Relative Clause. Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Relative Clause

Definition note

A relative clause is a clause which describes the referent of a head noun or pronoun. It often restricts the reference of the head noun or pronoun.

Discussion

A relative clause is not necessarily a constituent of the noun phrase containing the head noun it modifies.

The plumber arrived who we had called earlier. (Who we had called earlier has been extraposed from its normal position after plumber and is not a member of the noun phrase containing plumber.)

(English)

The man who went
Passengers leaving on Flight 738

Bibliographic note 8

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Source: Thompson and Longacre 1985

Thompson, Sandra A., and Robert E. Longacre. 1985. "Adverbial clauses." In Shopen 1985c

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Source: Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985

Quirk, Randolph, S. Greenbaum, G. Leech, and J. Svartvik. 1985.A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.

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Source: Pei and Gaynor 1954

Pei, Mario A., and Frank Gaynor. 1954.A dictionary of linguistics. New York: Philosophical Library.

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Source: Mish 1991

Mish, Frederick (editor). 1991.Webster's ninth new collegiate dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 1,564 pages. 0877795088; indexed 0877795096; deluxe 087779510X.

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Source: Keenan 1985

Keenan, Edward L. 1985. "Relative clauses." In Shopen 1985c

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Source: Hartmann and Stork 1972

Hartmann, R.R.K., and F.C. Stork. 1972.Dictionary of language and linguistics. London: Applied Science.

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Source: Crystal 1980

Crystal, David. 1980.A first dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Page/s: 142–144

Source: Comrie 1989

Comrie, Bernard. 1989.Language universals and linguistic typology. 2nd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago.