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Meaning of "relative clause" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF RELATIVE CLAUSE

relative clause  [ˈrɛlətɪv klɔːz] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF RELATIVE CLAUSE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Relative clause is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES RELATIVE CLAUSE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Relative clause

A relative clause is a kind of subordinate clause, one of whose arguments shares a referent with a main clause element on which the subordinate clause is grammatically dependent. Typically, a relative clause modifies a noun or noun phrase, and uses some grammatical device to indicate that one of the arguments within the relative clause has the same referent as that noun or noun phrase. For example, in the sentence I met a man who wasn't there, the subordinate clause who wasn't there is a relative clause, since it modifies the noun man, and uses the pronoun who to indicate that the same "man" is referred to within the subordinate clause. In many European languages, relative clauses are introduced by a special class of pronouns called relative pronouns; such as who in the example just given. In other languages, relative clauses may be marked in different ways: they may be introduced by a special class of conjunctions called relativizers; the main verb of the relative clause may appear in a special morphological variant; or a relative clause may be indicated by word order alone.

Definition of relative clause in the English dictionary

The definition of relative clause in the dictionary is a relative clause is a subordinate clause which specifies or gives information about a person or thing. Relative clauses come after a noun or pronoun and, in English, often begin with a relative pronoun such as `who', `which', or `that'.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH RELATIVE CLAUSE


applause
əˈplɔːz
Azores
əˈzɔːz
cause
kɔːz
chores
tʃɔːz
clause
klɔːz
Doors
dɔːz
drawers
drɔːz
gauze
ɡɔːz
in-laws
ˈɪnˌlɔːz
indoors
ˌɪnˈdɔːz
jaws
dʒɔːz
Lawes
lɔːz
menopause
ˈmɛnəʊˌpɔːz
Mors
mɔːz
outdoors
ˌaʊtˈdɔːz
pause
pɔːz
scores
skɔːz
shores
ʃɔːz
stores
stɔːz
yours
jɔːz

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE RELATIVE CLAUSE

relative
relative aperture
relative atomic mass
relative biological effectiveness
relative conjunction
relative density
relative frequency
relative humidity
relative major
relative major key
relative majority
relative minor
relative minor key
relative molecular mass
relative permeability
relative permittivity
relative probability
relative pronoun
relatively
relativeness

WORDS THAT END LIKE RELATIVE CLAUSE

acceleration clause
arbitration clause
because
dependent clause
escalation clause
escape clause
exclusion clause
final clause
grandfather clause
indemnity clause
independent clause
main clause
noun clause
opt-out clause
penalty clause
restrictive relative clause
safeguard clause
saving clause
sub-clause
subordinate clause
sunset clause

Synonyms and antonyms of relative clause in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «relative clause» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF RELATIVE CLAUSE

Find out the translation of relative clause to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of relative clause from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «relative clause» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

关系子句
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

oración de relativo
570 millions of speakers

English

relative clause
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

रिश्तेदार खंड
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

بند النسبي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

относительная оговорка
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

cláusula relativa
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

আপেক্ষিক ধারা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

proposition relative
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Klausa relatif
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Relativsatz
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

関係詞節
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

관계절
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Klausa relatif
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

mệnh đề quan hệ
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

சார்ந்த உட்கூறு
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

संबंधित कलम
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Bağıl madde
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

proposizione relativa
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

klauzula względnej
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

відносна обмовка
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

propoziție relativă
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

σχετική ρήτρα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

relatiewe klousule
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

relativ klausul
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

relative klausulen
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of relative clause

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «RELATIVE CLAUSE»

The term «relative clause» is regularly used and occupies the 88.042 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
59
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «relative clause» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of relative clause
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «relative clause».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «RELATIVE CLAUSE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «relative clause» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «relative clause» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about relative clause

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «RELATIVE CLAUSE»

Discover the use of relative clause in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to relative clause and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Bilingual Sentence Processing: Relative Clause Attachment in ...
This title looks at the representation of semitic words in the mental lexicon of semitic language speakers. It asks: should we see semitic words' morphology as root-based or word-based?.
Eva M. Fernández, 2003
2
Relative Clauses in Time and Space: A Case Study in the ...
Presents a comprehensive survey of historically attested relative clause constructions from a diachronic typological perspective. This title demonstrates how typology and historical linguistics can each benefit from attention to the other.
Rachel Hendery, 2012
3
Extending the relative clause extended complement model
Sam Shemitz. the way I like it or the sudden appearance of if/whether when questioning polarity in an indirect question. However, there do seem to be definite syntactic differences between relative and complement clauses; in German, ...
Sam Shemitz, 2011
4
A Grammar of Tukang Besi
In the first of these constructions the relative clause follows the head noun, and this is called the external relative clause. The second structural type shows the head noun as part of the relative clause and the whole relative construction, here  ...
Mark Donohue, 1999
5
The Teacher's Grammar of English with Answers: A Course Book ...
A restrictive relative clause is one that serves to restrict the reference of the noun phrase modified. In (3), the restrictive relative clause who lives in Canada restricts my sister by specifying the sister in Canada. The sentence implies that the ...
Ron Cowan, 2008
6
Colloquial Somali: A Complete Language Course
In this sentence the relative clause is underlined. The head noun of the relative clause is 'the woman'. In addition to this the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause. Thus, we may say that the head noun is the subject of the relative  ...
Martin Orwin, 1995
7
Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture ...
Definitions A relative clause is a dependent clause that acts like an adjective, but instead of a single word it uses an entire statement to modify a noun. In the sentence Jill won first prize, the adjective first modifies the noun prize. Similarly, in the ...
James P. Allen, 2014
8
The Grammar of the English Tense System: A Comprehensive ...
In the relative clause when Bill arrived, the relative when is a relative adverb and therefore also establishes an Adv- time, which 'contains' an orientation time from the tense structure of the relative clause. In this example, the contained ...
Renaat Declerck, Susan Reed, Bert Cappelle, 2006
9
Grammar: A Student's Guide
can stand on its own as a sentence, whereas a relative clause, such as ... whom you saw, is a subordinate clause and needs a noun to be attached to, as in the person whom you saw. Some relative clauses and u>h-interrogatives are in fact ...
James R. Hurford, 1994
10
The Syntax of Relative Clauses
The interpretation of restrictive relative constructions requires that the top determiner, the head noun, and the relative clause enter into the semantic computation as independent constituents. In the head raising analysis of Kayne ( 1994), the ...
Artemis Alexiadou, 2000

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «RELATIVE CLAUSE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term relative clause is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Asian, European languages not so different under the hood
Editors and other language mavens have long recognized that sentences containing subject relative clauses – as in, “The man who called the woman is friendly” ... «Cornell Chronicle, Jun 15»
2
Everyday Grammar: Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun relates to the noun it is describing. Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause. Think of relative clauses as long adjectives. Adjectives are ... «VOA Learning English, May 15»
3
Understanding the plumbing
Recasting the relative clause shows this: some contend [that] who/he was autistic. If the pronoun is the subject of a clause, it must be who. But Isaac Newton ... «Baltimore Sun, Mar 15»
4
Red Pencils Ready?
“Which” can be either subjective or objective case — it is used for both the subject and the object of a relative clause. But the same “which” should not be used ... «New York Times, Mar 15»
5
Q&A with Steven Pinker, author of 'The Sense of Style'
You emphasize that knowledge of grammar is important. There are many accomplished writers who probably could not identify a relative clause if they banged ... «Washington Post, Nov 14»
6
Brooklyn, Planet Earth
We were thrown off by the intervening relative clause (“which overwhelmingly …”); it modifies the plural “arrests” but tangles the syntax. Perhaps that should ... «New York Times, Nov 14»
7
A Word, Please: It's better to avoid writing upside down
Instead, in the best writing, main clauses serve as pedestals for the facts the writer ... a relative clause — a clause introduced with the relative pronoun like “that. «Glendale News Press, Oct 14»
8
Ugly Disagreements
We routinely botch this construction, as my recorded messages point out nearly every week. The verb in the relative clause should agree with the subject of the ... «New York Times, Oct 14»
9
Steven Pinker: These Are the Grammar Rules You Don't Need to …
... participle, and relative clause”). For example, Pinker argues, in many cases it's perfectly fine—in fact, desirable—to dangle participles, split infinitives, describe ... «The New Republic, Oct 14»
10
Let's eat Grandma! How to use, and not use the comma
Commas are crucially important in relative clauses. To see how to get it wrong, consider this example from the Guardian: “Part of the report will heavily criticise a ... «The Guardian, Sep 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Relative clause [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/relative-clause>. Apr 2024 ».
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