Data
Object Relative Clause
Category
Data
Abstraction level
Primitive
Operation level
DataInference
Use cases
Studies of syntactic-processing loadTesting models' syntactic comprehensionComparing subject and object constructions
How it works
Processing requires holding the modified noun in working memory until the relative-clause verb appears and linking it as the object; the greater distance and reversed role order increase load and error risk.
Problem solved
Why are object relative clauses harder to process, and how do models handle them?
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
✓A well-documented difficulty effect
✓A precise test of memory and syntax
Limitations
✗Effect is language-dependent
✗Difficulty grows with nesting
✗Narrow but diagnostic scope