Editing Relative clause (section)

==Types==

===Bound and free===
A '''bound relative clause''', the type most often considered, qualifies an explicit element (usually a [[noun]] or [[noun phrase]]) appearing in the main clause, and refers back to that element by means of some explicit or implicit device within the relative clause.

The relative clause may also function as an ''embedded clause'' within a main (or higher-level) clause, thereby forming a ''matrix sentence''.<ref name="Glossary of Linguistic Terms ">{{cite web |title=Matrix Sentence |url=https://glossary.sil.org/term/matrix-sentence |website=SIL Glossary of Linguistic Terms |access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref> The noun in the main clause that the relative clause modifies is called the ''[[Head (grammar)|head]] noun'', or (particularly when referred back to by a relative pronoun) the ''[[antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]]''.

For example, in the English sentence "The person whom I saw yesterday went home", the relative clause "whom I saw yesterday" modifies the head noun ''person'', and the relative pronoun ''whom'' refers back to the referent of that noun. The sentence is equivalent to the following two sentences: "I saw a person yesterday. The person went home". The shared argument need not fulfill the same role in both clauses; in this example the same person is referred to by the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] of the matrix clause, but the [[direct object]] of the relative clause.

A '''free relative clause''' (or '''fused relative'''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney |author-link=Rodney Huddleston |last2=Pullum |first2=Geoffrey K.|author-link2=Geoffrey K. Pullum |title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=978-0-521-43146-0|pages=1068–1070}}</ref>), on the other hand, does not have an explicit antecedent external to itself. Instead, the relative clause itself takes the place of an argument in the matrix clause. For example, in the English sentence "I like what I see", the clause ''what I see'' is a free relative clause, because it has no antecedent, but itself serves as the [[object (grammar)|object]] of the verb ''like'' in the main clause. Alternatively, one could argue that the free relative clause has [[zero (linguistics)|a zero]] as its antecedent. {{crossreference|(See also {{slink|English_relative_clauses|Fused_relative_constructions}})}}

===Restrictive and non-restrictive===
{{See also|Restrictiveness}}

Bound relative clauses may or may not be [[restrictive]]. A '''restrictive relative clause''' is a relative clause that functions as a [[restrictiveness|restrictive modifier]]. A '''non-restrictive relative clause''' is a relative clause that is not a restrictive relative clause. Whereas a ''non-restrictive'' or ''non-defining'' relative clause merely provides supplementary information, a ''restrictive'' or ''defining'' relative clause modifies the meaning of its head word (restricts its possible referent). For example:
*''The person '''who lives in this house''' has not been seen for days.'' This contains the restrictive relative clause ''who lives in this house'', which modifies the meaning of ''person'' and is essential to the sentence. If this clause were omitted, it would no longer be known which person is being referred to, and the remaining part would not really make sense.
*''The mayor, '''who lives in this house''', has not been seen for days.'' This contains a non-restrictive relative clause since this provides supplementary information about the mayor but is not essential to the sentence. If this clause were omitted, it would still be known who is meant (the mayor), and the remaining part would still make sense.

In speaking, it is natural to make slight pauses around non-restrictive clauses, and in English this is shown in writing by [[comma]]s (as in the examples). However, many languages distinguish the two types of relative clauses in this way only in speaking, not in writing. Another difference in English is that only restrictive relative clauses may be introduced with ''that'' or use the "zero" relative pronoun (see [[English relative clauses]] for details).

A non-restrictive relative clause may have a whole sentence as its antecedent rather than a specific noun phrase; for example:
*''The cat was allowed on the bed, '''which annoyed the dog'''.''
Here, ''which'' refers not to the bed or the cat but to the entire [[proposition]] expressed in the main clause, namely the situation of the cat being allowed on the bed.