Relative clauses in Gevey
Relative clauses are, in effect, modifier clauses that modify objects in other clauses. The simplest way of demonstrating relative clauses is through some examples:
- Dxone ye tjoel djevase. Dxone yuc maey wjiektjase.
- Dxone xek yuc maey wjiektjose ó ye tjoel djevase.
- John hears a bird while cooking the rice.
- Dxone ye loif kreexgase ïstadeefsubz. Loife yu pouzul tce tuseir pyimase.
- Dxone ye loiv xaagei yu pouzul tce tuseir pyimase ó kreexgase ïstadeefsubz.
- John sees the man who gives a stick to the dog in the field.
- Loife yu pouzul tce tuseir pyimase. Dxone ye tuseir kreexgase ïstandenubz.
- Loife yu pouzul tce tuseir yaaxuez Dxone kreexgase ïstandenubz ó pyimase.
- The man gives a stick to the dog that John sees in the garden.
Key points
- Relativising a clause allows it to be embedded within another clause, rather than following it; the relative clause generally follows the word it is modifying.
- The relative clause starts with a relative conjunction and ends with a closing ó; in cases where the relative clause ends the sentence ó can be dropped, and it will also often be dropped in more informal conversations. Grammarians generally disapprove of people dropping the close.
- In situations where the subject of a clause is being modified by a relative clause, the relative clause's verb will take the secondary (Type O) conjugation - even when the host clause's verb has taken the tertiary (Type I) conjugation.
- For subject-subject concatenations, the relative clause will change to reflect the subject's status.
- The shared object is usually dropped from the relative clause.
- There are in fact 9 (or 12) relative clause conjunctions; the choice of conjunction depends entirely on the case(s) of the object that is shared between the host and relative clauses.
- Relative clauses generally ignore whether an object has been promoted to the accusative by an intransitive or ditransitive verb - promoted obliques remain oblique, and need to use the oblique relative conjunctions.
The nine relative conjunctions are:
| Shared object case in the main clause | Shared object case in the relative clause | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Direct object | Oblique object | |
| Subject | xek, xak, xok, xuk | yaax | öix |
| Direct object | xaagei | yaaxei | öixei |
| Oblique object | xaaks | yaaxues | öixues |
Nesting relative clauses
- ĩČĆĽČĂ ŹČăı ơČĂ ĠŝČĉŀğČąƩ ŖČĉƩ ơČĆ ĮČăĻ ĕČĄŹČ㪠ŹďĀijĎĂ ĕČĂĮČĀĚČĆ ƈČĈĤČĀĚĎĂ ĚČĀįŎČĀŪČćŞĩČĀŌČĉēų ƉČĆ ŪČĂĮČĆĽČĂ ĴœČĈijČāŀ ƉČĆ ơČĉŷ ijČĀŗŎČĄŹČăŷ įƣČĀŪČĀĮČăƐ ŹďĀijĎĂ ơČĈ ŪčąřĚČĉĻ ƢČāƐ ơČĈ ŌČĆśĎćēĚČĉĻ ŪČĂğďĈ ƘČĂđƣčĉĶğČāŀĚČĄ ƉČĆ ĩČĈ ĮČăŀ įŎČĀŪČ檼ȹŭIJ ŴČĆįŎČĀĚČĂ.
- ʤɒ.ne ʒek je dvʊn.dɪst fʊst jɒ kem bɪ.ʒev ʒɑ.gɜ be.kæ.tɒ hʊ.ʧæ.tɜ tæ.kræ.sɒv.ʤæ.rʊbz ʰɒ se.kɒ.ne gɹʊ.gæn ʰɒ jʊʃ gæ.frɪ.ʒeʃ kjæ.sæ.kel ʒɑ.gɜ jʊ saɪf.tʊm ʲæl jʊ rɒ.vɔp.tʊm se.du ʷe.pjʌg.dæn.tɪ ʰɒ ʤʊ ken kræ.sɒv.nɪsk ʃɒ.kræ.te
- Dxone xek ye dvundist fust yo kem bixev xaagei bekato hutcatei takrasovdxarubz ó sekone grjugan ó yuc gafrixec kyasakel xaagei yu sieftum âl yu rovaoptum seduu ëpyuegdanti ó dxu ken krasovnisk cokrate.
- John, who wanted to become a teacher like his father - who had once been a professor at the university - took extra lessons, including mathematics and geometry, at his school.
Gevey has no particular problem with nesting one relative clause within another, though there is often a more simple way to say or write such complex constructions - for instance through good use of coordinating conjunctions.
- Dxone yuc gafrixec kyasakel dxu ken krasovnisk cokrate
- [main clause] John(+1) took extra lessons(+3) at/from his school
- Dxone ye dvundist fust yo kem bixef sekane grjugan
- [subclause 1] John wanted to become a teacher like his father(+2)
- bixvo Dxonem bekato hutcatei takrasovdxarubz
- [subclause 2] John's father was a professor at the university
- kyasakluc yu sieftum âl yu rovaoptum seduu ëpyuegdanti
- [subclause 3] the lessons included mathematics and geometry
- Dxone ye dvundist fust yo kem bixev xaagei bekato hutcatei takrasovdxarubz ó sekane grjugan
- Insert subclause 2 into subclause 1:
- Dxone xek ye dvundist fust yo kem bixev xaagei bekato hutcatei takrasovdxarubz ó sekone grjugan ó yuc gafrixec kyasakel dxu ken krasovnisk cokrate
- Insert subclauses 1+2 into main clause:
- Dxone xek ye dvundist fust yo kem bixev xaagei bekato hutcatei takrasovdxarubz ó sekone grjugan ó yuc gafrixec kyasakel xaagei yu sieftum âl yu rovaoptum seduu ëpyuegdanti ó dxu ken krasovnisk cokrate
- Insert subclause 3 into main clause: