (it seems to vary across genre subcorpora?). For GUM we're using det:predet. Should that be consolidated in EWT as well?

http://match.grew.fr/[email protected]&custom=5fad78d3c256c&eud=yes

[nschneid]

"It was incredible what a good player Alena was."—is this a free relative clause?

[nschneid]

cf. I know what a problem this is
I know how much of a problem this is

[nschneid]

(related to UniversalDependencies/docs#454)

[amir-zeldes]

I see what you mean, but I think the Alena example is a little different. For the NP-style analysis I think the reasoning works by analogy to "such" in:

• what a great player
• such a great player

The Alena example does not allow substitution with "such":

• It was incredible what/*such a good player Alena was

As for that sentence, I think it's an extraposed subject clause:

• Extraposed: It/expl was incredible [[what a good player] [Alena] was]
• Unextraposed (hypothetical): [[What a good player] [Alena] was] was incredible

For a free relative analysis it would be nice for it to be possible to insert a demonstrative correlate pronoun:

• I like what I see (double function for "what")
• I like that which I see (separates the double function)
• What a good player was Elena
• ??That what a good player was Elena

So I'm not sure it's a free relative, but that's not necessarily decisive either way, if you accept the argument by analogy to "such".

[nschneid]

OK the "such" test sounds good to me.

[ethanachi]

Fixed the following:

• email/enronsent_10_01-0094
• email/enronsent_26_01-0003
• reviews/061721-0001
• reviews/171225-0001
• reviews/252791-0003

Thanks @nschneid for pointing these out.