A relative pronoun introduces a clause that is related to the main sentence through the noun or pronoun the relative pronoun refers to. In English, relative pronouns are who/whom, which, and that. In these sentences, the relative pronoun is in boldface, the noun or pronoun it refers to in the main sentence is in italics, and the relative clause is underlined.
As the third sentence shows, the relative pronoun is sometimes implied in English. This doesn't happen in Latin; in Latin the relative pronoun is always used.
Note that who, whom, and which, when used to ask questions in English, are not relative pronouns; they are interrogatives. A relative pronoun will always refer to a noun or pronoun in the main sentence, even if that noun or pronoun is only implied.
The relative pronoun is quī, quae, quod, and is declined as below. You'll notice that it is declined similarly to the numerals unus and duo and the demonstratives like ille and hic, but it has a few irregularities of its own.
| Singular | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nom: | quī | quae | quod |
| Gen: | cuīus | cuīus | cuīus |
| Dat: | cui | cui | cui |
| Acc: | quem | quam | quod |
| Abl: | quō | quā | quō |
| Plural | |||
| Nom: | quī | quae | quae |
| Gen: | quōrum | quārum | quōrum |
| Dat: | quibus | quibus | quibus |
| Acc: | quōs | quās | quae |
| Abl: | quibus | quibus | quibus |
The relative pronoun takes its case from the relative clause it introduces, but it matches its antecedent (the noun or pronoun it relates to) in gender, number, and person. For example:
The relative pronoun, quī, matches its antecedent, puerum, in gender (masculine) and number (singular), and is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the relative clause “who carried the grain.” Often it helps to look at the relative clause as if it were a complete sentence on its own, to help see what the case of the relative pronoun should be. (This is one area where it helps to have a good understanding of English grammar. If you have a good handle on “who/whom” in English, getting it right in Latin will be easy. On the other hand, learning to get it right in Latin will make “who/whom” a breeze.) Some more examples:
The relative pronoun, cuīus, matches puellam in gender and number (feminine singular), and has the genitive case because of its use in the relative clause (“whose horse was white” = “the horse of whom was white”).
In this case, the antecedent is a pronoun that could have been left out. Quos is in the accusative because it is the object of the verb servo in the relative clause, and masculine plural to match the antecedent “they” from the main sentence.
Cui is in the dative because it's the indirect object of “I gave,” and feminine singular to match its antecedent puella.
Quibus is the ablative of place where, and neuter plural to match the antecedent oppida.
Note that since qui is first person plural to match its antecedent nos (we), its verb navigamus is also first person plural.
When the relative pronoun is combined with cum in the ablative, cum is attached to it as a suffix like the personal pronouns like mecum and nobiscum.
-tūdō, -tūdinis - When this suffix is added to an adjective, it creates a feminine third declension noun that names the quality of the adjective, like great → greatness. Examples:
| Adjective | Noun | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| altus | high | altitūdō | high-ness = height | |
| fortis | brave | fortitūdō | brave-ness = bravery | |
| latus | wide | latitūdō | wide-ness = width | |
| longus | long | longitūdō | long-ness = length | |
| magnus | great | magnitūdō | greatness, size | |
| pulcher | beautiful | pulchritūdō | beautiful-ness = beauty | |
| similis | similar, like | similitūdō | likeness, similarity | |
Dicō joins two words we've learned already, ducō and faciō, in having an irregular form in the singular active imperative. These three verbs (and at least one more we'll learn later) do not take the -e ending that third conjugation verbs regularly take for the imperative. So their singular imperative forms are simply their stems: dic, duc, and fac.
Bibō has no fourth principal part, which means it is never used in the passive (which we haven't learned yet).
Petō has a wide variety of meanings which all carry the idea of coming up to someone or something with a purpose. You might come up to someone to ask him something, or to attack him.
Homō and Vir. Both words are commonly translated as “man” in English, but homō means human being, or man as opposed to animals, while vir means “man” as opposed to woman. Homō in the plural (hominēs) may mean “people.” Vir can also mean “manly man” or “hero,” in the right context.
These are a few passages from the 1962 Roman Missal. Vocabulary words we haven't encountered yet are in the footnotes; run your mouse over the little digits to pop them up.
The Hail Mary. Notice there are no verbs at all in the first half; they're all implied.
Find an English word derived from each Latin word in the vocabulary.
The relative pronouns are tricky, especially if you didn't learn them well in English. But they're used constantly in Latin, so the sooner you get them down pat the better. Next lesson we'll move on to interrogative pronouns and adjectives, which are similar.
These are a few passages from the 1962 Roman Missal. Vocabulary words we haven't encountered yet are in the footnotes; run your mouse over the little digits to pop them up.
The Hail Mary. Notice there are no verbs at all in the first half; they're all implied.
| Ave Maria, gratia14) plena15), | Hail Mary, full of grace, |
| Dominus tecum; | the Lord (be) with you; |
| benedicta16) tu in mulieribus17), | blessed are you among women, |
| et benedictus fructus18) | and blessed is the fruit |
| ventris19) tui, Jesus. | of your womb, Jesus. |
| Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, | Holy Mary, Mother of God, |
| ora pro nobis peccatoribus20), | pray for us sinners, |
| nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. | now and at the hour of our death. |