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Relative Clauses
Elebz-Garazinoki

Contents:
    With Relative Pronouns
        Dropping the Pronoun
        -nurz
    Relative Clauses Without Verbs
    Appositions


With Relative Pronouns
So Üstornok-Šidnamenzim

Relative clauses, like adjectives, usually come before the noun they modify. The verb in the relative clause takes a suffix -na after any conjugation endings. A proper relative clause opens with one of the relative pronouns, like nui or nure.

ǩirz tafaim
steak(-ACC) eat-1SG:PAST
    I ate a steak

nuin tafaimna ǩirz
which-ACC eat-1SG:PAST-REL steak
    the steak that I ate

nui yai ǩirz tafaišna ürok
which my steak(-ACC) eat-3SG:PAST-REL dog
    the dog that ate my steak

The relative pronoun can take prepositions too:

ver nuret palton küpiomna čeno
for whom-DAT coat-ACC buy-1SG:PAST-REL woman
    the woman for whom I bought the coat

kra nuda devašaksoi klamwa kurar anašešna draaz
from where-GEN annoying noise come-PRP exist:3SG:PAST-REL house
    the house where the annoying noise was coming from

Notice anašešna above. The third person form uses the "full" ending with -š before -na. The -š even appears on forms of ček (and anček) that otherwise never take -š: če - češna; aše - ašešna; yere - yerešna.

The noun modified by a relative clause is free to take any role in the main clause:

Nudom toya miku lektromir küpiomna micenu ödorek fadim.
where-INST this no:good television buy-1SG:PAST-REL store-DAT return-INF must-1SG
    I have to go back to the store where I bought this no-good TV set.

Nudom toya miku lektromir küpiomna micen omrojiaǩraiš.
where-INST this no:good television buy-1SG:PAST-REL store burn:down-3SG:PAST
    The store where I bought this no-good TV set burned down.

DROPPING THE PRONOUN
Šidnamenz Löösek

The relative pronoun is often dropped when it is the subject or object of the relative clause (this is not done with the other cases). This means that relative clauses can be ambiguous:

Dinam yuvišna otoǩ
Dinam(-?) love-3SG-REL man
    the man Dinam loves
       
or
    the man who loves Dinam

Miryad lerekin bulmaišna jio sunezeč pistak če vee.
ten:thousand lereks-ACC find-3SG:PAST-REL guy lucky [bastard] be:3SG EMPH
    That guy who found ten thousand lereks is one lucky bastard, isn't he.

-NURZ

This suffix is made of the relative -na plus a suffix -urz that turn adjectives into nouns. A whole relative clause can be topped off with -nurz to turn it into a noun:

olamioǩnurz
drink-2PL:PAST-REL-N
    what you drank

kina ver i pugrom fogaišna manclad cinaku ekilvek fadiomnurz
yesterday for in bus-INST leave-3SG:PAST-REL wallet(-ACC) give:back-INF-DAT chase-INF must-1SG:PAST-REL-N
    the one I had to chase yesterday to give back the wallet he left on the bus

Relative Clauses Without Verbs
Bez Jodonir Elebz-Garazinoki

-na can be stuck on the end of some noun cases as well. There is always an implied omitted verb:

ot bocomna šota
upon table-INST-REL vase
    the vase (that is) on the table

u Gazarduna telovukro
to Gazard-DAT-REL airship
    the airship (that flies) to Gazard

kra Republikarna Zara
from Republic-GEN-REL Zara
    Zara (who is) from the Republic

Many Rhean-written grammar books forbid this construction. You can ignore them.

Appositions
Datudaliki

The particle e marks an apposition, connecting two phrases that refer to the same thing. Usually, the more general term comes first and the specific name of who are what you're talking about comes second. Both sides of the apposition are always in the same case.

izuta e lai kaš
    your mother, the doctor

u yai družu e Tadu
    to my friend Tad

dorod ǧiar mačika e Naida deštiomuna niir e kina
when awful town-GEN APPOS Naid-GEN leave-1PL:PAST-REL day APPOS yesterday
    yesterday, the day when we left the awful town of Naid

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