Relative Clauses

A relative clause modifies a verb phrase, noun phrase, or clause using a verb phrase complement whose implicit subject is the modified head.

A restrictive clause, beginning with nʊ (that), restricts its head to only those instances where the verb phrase complement is true (again, using the head as the subject).

Here, the relative clause nʊ tir helps define the entity the speaker is referring to: one belonging to the set of excellent dogs. Perhaps there are also some not so good dogs under consideration. The use of the restrictive clause rules these dogs out as referents of this noun phrase.

A non-restrictive clause, beginning with vew (which), provides additional information about the head but does not narrow down the set of possible referents. In other words, it describes the head without defining it.

Here, vew tir asserts that all dogs are good. We could remove the non-restrictive modifier entirely, and the meaning of gigi ⟨gi⟩ — thedefinite determiner ŋix would not change.

Restricted noun phrases, such as determiner phrases and pronouns, cannot be further modified by restrictive clauses or prepositional phrases. For instance, nʊ tayn ko (happy I) is ungrammatical. Conversely, non-restrictive clauses can modify restricted noun phrases.

In this example, vew tir does not contribute to the identification of the dog, nor does it describe dogs in general. It provides extra information about a particular dog that has already been identified.