Part 3: Headed relative clauses: examples

This section provides abundant examples of headed relative clauses. Each example is a complete sentence with the relative clause serving a clear grammatical function.

Subject gap examples

The head noun is the subject inside the relative clause: the one doing the action.

Basic actions

rena nophi kealo miona phue nai
REL story create person wise be
(the person who creates stories is wise.)

rena mua shelira nai ruela phelora nai
REL LOC forest be path beautiful be
(the path that is in the forest is beautiful.)

rena to shua miona mia melu nai
REL PST come person 1SG friend be
(the person who came is my friend.)

rena lopia thumela miona ha nai
REL child teach person PROX be
(the person who teaches children is here.)

rena thuroa peloru phelora nai
REL grow flower beautiful be
(the flower that grows is beautiful.)

rena phelora nai womu mia womu nai
REL beautiful be home 1SG home be
(the home that is beautiful is my home.)

With tense particles

rena to naphe miona mia melu nai
REL PST help person 1SG friend be
(the person who helped is my friend.)

rena so shua miona shia nai
REL FUT come person 3SG be
(the person who will come is them.)

rena to thuroa peloru phelora nai
REL PST grow flower beautiful be
(the flower that grew is beautiful.)

With aspect particles

rena ro thumela miona phue nai
REL HAB teach person wise be
(the person who habitually teaches is wise.)

rena si thuroa shiro whalo nai
REL IPFV grow tree large be
(the tree that is growing is large.)

With negation

wa rena to ma shua miona shia nai
Q REL PST NEG come person 3SG be
(is the person who didn't come them?)

rena ma thuroa peloru thiku nai
REL NEG grow flower small be
(the flower that doesn't grow is small.)

Object gap examples

The head noun is the object inside the relative clause: the thing receiving the action.

Basic actions

mia rena mia to nila shelu lothea
1SG REL 1SG PST see book love
(i love the book that i saw.)

rena thia to kealo nophi phelora nai
REL 2SG PST create story beautiful be
(the story that you created is beautiful.)

mia rena shia thumela lopia sano
1SG REL 3SG teach child know
(i know the child whom they teach.)

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

rena shia to howela peloru phelora nai
REL 3SG PST receive flower beautiful be
(the flower that they received is beautiful.)

With multiple actors

mia rena thia wei mia to haolu nophi shelomui
1SG REL 2SG DAT 1SG PST speak story understand
(i understand the story that you told me.)

mia rena shia wei lopia to loa peloru sano
1SG REL 3SG DAT child PST give flower know
(i know the flower that they gave the child.)

With tense and aspect

rena mia so theo shelu ha nai
REL 1SG FUT read book PROX be
(the book that i will read is here.)

rena shia ro kealo nophi phelora nai
REL 3SG HAB create story beautiful be
(the stories that they habitually create are beautiful.)

With negation

rena mia to ma nila miona shia nai
REL 1SG PST NEG see person 3SG be
(the person whom i didn't see is them.)

mia rena thia to ma theo shelu wilao
1SG REL 2SG PST NEG read book long-for
(i long for the book that you didn't read.)

Locative and oblique gap examples

The head noun fills a prepositional phrase inside the relative clause.

Location

rena mia mua to thalo shelira phelora nai
REL 1SG LOC PST walk forest beautiful be
(the forest that i walked in is beautiful.)

rena shia mua nai womu whalo nai
REL 3SG LOC be home large be
(the home that they are in is large.)

rena mia mua to nulae womu mia womu nai
REL 1SG LOC PST sleep home 1SG home be
(the home that i slept in is my home.)

The preposition stays inside the clause; only its object is gapped. Hearing a preposition whose object never arrives tells you the head fills that slot.

Recipient

rena mia wei to haolu miona ha nai
REL 1SG DAT PST speak person PROX be
(the person whom i spoke to is here.)

rena shia wei peloru to loa miona mia melu nai
REL 3SG DAT flower PST give person 1SG friend be
(the person to whom they gave a flower is my friend.)

Relative clauses as sentence subjects

The entire relative clause + noun phrase serves as the subject of the main clause.

rena shea kealo miona phue nai
REL peace create person wise be
(one who creates peace is wise.)

rena ma lothea miona sonu nai
REL NEG love person alone be
(one who doesn't love is alone.)

rena serao nai shelu ruka nai
REL old be book complex be
(the book that is old is complex.)

rena mia to shelomui nophi mia ka phaelo
REL 1SG PST understand story 1SG CAUS feel
(the story that i understood moves me.)

rena mua shelira thuroa shiro whalo nai
REL LOC forest grow tree large be
(the tree that grows in the forest is large.)

Relative clauses as sentence objects

The relative clause + noun phrase serves as the object of the main verb.

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

wa thia rena mia to nila miona sano
Q 2SG REL 1SG PST see person know
(do you know the person whom i saw?)

mia rena phelora nai peloru lothea
1SG REL beautiful be flower love
(i love the flower that is beautiful.)

shia rena mua shelira nai ruela nila
3SG REL LOC forest be path see
(they see the path that is in the forest.)

lo mia rena thia to kealo womu naphe
PL 1SG REL 2SG PST create home help
(we help the home that you created.)

Relative clauses with prepositions

The relative clause + noun phrase follows a preposition in the main clause.

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.)

shia mua rena mia to kealo womu nai
3SG LOC REL 1SG PST create home be
(they are in the home that i created.)

mia wei rena shea kealo miona haolu
1SG DAT REL peace create person speak
(i speak to the person who creates peace.)

Stacking modifiers

Multiple descriptors can precede the noun: relative clause, then adjectives.

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

The order is: [relative clause] + [adjectives] + [noun]

rena thuroa whalo phelora shiro mia shiro nai
REL grow large beautiful tree 1SG tree be
(the large beautiful tree that grows is my tree.)

mia rena shia to kealo newu phelora nophi theo
1SG REL 3SG PST create new beautiful story read
(i read the new beautiful story that they created.)

Extended examples with context

These examples tell mini-stories to show relative clauses in natural discourse.

The gardener

mia serao miona sano. rena peloru thumela miona phue nai.
1SG old person know. REL flower teach person wise be.
(i know an old person. the person who teaches about flowers is wise.)

shia rena mia to nila peloru ka thuroa. phelora nai.
3SG REL 1SG PST see flower CAUS grow. beautiful be.
(they grow the flowers that i saw. [the flowers] are beautiful.)

The book

mia rena shia to kealo shelu theo. ruka nai.
1SG REL 3SG PST create book read. complex be.
(i read the book that they created. [it] is complex.)

rena mia to shelomui nophi mia phaelo.
REL 1SG PST understand story 1SG feel.
(the story that i understood moves me.)

The path home

rena mua shelira nai ruela phelora nai.
REL LOC forest be path beautiful be.
(the path that is in the forest is beautiful.)

mia nia ha ruela to thalo. mua rena mia to nila womu to kamo.
1SG ON PROX path PST walk. LOC REL 1SG PST see home PST arrive.
(i walked on this path. [i] arrived at the home that i saw.)