I agree that the ambiguity comes from understanding the when-clause as 
an adjunct vs. a complement. There's also a difference in that the 
adjunct interpretation is not a relative clause while the complement 
interpretation is. I'm not sure that the rest follows, though.

Subjecthood isn't really determinative. First, the subject is an 
external complement, which typically has different constraints than 
internal complements. Also, to note that the relative clause can be a 
subject doesn't show it's an NP. That confuses form and function. All it 
shows is that clauses can be subjects. That, therefore, clauses can be 
direct objects doesn't follow. After all, a content clause can be a 
subject, but not the object of a preposition.

Karl Hagen
Mount St. Mary's College
Department of English

Veit, Richard wrote:

> Having followed the thread, it occurs to me that the following 
> sentence is ambiguous:
>
> I wonder when the moon rises.
>
> In one reading, “wonder” really is intransitive and “when the moon 
> rises” is an adverbial clause, equivalent to “I wonder (about things) 
> when(ever) the moon rises” and to “When the moon rises, I wonder.”
>
> The other reading has “when the moon rises” as a complement clause 
> functioning as a noun phrase—in this case, as the direct object. If 
> one doubts the clause is a direct object, note that such clauses can 
> be subject NPs:
>
> When the moon will rise always puzzles me.
>
> ________________________
>
> Richard Veit
>
> Department of English, UNCW
>
> Wilmington, NC 28403-5947
>
> 910-962-3324
>
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