RELATIVE CLAUSES

Relative clauses are a very common way of supplying more specific information about a noun referring to a person, thing or group. The noun from the main clause and the relative pronoun are co-referential, and the co- referentiality is indicated by the presence of an index to both of them. The noun functions as an antecedent for the relative pronouns. The noun and the relative clause form a complex noun phrase (NP).

The relative clause may be defined as members of complex of noun phrases and it is an optional constituent of the complex noun phrase.

Relative clauses have the functions of attributes for the noun in the main clause. The subordination of the relative clauses is made possible by the existence of an identical noun or noun phrase in the two simple sentences to be combined.

I saw the man. The man argued with her.

I saw [NPthe man [RCwho argued with her]].

Antecedent relative attribute

of the relative pronoun

pronoun

Wh-phrase

The relative phrase can be expressed not only by relative pronouns but also by other means. Therefore, as Huddleston and Pullum (2005, 186) explain, we need to distinguish between two concepts: the relative phrase (the constituent occupying initial position in the clause) and the relativized element that is anaphorically related to the head noun.

Relative clauses, also called adjective clauses are subordinate clauses linked to a noun in the main clause, frequently by means of a relative pronoun.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

SUBJECT

OBJECT

POSSESSIVE

For people

Who

That

Whom/Who

That

Whose

For things

Which

That

Which

That

Whose

Of which

Greenbaum (1996, 368-369) explains that relative pronouns and determiners are used in the construction of relative clauses, which postmodify nouns. They normally come at the beginning of relative clauses:

The man [RC who I saw] is Jims brother.

I went to have dinner with this girl called Kate [RC who's on my course].

Who is the normal form for the subjective and objective cases, whereas whom is used only in formal style (Greenbaum and Nelson - 2002, 104). The relative pronoun that, which is gender-neutral, may be omitted in certain circumstances. The omitted pronoun is sometimes called the zero relative pronoun.

the teacher who (or that) taught me Chemistry

the house which (or that or zero) we bought

the person whom (or, less formally, who, that, or zero) they appointed

the student to whom you gave it (formal)

the student who (or that or zero) you gave it to

Huddleston and Pullum (2005, 186) explain that who is a variable lexeme. In addition to its nominative form who and its genitive form whose, it also has an accusative form whom (though this is vastly less common than who). The nominative is required in subject or predicative complement function. The complement of a fronted preposition is normally accusative (the woman to whom he was engaged).

Elsewhere both cases are found, with the accusative being more formal in style. In integrated relatives the choice between the cases is very often avoided by use of the non-wh construction: is used as a neutral way of sidestepping the choice between the distinctly formal and the distinctly informal.

the applicants who we interviewed (nominative: informal)

the applicants whom we interviewed (accusative: formal)

the applicants (that) we interviewed (non-wh: neutral)

Genitive whose is a determiner, like his or her. There is another set of relative pronouns that introduce nominal relative clauses; these are the nominal relative pronouns. In addition to who, whom, and which, they include whoever, whomever (in formal style), whichever, what, and whatever.

You may take what/whatever/whichever you wish What I need is a long holiday.

Ill speak to whoever is in charge.

Nominal relative pronouns correspond to a combination of a relative pronoun with a preceding antecedent:

What I need . . . (the thing that I need)

. . . to whoever is in charge (to the person who is in charge)

In the case of wh-phrases the relative pronoun preserves the case of the second identical noun.

The man is here. [NP The man] loves Mary.

The man [RC who loves Mary is here].

NOMINATIVE

The man is here.[NP The mans] mother likes Mary.

The man [RC whose mother loves likes Mary is here].

GENITIVE

The man is here. Mary loves [NP the man].

The man [RC whom Mary loves is here].

ACCUSATIVE (without preposition)

The man is here. Mary is talking [PP about the man].

The man [RC who(m) Mary is talking about is here].

ACCUSATIVE (with preposition)

When the relative clause contains a verb and an adjective with obligatory preposition then the preposition either remain at the end of the relative clause (in situ) or the preposition moves together with the relative pronoun to initial position in the relative clause (pied-piping). The one with the preposition at the beginning is formal, the other colloquial.

The man [RC whom Mary loves is here].

ACCUSATIVE (with preposition)

The man is here. Mary is talking [PP about the man].

PREPOSITION STRANDING

The man [RC who(m) Mary is talking about is here].

PIED-PIPING

The man [RC about whom Mary is talking is here].

In the more complex constructions the identical noun phrase can appear as a constituent of a prepositional phrase.

I invited [NP the man]. You were introduced [to [the mother of [NP[NP the mans] wife]] yesterday.

I invited the man [RC[PP to the mother of whose wife] you were introduced yesterday].

ANTECEDENT

I need [NP the book]. No one has written [PP on[NP the cover of the book]].

SPECIFIER HEAD COMPLEMENT

I need a book on the cover [PP of [RC which no one has written]].

Find [NP the year]. The deposit had been doubled [PP at the beginning of the year].

Find the year at the beginning of which the deposit had been doubled.

When the second identical noun is part of a prepositional phrase (PP) it is replaced by a suitable relative pronoun and the whole prepositional phrase (PP) moves to initial position in the relative clause.

The syntactic process of relativisation

Relativisation involves the following steps:

1. Relativize the identical noun phrase in the second clause (by finding a suitable relative pronoun to replace the second identical noun).

2. Subordinate the second clause into the structure of the first clause by means of the conjunction that.

3. Use the wh-movement to move the relative pronoun to the initial position in the relative clause.

4. Delete either the conjunction that or the relative pronoun or both if possible.

[NP The athlete] won a medal. They are supporting [NP the athlete].

ANTECEDENT WHOM

The athlete [RC that they are sponsoring whom] won a medal.

The athlete [RC whomi that they are sponsoring ti] whom won a medal.

The athlete [RC whomi that they are sponsoring ti] won a medal.

The athlete [RC that they are sponsoring ti] won a medal.

The athlete [RC they are sponsoring ti] won a medal.

Classification of the Relative Clauses

Relative clauses can be classified by the semantic criteria and syntactic criteria.

Relative clauses classified according to the semantic criteria are of two types: restrictive relative clauses and non-restrictive relative clauses.

Restrictive relative clauses

Restrictive relative clauses are also known as defining relative clauses and they delimit or identify the antecedent.

Any boy [RC who is lazy] will be punished.

The antecedent any boy is general or vague in meaning. Any boy or all boys could be punished. The relative clauses restrict the numbers of boy to be punished to only those who are given a description in the relative clause. Restrictive relative clauses increase our ability of naming things of identifying them in the context (Cornilescu: 1982, 394). The relative clauses are extremely handy especially because there is often no word in the language for naming certain classes of individuals.

Fred once knew a girl who had a fishtail/ a mermaid.

Fred once knew a girl who could wiggle her ears.

The woman that I saw on the train was a real beauty.

The tree which is by the lake is tall.

Non-restrictive relative clauses (NRRC)

Andrew Radford in his in his book Analyzing English sentences (Cambridge University Press, 2009) describes non-restrictive relative clauses, which are also known as appositive relative clauses (as they behave like an apposition). Relative clauses in this case add supplementary information about an antecedent which is already identified. The identity of who will be punished is already given. The relative clauses only provide some additional information.

John, [RC who is lazy], will be punished.

John (who used to live in Cambridge) is a very good friend of mine.

Yesterday I met my bank manager, who was in a filthy mood.

Mary has left home which is very upsetting for her parents.

The appositive relative clauses generally serve as parenthetical comments or afterthoughts set off in a separate intonation group from the rest of the sentence in the spoken language (this being marked by parentheses or a comma or a hyphen in the written language). Unlike restrictives, appositives can be used to qualify unmodified proper nouns. Moreover, they are always introduced by an overt (expressed) relative pronoun.

John (who you met last week) is a good friend of mine.

*John (that you met last week) is a good friend of mine.

*John (you met last week) is a good friend of mine.

Some restrictive relative clauses can be moved to the end of the containing clause and can be separated from its antecedent, but other appositive relative clauses like do not allow extraposition:

A man has been arrested [who the police want to interview about a series of burglaries]

*John has been arrested [who the police want to interview about a series of burglaries]

The difference between the restrictive relative clauses and the non-restrictive relative clause.

There are seven major differences which distinguish restrictive relative clauses from non-restrictive relative clauses.

a. There is a difference in function. The major function of the restrictive relative clauses is to identify the referents or to restrict the antecedent, while the function of the non-restrictive relative clauses is simply to add information about the already identified referents.

The people [RRC who arrived late] found no seats.

Tom, [NRRC who arrived late], found no seats.

b. At the phonological level restrictive relative clauses are linked to their antecedents by unity of intonation and by the continuity of the degree of landness of the voice. In contrast non-restrictive relative clauses are characterized by a fresh intonation and a diminution of the degree of landness. The interruption in intonation is marked by comas in writing.

The people [RRC who arrived late] found no seats.

Tom, [NRRC who arrived late], found no seats.

c. There is a difference in the information structure. The antecedent and the restrictive relative clauses form a single information unit, while the antecedent followed by a non-restrictive relative clause form two distinct information units. Sometimes the additional information unit provided by the non-restrictive relative clauses is added to continue a narrative line. In such cases the relative conjunction and in informal English, when telling stories.

She introduced Jim to my mother, [NRRC who immediately began to tell her about his prospects].

She introduced Jim to my mother, [NRRC and he immediately began to tell her about his prospects].

d. Only non-restrictive relative clauses can have proper nouns as their antecedents. The restrictive relative clauses have as their antecedents common nouns.

*Sandy [RRC who is hard of hearing] never goes to concerts.

Sandy, [NRRC who is hard of hearing] never goes to concerts.

e. Restrictive relative clauses can be extracted from the complex noun phrases and moved to final position in the complex sentences, while extraction of the non-restrictive relative clauses is ungrammatical.

EXTRATION

[NP A performer [RRC who is dressing now]] will appear shortly.

(?) A performer will appear shortly who is dressing now.

*[NP John, [NRRC who is dressing now]], will appear shortly.

John will appear shortly, who is dressing now.

f. The sixth difference concerns the phrases permissible to occur at the beginning of the relative clause. Restrictive relative clauses allow either a relative pronoun or the complimentizer conjunction THAT, while non-restrictive relative clause only allow a relative pronoun.

Cats [RRC which/that scratch] are nasty.

Cat, [NRRC which/that scratch], are nasty.

g. Restrictive relative clauses can occur without a relative pronoun or the conjunction THAT. In such cases they are called unconnected relative clauses or contact clauses. Non-restrictive relative clauses cannot occur with without a relative pronoun or the conjunction THAT.

The book [RRC which/that they are talking about] is here.

The book [RRC they are talking about is here].

Relative clauses classified according to the syntactic criteria are of two types:

With expressed antecedent (+ antecedent)

Relative clauses with expressed antecedent are also called dependent relative clauses because they depend on antecedents in the relative clauses.

[NP Something] was the issue. [NP Something] lay on the table.

Something [TCC that lay on the table] was the issue.

[FRC What lay in the table] was the issue.

Without expressed antecedent (- antecedent), also called free relative clauses or independent relative clauses. Their antecedent is absent but, this antecedent is always understood to be a deleted indefinite pronoun (somebody, someone, something etc.).

Give the book to somebody. Somebody may ask for it.

indefinite

pronoun

Give the book to somebody [RC who may ask for it].

ANTECEDENT

Give the book to [FRC whoever may ask for it].

Relative clauses without an expressed antecedent are introduced by simple relative pronouns (who, what, which), by compound relative pronouns with ever (whichever, whatever, whoever) and by compound adverbs with ever (however, wherever etc.).

(Something)[RC What they were asking] was the task to be easier.

SUBJECT

I wanted to see (someone) [RC whoever deals with complaints].

DIRECT OBJECT

He gave (somebody) [RC whoever came to the door] a nice smile.

INDIRECT OBJECT

You should vote for (somebody) [RC whichever candidate you think is best].

OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION

Home is (somewhere) [RC where your friends and family are].

PREDICATIVE

Go to the opera (sometime) [RC whenever you like].

ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF TIME

Some non-finite postmodifying clauses may also be seen as related to relative clauses. These are referred here as relative infinitives (Geisler 1995) and relative -ing and -ed participles.

Infinitival relative clause

Cornilescu (1982: 446-447) states that the infinitival relative clauses exhibit two strategies of relativisation: wh-movement and deletion. The infinitival relatives based on wh-movement is restricted. Wh-fronting operates in clauses with for-to complement only if the sequence for + the noun phrase subject has been deleted. The constituent which is pre-posed is always a prepositional phrase, never a noun phrase.

The Senate and Commission were to be allowed a reasonable time in which to implement this policy.

Port Said was always a good place in which to get stung.

The class of infinitival relatives based on deletion is more varied. Infinitival relative clauses are reductions of finite relative clauses. They are derived by cutting the relative pronoun and the auxiliary and by inserting the particle to.

The lady [RC who will see you] has just arrived.

FINITE

The lady [IC to see you] has just arrived.

Participial relative clause

Participial relative clauses are derived from finite relative clause by deleting the relative pronoun and the auxiliary verb (if there is one).

The boy [RC who worked in town] is my brother.

The boy working is town is my brother.

The girl [RC who resembles John] is his sister.

The girl resembling John is his sister.

The boy [RC who is writing an essay] is my friend.

The boy writing an essay is my friend.

The verb in the present participle corresponds to present or past simple and present or past progressive in the finite relative clause.

The car which is being repaired is mine.

Passive voice/present progressive

The present participle in a non-finite relative clause can occur if the subject of the participle is the same as the noun that it refers to. Present participle clauses correspond to active voice finite relative clauses:

Who is the girl sitting next to you in class? (Who is the girl that sits next to you in class?) (defining)

Bill, waiting outside in the rain, was getting more and more annoyed. (Bill, who was waiting outside in the rain, was getting more and more annoyed.) (non-defining)

Participial relative clauses may correspond to finite relative clauses with the verb in the passive voice. Past participle relative clauses are derived from finite relative clauses with the verb in the passive voice by omitting the relative pronoun and the passive auxiliary be.

All the books [RC which were found] on the table belong to me.

The books [Past participle RC found on the table] belong to me.

The past participle in a non-finite relative clause can occur if the preceding noun is the object of the participle:

John was the only one not informed about the room change. (John was the only one who was not informed / who had not been informed about the room change.) (defining)

Romeo and Juliet, first published in 1597, has become one of Shakespear's most popular plays. (Romeo and Juliet, which was first published in 1597, has become one of Shakespear's most popular plays.) (non-defining)

Cleft constructions

Cleft constructions are used to focus attention on a certain constituent and they have a strict construction. The relative pronoun crosses several clause boundaries in order to get to initial position in the relative clause. As a result of this movement the relative pronoun gets farther and farther away from its initial position indicated by a co-index trace.

It is Tom [RC who the police arrested ti.]

It is Tom [RC who Sam said [TTC that the police arrested ti.]]

It is Tom [RC who you claimed [TTC that Sam said [TTC that the police arrested ti.]]]

It is Tom [RC who it is not true [TTC that you claimed [TTC that Sam said [TTC that the police arrested ti.]]]]

Some cleft constructions are basic and others are derived transformationally, by means of clefting. The analysis by clefting assumes that the focus constituent is initially in a non-cleft sentence, from where it is extracted by means of clefting transformation. The focus constituent may be a reflexive pronoun or it may contain a reflexive pronoun (1); or it may be a reciprocal pronoun (2) or the focus may contain a quantifier that has floated from the subject of the non-cleft sentence (3).

(1) Its myself that I dislike.

What he was doing was washing himself.

I dislike myself.

He was washing himself.

(2) What they were doing was kissing each other.

(3) What the little bastards did was all get in the tub at the time.

The little bastards all got in the tub at the same time.

Pseudo-cleft sentences

Pseudo-cleft sentences (or also called wh-clefts) are similar in function to cleft sentences, but they are formed with the relative pronoun what, which, that. The emphasis in a pseudo-cleft sentence is on the phrase after what-clause + be:

What you need is a good sleep.

What I didn't like was the end of the movie.

What changed his mind was a book he'd read.

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