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On the Effects of Commas and Line Breaks in Relative Clause Attachment
Miriam Aguilar1,2,3, Josep Demestre3, Pilar Ferre3
1Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Spain.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|December 2, 2025
Summary
Commas, not line breaks, influence attachment preferences in Spanish preverbal relative clauses. Commas consistently favor attachment to the higher noun phrase, unlike line breaks.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Computational Linguistics
- Syntax
Background:
- Previous research on Spanish post-verbal relative clauses indicated that commas create prosodic boundaries, promoting attachment to the higher determiner phrase (DP).
- Attachment preferences in preverbal relative clauses remain less understood, particularly the role of punctuation and line breaks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of commas and line breaks on attachment preferences in Spanish preverbal relative clauses.
- To determine if commas and line breaks independently or interactively affect attachment to potential antecedents.
Main Methods:
- Three offline studies were conducted using Spanish sentences with preverbal relative clauses.
- Sentences varied in the presence or absence of commas (appositive vs. restrictive relative clauses) and line breaks.
- Attachment preferences for two potential antecedents were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Commas significantly and consistently influenced attachment preferences, favoring the higher determiner phrase (DP).
- Line breaks did not show a consistent effect on attachment preferences.
- The combined effect of commas and line breaks was primarily driven by the presence of commas.
Conclusions:
- Commas play a crucial role in guiding attachment preferences in Spanish preverbal relative clauses.
- Line breaks do not appear to function as prosodic boundaries for attachment in this context.
- Findings contribute to understanding the interplay of syntax, prosody, and punctuation in sentence processing.
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