more than just linking words. They are like regular pronouns in that they re-
place a duplicate noun phrase in a sentence. In addition, they function as either
the subject or the object of the relative clause. Thus, they can perform three syn-
tactic functions in a sentence, whereas subordinators and complementizers can
perform only one.
The more common relative pronouns are shown here:
who whom that
which whose where
when whyA relative clause must always begin with a relative pronoun because it needs
to be linked to the independent clause. We can see the linking function in the
following sample sentences:
- Buggsy bought the housethathad belonged to Liberace.
- The boywhodrove the van played the blues.
- The bookthatFritz borrowed lacked an index.
It is always important to understand that any sentence with a dependent
clause has undergone a process of combining that joins two (or more) clauses
into a single sentence. In the case of relative clauses, the relative pronoun re-
places a noun phrase duplicated in the two clauses. Sentences 57 through 59,
for example, are made up of the following clauses.
57a. Buggsy boughtthe house. The househad belonged to Liberace.
58a.The boyplayed the blues.The boydrove the van.
59a.The booklacked an index. Fritz borrowedthe book.If we attempted to combine these clauses without using a relative pronoun,
the results would be ungrammatical:
57b. *Buggsy bought the house the house had belonged to Liberace.
58b. *The boy played the blues the boy drove the van.
59b. *The book lacked an index Fritz borrowed the book.Relative Pronoun Shift
The multiple functions that relative pronouns play in sentences create a certain
degree of confusion for many students. Especially problematic are sentences
PHRASE STRUCTURE GRAMMAR 143