/ instituut voor de Nederlandse taal / Taalportaal
bibliography glossary about
  • Dutch1
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
    Stacked relative clauses
    quickinfo

    Relative clauses may be stacked, just as attributive adjectives may.

    readmore

    The relative clauses in the example below are stacked.

    1
    Die toeriste wat in die Kruger-wildtuin was, wat uit hulle karre geklim het.
    the tourists that.REL in the Kruger.wild.garden be.PRT that.REL out their cars climb.PST have.AUX
    The tourists who were visiting the Kruger National Park, who got out of their cars.

    The order of the relative clauses affects their interpretation in case the process described has a designated order in the real world. As a result, mutual exchange of the two relative clauses leads to a different interpretation. In example first example below, the conviction precedes the act of appeal to a higher court. In the second example below, the conviction follows the act of appeal to a higher court:

    2
    a. Niemand wat skuldig bevind is en wat na 'n hoër hof gegaan het, was tevrede nie.
    nobody that.REL guilty find.PASS be.AUX.PASS.PST and that.REL to a higher court go.PST have.AUX be.PRT content PTCL.NEG
    No one who was convicted who went to a higher court was content.
    b. Niemand wat na 'n hoër hof gegaan het en wat skuldig bevind is nie, was tevrede nie.
    nobody that.REL to a higher court go.PST have.AUX and that.REL guilty find.PASS be.AUX.PASS.PST PTCL.NEG be.PRT content PTCL.NEG
    No one who went to the higher court and who was was convicted, was content.
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Adri Breed; Johanita Kirsten
      Category: Afrikaans Syntax
      Keywords: modificationrelative clause
      Version: 1.0, May 2020
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Adri Breed; Johanita Kirsten May 2020
      This is a beta version.
      printreport errorcite
      Jump to:
      X