AGREEMENT VARIABILITY OF CLEFT SENTENCES IN SPANISH AND CATALAN: REFERENTIAL, TEXTUAL AND ENUNCIATIVE INTERPRETATION

Abstract

Cleft sentences match with a basic identification function. That function can be shown (with different features and depending on the contextual characteristics) in three levels: referential, enunciative and textual. The behaviour of these sentences regarding the different agreement types depends on the nature of the coreference with elements of the previous context. Unlike what happens with referential ones, in enunciative and textual sentences, the agreement of number, gender and person is usually maintained between the focus and the diverse elements of the subordinate clause. On the contrary, regarding «prepositional agreement», the sentences of the referential level demand their respective preposition. Cleft sentences with an invariable que can be considered as the result of an ongoing grammaticalization process that leads to the neutralization of the variability of order and agreement determined by the contextual features.