Relative clauses

Chapter 18 - Cowan
Like adjectives, relative clauses modify nouns; they differ from adjectives in where they
occur (adjectives before HN and relative clauses after), they follow the noun they
modify. They can modify any noun in the main clause.
The noun phrase modified can have any grammatical function in the sentence.

Examples:
1. “A problem that is difficult to solve is a challenge”
2. “He gave us a problem that was difficult to solve”

A restrictive relative clause functions to identify the noun it modifies:

- “The students who had to take exams are tired”

A non restrictive relative clause, separated by commas or pauses, functions to add

information about the noun it modifies:
- “The students, who had to take the exams, are tired”

Relative clauses can be described as formed through wh- movement, which moves a NP
corresponding to the noun modified to the front of the clause and replaces this NP with
an appropriate relative pronoun.
- “The movie that/which we saw (the movie) was really scary”

They are classified depending upon their function as:

Restrictive clauses Non-restrictive clauses

Serves to restrict the reference of the Adds information about the noun
noun phrase modified. modified. The noun’s reference is already
clear, the clause does not restrict it.

There are no pauses at the beginning or Commas around the clause reflect the
end. pauses.

Rule of the wh movement.

This rule moves the NP in the relative clause that corresponds to the NP in the main
clause to the front of the relative clause, leaving a “gap” at the place from which it was
moved.
The NP fronted by wh movement is replaced by a relative pronoun.
Examples:
1. The movie (that we saw the movie) was really scary
2. I’m looking for the box (that he puts all his stuff in the box)
 3. That bed (that I slept in on that bed) was really soft

The relative pronouns are:

- that (for human an inanimate things)
- who and whom (for humans)
- which (for inanimate objects)
- whose (possessive form for humans and inanimate things)

Restrictive relative clauses can be classified by the grammatical function of their

relative pronouns into six types:
1. Subject (S) relative clauses
Who, that, or which replaces the subject of the clause.
Ex: “The guy who/that hired Robert was the manager of the supermarket”
“The tornado that/which struck the town destroyed several homes”

2. Object (O) relative clauses

Who, whom, that, or which replaces the object of the clause.
Ex: “At the party, there were many people whom/who/that he did not know”
“The car which/that Ted bought has a very powerful engine”

3. Indirect Object (IO) relative clauses

Who, who, that, or which replaces an indirect object following the preposition to
or for. Two patterns are possible:
- “The girl to whom he sent the email lives in Seattle”
- “The girl who/that we sent the email to lives in Seattle”

4. Object of the preposition (OP) relative clauses

Same two patterns as IO relative clauses but may have a range of prepositions.
Ex: “The girl with whom he went to the dance is my sister”
“The bed that/which I slept on once belonged to Abraham Lincoln”

5. Possessive (POS) relative clauses:

The relative pronoun replaces an element that indicates possession.
Two forms:
- POS introduced by whose (used especially but not exclusively for human
possessors)
Ex: “Last week I met a girl whose brother works in your law firm”
“The author one of whose last three books Peter has reviewed is very
famous”
Inanimate ex: “Let ABC be a triangle whose sides are of equal length”

- POS introduced by “of which” (used with inanimate possessors)

Three patterns:
 - “The reports which the government prescribes the size of are
boring”
- “The reports of which the government prescribes the size are
boring”
- “The reports the size of which the government prescribes are
boring”

6. Object of comparison (OC) relative clauses

Who, whom, that, or which replaces a NP following the comparative conjunction
than.
Ex: “The girl who/whom/that Susan was faster than won the 100 meter dash”
“The sports car which/that the Alfa Romeo was faster than was a Porsche”.

Relative clauses in speech occasionally include:

- What as an alternative to which and that in nonstandard dialects
- Resumptive pronouns (inappropriately used)

Center-embedded relative clauses: they occur in the middle of the main clause

Position and reduction of restrictive relative clauses:

➔ Extraposed relatives and relative clauses that have been moved away from the
nouns they modify
Ex: “A man just came in who has red hair”

➔ Stacking of relative clauses regularly occurs in spoken English

Ex: “The only person who I like whose kids Dana is willing to put up with is my
neighbor Pat”

➔ Omission of nonsubject relative pronouns is possible in all O and OC relatives

and in IO, OP and “of which” POS relatives that have stranded prepositions.
Ex: “We just met the woman Alan likes so much”
“We know the student the Dean sent the message to”

➔ Reduction of S relatives occurs by deleting the relative pronoun and a following

form of the verb be, leaving a present participle, a past participle, or an adjective
followed by a prepositional phrase.
Ex: “The guy standing next to Fred is a famous poet”
“The bill passed by Congress was vetoed”
“He’s someone familiar with the details”

Post Nominal modifiers with stative verbs in present participle form might be a special
type of reduced relative clause.
Ex: “A Shark weighing over 400 pounds washed up on the beach”
Other types of restrictive clauses

Other types of restrictive relative clauses

1. Infinitival (INFIN) relative clauses: they have a verb in its infinitive form and are
not always introduced by relative pronouns
Ex: “Here is a chair to sit on” - “Here is a chair on which to sit”
“Susan is the ideal person (for you) to talk about that”

2. Adverbial (ADV) relative clauses: they are introduced by where, when, and why,
rather than by relative pronouns.
Ex: “That’s the motel where we stayed”
“How well I remember the day when he was born”
“I’ve forgotten the reason why the trust fund was established”

3. Free relative clauses: they stand alone rather than following and modifying a
head noun. There are two types:
a) Definite free relatives: introduced by what, where and when.
Ex: “He eats what he orders”
“Alice goes where she wants to go”

b) Indefinite free relatives: introduced by who(m)ever, whichever, whatever,

wherever and whenever.
Ex: “He eats whatever she offers him”
“Joan dances with whoever asks her to dance”

Nonrestrictive relative clauses

They are relative clauses that merely add information about the nouns they modify.
Characteristics:
● In writing, they are set off by commas
● In speech, they are set off by pauses and falling intonation at the end of the
clause
● They can modify proper nouns
● They cannot modify any, every, no + noun or indefinite pronouns such as
anyone, everyone, no one, etc.
● They cannot be introduced by that
● They cannot be stacked
● They can modify an entire sentence
● Reduction is not possible

The relative pronouns used in nonrestrictive relatives are the same as those used in
restrictive clauses, except for that.
Chapter 4 - Haegeman
Underlying structures are defined as structures resulting from lexical insertion in the
structures described by the PS rules.

Surface str

Chapter 13 - Quirk

Questions
- What is a relative clause?
- What is the function of a restrictive relative clause? (In your answer you need to refer
to the notion of reference.)
- What is the function of a non-restrictive relative clause?
- What are the differences between a restrictive relative clause and a non-restrictive
relative clause? Consider their meaning, relatives (wh-words in relative clauses),
intonation, punctuation, stacking, omission of relative pronouns, complementiser that*,
omission/deletion of both the complementiser and the relative pronoun, “reduced”
relative clauses (non-finite relative clauses and verbless relative clauses) and their
functions.
- What is known as a “zero relative pronoun”? What is a contact relative clause? When is
the deletion of a wh-word impossible?
- Why is that considered a complementiser in modern approaches?
- What is an adverbial relative clause? Provide a definition and examples. Is this a
relative
clause postmodifying a Head noun?
- What is a free relative clause? Provide a definition and examples. Is this a relative
clause
postmodifying a Head noun?
- What is an appositive clause? Provide a definition and examples. Is this a relative
clause
postmodifying a Head noun?
- Why are examples 142 and 143 in Haegeman’s book ungrammatical?
- Why is an NP including a relative clause considered a complex NP?
- What is a sentential relative clause?
- What is the difference between pied-piping and stranding?
- Explain case in connection with relative pronouns. Provide examples.
- What is explained by Quirk in 13.11?
- What is “multiple modification”?
- What is the difference in meaning between the ff. sentences? a. My sister who lives in
Mexico is a doctor and b. My sister, who lives in Mexico, is a doctor.
- What types of non-finite relative clauses are there? Provide examples.
- What are the categories and functions of relatives in relative clauses?
- What is extraposition in connection with relative clauses?
- Compare the use of whose and of which. Provide examples.