relative clause

American  

noun

relative clauses plural

1. a subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb, either expressed or deleted, especially such a clause modifying an antecedent, as who saw you in He's the man who saw you or (that ) I wrote in Here's the letter (that ) I wrote.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• relative clauses
  plural

Example Sentences

The linguists soon became suspicious about his Taensa grammar: The verbs seemed too regular, the relative clause structure too European.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2019

As we have noted often, a relative clause like this is plural, describing the group of which Bona Sun is one example.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2015

“Which” can be either subjective or objective case — it is used for both the subject and the object of a relative clause.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2015

A nonrestrictive relative clause is set off by commas, dashes or parentheses, as in "The pair of shoes, which cost five thousand dollars, was hideous."

From The Guardian • Aug. 15, 2014

There is nothing wrong with using which to introduce a restrictive relative clause, as in The pair of shoes which cost five thousand dollars was hideous.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker