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Descriptive grammar year 2

Lecture 19: Relative clauses

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Types of relative constructions

• Postmodifiers of the N.

• Are related the the

antecedent N

.

• Contain an

anaphoric element

– the

relative pronoun, the or zero pronoun.

– The interpetation of the anaphoric element

determined by the antecedent.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Types of relative constructions

• (1)

They’ll be happy to take the clothes

• (a)

which you don’t want ___

.

– [wh-relative]

• (b)

that you don’t want ___

.

– [non-wh: that-relative]

• (c)

Ø you don’t want ___

.

– [non-wh: zero relative]

Antecedent of the

relative pronoun

Unstated (but

understood)

object of want

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The relative pronoun

• Wh-relatives:

– which

([-personal] antecedent N)

– Who

([+personal] antecedent N)

• That-relatives: a relative pronoun or a

complementizer?

• (2a)

They’ll be happy to take the clothes [(that)

you don’t want]

.

– [relative clause]: that can be omitted.

• (2b)

I know [(that) you are right]

.

– [complement clause]: that can be omitted too.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relative clause

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Complement that-clause

2

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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That as complementizer

• Opinion 1: a relative pronoun – has a

similar distribution to who/which.

• Opinion 2: the same marker of clause

subordination as the complementizer that.

– Evidence: the structure of non-finite relative

clauses:

– (3)

Let’s think of something [to talk about]

.

– never introduced by that, like non-finite

complement clauses – so the distribution of
that is NOT like the distribution of who/which.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Polish

• Relative clauses are universal.

• Engl. that-complementizer and the relative

pronouns = Polish

ż

e

(compl)

, która

(rel.

pron.)

, co

(rel. pron.).

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relational types

• (4a)

The boys who defaced the statue were

expelled

.

– [restrictive relative]

• (4b)

My father, who retired last year, now lives in

Paris

.

– [non-restrictive rel.]

• (4c)

It was Kim who wanted Pat as treasurer

.

– [cleft relative]

• (4d)

What you say is quite right

.

– [nominal relative] – a NP, not a clause

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The restrictive relative clause

• The most central and the most frequent

type of relative constructions.

• A modifier within a nominal constituent.

• Serves to restrict the denotation of the

head N it modifies.

• The information expressed in the relative

clause is an integral part of that expressed
by the matrix clause.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The non-restrictive relative clause

• Adds extra information about the

antecedent.

• The info is not needed to delimit the set

denoted by the antecedent.

• The info is separate from that expressed in

the rest of the sentence.

• Marked off prosodically or by punctuation.

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The cleft relative clause

• Divides the sentence into two parts, one of

which is in focus, the other is not.

• (4c)

Kim

is in focus and

wanted Pat as

treasurer

is not (i.e. it is the topic).

3

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The nominal relative construction

• Always of the wh-type.
• You CAN’T separate a relative clause from

its antecedent:

• (5a)

It would mean abandoning

that

which

we hold most dear

.

– [

antecedent

+ relative clause]

• (5b)

It would mean abandoning what we

hold most dear

.

– [nominal relative], what = antecedent +

rel.pron.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Finiteness

• Restrictive relatives can be infinitival.

• May be of the wh-type or without a relative

word.

• (6a)

She found a good place from which to

watch a procession

.

• (6b)

She found a good place to watch the

procession from

.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relativisation

• The

relativised element

– the anaphoric

element ( subj. or object).

• A relativised subject with the form of the relative

pronoun:

• (7a)

A letter drew our attention to the problem

.

[main clause]

• (7b)

This is the

letter

i

[

which

i

drew our attention

to the problem]

[wh-relative]

• (7c)

This is the

letter

i

[that

___

i

drew our

attention to the problem]

[that-rel.]

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relativisation

• Limitations on the zero pronoun:

– in sentences with relativised subject there is

no zero relative counterpart:

– *This is the letter drew our attention to the

problem

.

– in sentences with relativised object that is

optional (the following example 8).

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relativisation

• A relativised object with the form of the relative

pronoun:

• (8a)

My mother gave me some advice

.

[main claue]

• (8b)

I thought about the

advice

i

[

which

i

my

mother gave me

__

i

].

[wh-relative]

• (8c)

I thought about the

advice

i

[that my mother

gave me

___

i

].

[that-relative]

• (8d)

I thought about the

advice

i

[my mother gave

me

___

i

].

[zero relative]

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Relativisation

• The gap in object function

is linked to the relative
pronoun

which

.

• The rel.pron. is

interpreted as having the
function of the gap – of
the object.

• The indirect object cannot

be relativised at all:

• (9)

*I [that/who(m)/Ø my

mother gave some
advice] will think about it

.

4

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relativisation strategies

•

Relative pronoun strategy

– using relative

pronouns to introduce the relative clause.

•

Complemetizer strategy

– using that to

introduce the relative clause.

•

Zero strategy

– absence of an element that

signals post-modification.

•

Resumptive pronoun strategy

– using a

resumptive pronoun in the relative clause (not
completely grammatical in English).

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The resumptive pronoun

• A pron. that refers back to a previously

realized item within the same syntactic
structure.

• In relative clauses they are realized twice:

– once as a relative pronoun and

– once as a resumptive one.

• Marginal in standard English but quite

acceptable in colloquial speech.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The resumptive pronoun

• (10a)

My friend, she is coming to visit me

.

– [resumptive pronoun]

• (10b) ?

I have three people that I don’t

know how they are in other classes

.

• (10c) ?

The deficit is a problem [that no

one has any idea what to do with it]

.

– [resumptive pron. in relative clauses]

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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The resumptive pronoun

• They optimally convey some required meaning

in a particular context more clearly.

• Polish: relative clauses with co as

complementizer (prescriptive grammarians
consider it ill-formed):

• (11a)

Szukam tego “Time’a”, [ co mi go

po

ż

yczyła

ś

].

(cf. co/którego mi po

ż

yczyła

ś

)

• (11b)

Ta reklama, [co ci o niej mówiłam] jest

niesamowita

. (cf. o której ci mówiłam)

• (11c)

Co mam zrobi

ć

z fantem, [co go mam na

my

ś

li]?

(cf. którego mam na my

ś

li)

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relative clauses vs. complement

clauses

• (12a)

I think [that it is going to rain].

[complement clause]

– if the complementizer is removed, the clause can still

be used as a complete sentence:

It is going to rain

.

– Cf. Polish:

My

ś

l

ę

,

ż

e b

ę

dzie pada

ć

.

B

ę

dzie pada

ć

.

• (12b)

The people [that you’ve invited] are here.

[relative clause]

– if the complementizer is removed, the clause cannot

stand as an independent sentence:

*You’ve invited

.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Relative phrases

• The

relative phrase

– always clause-initial.

– A

simple

relative phrase:

who, whom, which, where

,

etc.

– A

complex

relative phrase: a relative word together

with other material.

• (13a) I can’t find the

book

i

[

which

i

he

recommended

__

i

]

• (13b) We’ve never met the

people

i

[

[

whose

i

house]

j

we are renting

__

j

]

• (13c) We admired the

skill

i

[

[with

which

i

]

j

he

handled the situation

__

j

]

5

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Non-wh relatives

• No relative phrases:

• (14a)

I can’t find the book [that I

recommended]

.

• (14b)

*We’ve never met the people [that’s

house we are renting]

.

• (14c)

*We admired the skill [with that she

handled the situation]

.

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Wh-relatives and wh-questions

• Historically wh-words were only used at

the beginning of questions,

• later their usage spread to other areas of

grammar.

• So relativisation is the result of wh-

movement – English uses wh-movement
wherever wh-words occur.

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Wh-movement

• Wh-movement = wh-fronting:

• (8b)

the advice

i

[

which

i

my mother gave me

__

i

].

• The relative pronoun originated in object

position.

• Then it was moved (raised) to the initial

position in the relative clause, leaving a
gap in the object position.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Long-distance wh-movement

• Long-distance movement in wh-questions:

• (15)

What

i

do you think [they expect

[they’ll be able [to photograph

__

i

]]]?

– Cf. Lecture 7.

• In relative clauses:

• (16)

Here’s a

gift

i

[

which

i

I hope [you’ll be

pleased [to encourage your friend [to
accept

__

i

]

.

Descriptive grammar 19, year 2

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Long-distance wh-movement

• The rel. pronoun originates in the position

of the object of the V

accept

.

• Then it is moved to the initial position in

the relative clause, leaving a gap behind.

• The gap is anaphorically linked to

which

,

i.e.

which

is the antecedent of the gap.

• In turn,

which

is anaphorically linked to the

head N

gift

which is the antecedent of

which

.