Chapter 17

The relative pronoun, quī quae quod

Part 1
This is just an exercise to get you thinking about what we're about to start. Identify what part of the sentence (S, O, IO, etc.) the underlined words are; then combine these two sentences into one (still in English) with one of our wh- words, like who, whom, which, etc. (Trust me, this makes sense. . . .)

1a. I punched the dog.        dog = object
1b. The dog bit me.        dog = subject

Joined: I punched the dog which bit me.

2a. My sister sent me a book.
2b. I read the book.

3a. I have a smelly friend.
3b. I don't hang out with this friend.

4a. I gave my sister a dollar.
4b. My sister has holes in her socks.

5a. To spin around is fun.
5b. To spin around can make you puke.

6a. I stay away from those kids.
6b. Those kids' mother has a lot of cats.

7a. Nobody likes reading.
7b. Reading is fundamental.

8a. That guy is creeping me out.
8b. That guy has a really close relationship with his sister.

9a. That coach seems to have dropped his visor.
9b. His visor is some kind of outlet for frustration.

10a. Does that old man think I don't see him?
10b. That old man is picking his nose.

Part 2
Using a relative clause is just a way to add information about a word (etc.) from a main sentence. A relative clause is, really, a sentence acting as an adjective. Because of that, we need to know what word from the main sentence it is modifying. So the relative pronoun will agree with the word it's modifying (the antecedent) in number and gender. But the relative pronoun (our link word between the two sentences) also belongs to its own sentence. Its case, then, will identify its role in its own sentence (the relative clause). Let's look at this:

levis puella est docta.        Which girl is smart? The levis one.
puella quem amābās est docta.        Which girl is smart? The one quem amābās.

This is just to show that a relative clause and an adjective are doing fundamentally the same thing. In the second example, though, the relative clause (a complete sentence) is doing the modifying. The relative pronoun, which links the two, is our pivot. It tells us (1) which word in the main sentence is being modified, and (2) what part of its own sentence the word is.

As you read, when you come across a relative pronoun: First, figure out its antecedent. Most likely you've already seen it in the sentence. Second, realize that the entire relative clause (another sentence) must come all together. Main clause and relative clause cannot swap in and out of each other. So you will not be back into the main clause until you have read (at least) a complete sentence in the relative clause. Look at these (from p. 111):

1. dīligō puellam quae ex Italiā vēnit.
2. puella cui librum dat est fortunāta.
3. puer cuius patrem iuvābāmus fortis est.
4. vītam meam committam eīs quōrum virtūtēs laudābās.

5a. virum malum nōn amant.
5b. malum nōn amant.
5c. eum quem metuunt (from metuō -ere -uī -ūtum: to fear) nōn amant.
5d. quem metuunt nōn amant.

Note in this group how a substantive adjective stands in for the noun. Likewise, a relative clause can stand sometimes without an (expressed) antecedent, if it would be obvious, and if the function of the clause in the whole sentence is clear, as in 5d, where quem metuunt is the DO of the whole sentence.