Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses that refer back to a word (the antecedent) in the main clause. In English, these are often introduced by “who”, “which”, or “that”. Irish uses special particles instead of pronouns and makes a key distinction between direct and indirect relative clauses, which this page will introduce.

For syntactic reasons, relative clauses are used much more frequently in Irish than in English.

Direct vs Indirect Relative Clauses

The most important concept to understand is the difference between direct and indirect relative clauses.

A direct relative clause is used when the antecedent is directly the subject or object of the relative clause. The particle used to introduce the clause simply connects it to the antecedent.

• an fear a chonaic mé - the man that I saw

(Here, an fear is the direct object of the verb chonaic.)

An indirect relative clause is used in all other cases. Here, the antecedent is only indirectly part of the clause. A separate pronoun (called a resumptive pronoun) must appear inside the relative clause to represent the antecedent.

• an fear a bhfuil a mhac tinn - the man whose son is ill

(Here, an fear is linked to the clause by the possessive pronoun a meaning “his”.)

Position in the Sentence

Standard Position

Attributive relative clauses usually stand directly after their antecedent. The antecedent, along with its relative clause, can remain in its normal position in the sentence.

• Tháinig an fear a bhí ina chónaí i Spidéal isteach sa teach tábhairne. - The man who lived in Spiddal came into the pub.

Moving the Clause for Clarity

Often, a complex phrase consisting of an antecedent and a relative clause is moved to a different position in the sentence, usually to the end or the beginning, to make the sentence flow better.

Moved to the end:

• Tháinig isteach sa teach tábhairne an fear a bhí ina chónaí i Spidéal. - Into the pub came the man who lived in Spiddal.

Moved to the beginning (Left-dislocation): The phrase is moved to the front for emphasis, and a pronoun is left in its original place.

• An fear a bhí ina chónaí i Spidéal, tháinig sé isteach sa teach tábhairne. - The man who lived in Spiddal, he came into the pub.

Sometimes, the sentence is effectively restarted after the complex phrase, with a pronoun taking the place of the subject or object. This is known as anacoluthon.

• Fuair an fear a raibh ina chónaí i Spidéal, fuair sé bás. - The man who lived in Spiddal, he died.

Separated from the Antecedent

In some cases, the relative clause can be separated from its antecedent. This is most common with indefinite antecedents, or when no ambiguity would arise.

• Tháinig fear isteach sa teach tábhairne a bhí ina chónaí i Spidéal. - A man came into the pub who lived in Spiddal.
• Tá daoine ann nach mbeadh sásta glacadh leis. - There are people who would not be willing to accept it.

This also happens frequently in copula sentences, where the relative clause follows the subject pronoun, separate from the predicate noun it refers to.

• Is bean í atá ag snámh ar éigean in uisce. - She is a woman who is barely swimming against the current.
• Is é an chéad duine é a raibh an post seo aige riamh. - He was the first person who ever held this post.

The Antecedent

The antecedent (an réamhtheachtaí) is the word that the relative clause refers back to.

Most often, the antecedent is a noun.

• an teach a chonaic mé - the house that I saw

However, pronouns and even the personal endings of synthetic verbs can also be antecedents.

• Bhíomarna a bhí le pósadh ar an dtaobh amuigh. - We, who were to be married, were outside.
• Chuadar sin a raibh aithne agam orthu go Meiriceá. - Those whom I knew went to America.
• Sibhse atá tinn, gabhaigí ’na bhaile! - You who are ill, go home!

For a third-person singular antecedent referring to a person, the demonstrative pronoun an té (“the one who”) is typically used. For things, an rud or an ní (“the thing that”) is used.

• Chonaic mé an té a bhí ann. - I saw the one who was there.

In some copula sentences, especially cleft sentences, the antecedent is omitted entirely.

• Is é an fear a bhí ina chónaí i mBÁC. - It was the man who lived in Dublin. (Literally: “Is him the man [the one] who was…”)

Finally, sentences with the generalised relative pronoun have no separate antecedent; the pronoun itself contains the meaning of “all that” or “all who”.

• Chonaic mé a raibh ann. - I saw all that was there.