what does this content clause modify?

Hi, Jason,

@JasonHouston posted:

Tiffany shareholders are expected this week to approve a merger with French luxury giant LVMH that would close months of drama that nearly killed the $15.8 billion agreement. -- from a headline on the front page of Today's WSJ.

I think the above clause in italic is a content clause. What does it modify? The whole part before it (Tiffany ... LVMH) or just the word "merger"? Please comment.

I can't see the italics. If you refer to "that would close months of drama that nearly killed the $15.8 billion agreement," that is a relative clause.

the clause I referred to is " that would close months of drama that nearly killed the $15.8 billion agreement". Yes, it is a relative clause. It modifies "merger", right?

Yes. To confirm it is a relative clause, notice you can replace "that" with "which."

I agree that the relative clause modifies "merger," but it may also be said to modify the noun phrase "merger with French luxury giant LVMH" as a whole. The noun phrase headed by "merger" has a prepositional phrase adjunct/modifier ("with French luxury giant LVMH") and a relative clause adjunct/modifier ("that would close months of drama that nearly killed the $15.8 billion agreement"). The second adjunct overlaps the first rather than operating wholly independently of it.

BTW, Jason, please remember to enclose quotations inside quotation marks.