Editing Relative clause (section)

====Mandarin====
{{Further|Chinese grammar}}
In [[Mandarin Chinese]], the relative clause is similar to other adjectival phrases in that it precedes the noun that it modifies, and ends with the relative particle ''de'' (的). If the relative clause is missing a subject but contains an object (in other words, if the verb is transitive), the main-clause noun is the implied subject of the relative clause:<ref>The examples in this section are from {{cite book |last1=Li |first1=Charles N. |last2=Thompson |first2=Sandra A. |title=Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar |publisher=Univ. of California Press |date=1981 |pages=579–585}}</ref>

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|种 水果 的 农人|c1= (種水果的農人。)
|zhòng shuǐguǒ de nóngrén
|grow fruit PTCL farmer
|"the fruit-growing farmer" or "the farmer who grows fruit"}}

If the object but not the subject is missing from the relative clause, the main-clause noun is the implied object of the relative clause:

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|他们 种 的 水果|c1= (他們種的水果。)
|tāmen zhòng de shuǐguǒ
|they grow PTCL fruit
|"the by-them-grown fruit" or "the fruit that they grow"}}

If both the subject and the object are missing from the relative clause, then the main-clause noun could either be the implied subject or the implied object of the relative clause; sometimes which is intended is clear from the context, especially when the subject or object of the verb must be human and the other must be non-human:

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|(用)今天 赢 的 钱 来 付 房租|c1=((用)今天贏的錢來付房租。)
|jīntiān yíng de qián fù fáng zū
|today win PTCL money pay house rent
|"the won-today money pays the rent" or "the money that was won today pays the rent"}}

But sometimes ambiguity arises when it is not clear from the context whether the main-clause noun is intended as the subject or the object of the relative clause:

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|昨天 批评 的 人 都 不 在 这里|c1=(昨天批評的人都不在這裡。)
|zuótiān pīping de rén dōu bu zài zhèlǐ
|yesterday criticize PTCL person all not at here
|"the people who criticized [others] yesterday are all not here" or "the people whom [others] criticized yesterday are all not here"}}

However, the first meaning (in which the main-clause noun is the subject) is usually intended, as the second can be unambiguously stated using a passive voice marker:

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|昨天 被 批评 的 人 都 不 在 这里|c1=(昨天被批評的人都不在這裡。)
|zuótiān bèi pīping de rén dōu bu zài zhèlǐ
|yesterday PASS criticize PTCL person all not at here
|"the people who were criticized yesterday are all not here"}}

Sometimes a relative clause has both a subject and an object specified, in which case the main-clause noun is the implied object of an implied preposition in the relative clause:

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|我 写 信 的 毛笔|c1=(我寫信的毛筆。)
|wǒ xiě xìn de máobǐ
|I write letter PTCL brushpen
|the brushpen that I write letters with}}

It is also possible to include the preposition explicitly in the relative clause, but in that case it takes a pronoun object (a [[personal pronoun]] with the function of a relative pronoun):<ref>This example is from {{cite book |first=Chaofen |last=Sun |title=Chinese: A Linguistic Introduction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2006 |page=189 |oclc=70671780}}</ref>

{{fs interlinear|lang=zh|indent=3
|我 替 他 画 画 的 人|c1=(我替他畫畫的人。)
|wǒ tì tā huà huà de rén
|I for her/him draw picture PTCL person
|"the person for whom I drew the picture"}}

Free relative clauses are formed in the same way, omitting the modified noun after the particle ''de''. As with bound relative clauses, ambiguity may arise; for example, {{Lang-zh|c={{linktext|吃的}}|s=|t=|p=chī de|labels=no}} "eat (particle)" may mean "that which is eaten", i.e. "food", or "those who eat".<ref>{{harvnb|Sun|2006|page=187}}</ref>