Part 5 · complex — Chapter 20 · relative clauses

Headed relative clauses

A headed relative clause modifies an explicit noun. The noun, called the "head," appears after the clause and receives the description. This is the most common type of relative clause, used whenever you want to specify which particular thing you're talking about.

Basic examples

The subject describes the object:

mia rena mia lothea miona sano.
1SG REL 1SG love person know.
(I know the person whom I love.)

The object describes the subject:

rena lopia thumela miona phue nai.
REL child teach person wise be.
(The person who teaches children is wise.)

A state describes the noun:

mia rena serao nai shelu theo.
1SG REL old be book read.
(I read the book that is old.)

A location describes the noun:

rena nia toremoa nai womu phelora nai.
REL ON mountain be home beautiful be.
(The home that is on the mountain is beautiful.)

Using relative clauses in sentences

Relative clauses are noun phrases. They can be the subject, the object, or part of a prepositional phrase:

As subject:

rena mia to nila miona shia nai.
REL 1SG PST see person 3SG be.
(The person whom I saw is here.)

The entire phrase rena mia to nila miona is the subject of nai.

As object:

mia rena shia to kealo nophi theo.
1SG REL 3SG PST create story read.
(I read the story that they created.)

The relative clause rena shia to kealo nophi modifies "story," and the whole noun phrase is the object of theo.

With prepositions:

mia nia rena mua shelira nai ruela thalo.
1SG ON REL LOC forest be path walk.
(I walk on the path that is in the forest.)

Complex descriptions

Relative clauses can include their own modifiers, objects, and adverbials:

mia rena mia mua serao shelira to thalo ruela lothea.
1SG REL 1SG LOC old forest PST walk path love.
(I love the path that I walked in the old forest.)

rena shia wei lopia phelora nophi to haolu miona ha nai.
REL 3SG DAT child beautiful story PST speak person PROX be.
(The person who told a beautiful story to the child is here.)

The key is that everything before the head noun is part of the description. No matter how complex the clause becomes, the structure remains the same: rena opens it, the clause unfolds, the noun closes it.

Stacking descriptions

A noun can receive multiple descriptions by stacking adjectives and relative clauses:

mia rena mia to nila serao phelora shelu lothea.
1SG REL 1SG PST see old beautiful book love.
(I love the old beautiful book that I saw.)

All modifiers precede the noun. The relative clause comes first (announced by rena), then adjectives, then the noun. Each layer adds to the description and builds toward the final reveal of what is being described.