Constituents - Zinsdelen

Relative clauses - Betrekkelijke bijzinnen

A relative clause is an >attributive adjunct: it gives extra information about a noun or a noun group. Relative clauses are introduced by >>relative pronouns.

Relative clauses can affect their >>antecedent in two different ways. Look at the following sentences:

The relative clause in this sentence is die klaar zijn met hun examens. Depending on the way this sentence is pronounced (in speech) or punctuated (in writing) it can mean two things:

- there is a party for only those students who have finished their exams;
- all students have finished their exams and there is a party for them.

In the first reading the relative clause restricts the antecedent to which it refers to a particular group (only the students who have finished their exams). In the second reading it does not restrict the antecedent. That is why we call the first type a restrictive relative clause (beperkende betrekkelijke bijzin) and the second type a non-restrictive relative clause (uitbreidende betrekkelijke bijzin).

A non-restrictive relative clause starts with a brief pause and is pronounced at a lower pitch. In punctuation this is expressed by means of a comma at the beginning of the relative clause:

A restrictive relative clause is pronounced at the same pitch as the main clause and is not preceded by a break. There is no comma at the beginning of the relative clause:

If the relative clause appears in the middle of a sentence, it is always followed by a comma. In that case a non-restrictive relative clause is surrounded by commas:

If a restrictive relative clause appears in the middle of a sentence, it is only followed by a comma:

Bear in mind that a relative clause is also a subordinate clause and therefore always has the >word order of a subordinate clause.

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Click here to read about relative clauses in the Beginners Dutch Grammar