The attributive clause with conjunction what are examples. Complex sentences with subordinate clauses

Subordinate clause definitive

A subordinate clause that answers the question what? and referring to the member of the main sentence, expressed by a noun or a substantiated word. Definitive clauses are attached to the main clause with the help of allied words which, which, whose, what, where, where, from where, when, less often with the help of conjunctions to, like, as if, as if, exactly, etc. The wind is light and free, which happens only in the steppe(Furmanov). He keeps his eyes on the road that goes through the grove(Goncharov). Climbing up a small hillock, from where a narrow, barely noticeable forest path began, I looked around(Kuprin). A year will come, a black year for Russia, when the crown of the kings will fall(Lermontov). I didn’t have such an agreement to carry firewood(Bitter).

Substantive-defining sentence. Definitive subordinate clause referring to a member of the main clause, expressed by a noun, and containing a characteristic of an object or revealing its attribute. In some cases, the main sentence does not have a complete meaning without a subordinate clause and needs to be extended attributively, forming a close connection with it. It is very difficult to describe the feeling I experienced at that time.(Korolenko) (the sentence It is very difficult to portray a feeling is too general, indefinite). In other cases, the noun being defined in the main clause has a fairly specific meaning and does not need to be defined, so the attributive clause contains an additional message about the object being defined, and the connection between both parts of the complex sentence is less close. There were many springs here, which dug their minks under the cliffs (Gladkov). Definitive proposition. An attributive clause referring to a demonstrative or attributive pronoun in a main clause and specifying their meaning. Glory to those who fell in intelligence in fighting days (Surkov). Everyone he saw here had his own special knowledge (Fedin). This type of attributive clause is not recognized by all grammarians. Such objections are put forward;

1) the artificiality of the question that is posed to the pronoun in the main sentence. And let the one who invented my torment punish me(Lermontov) (which one?)',

2) inventing words that are not in the main sentence. I heard what you said cf.: I heard that word...). You can also make another specification of the pronoun then (that sentence, then message, etc.) But if the exclusion of any element affects the structure of the sentence ( cm. below), then why not allow that the inclusion of a new element is reflected in its structure?

3) insufficient consideration of the semantic side of the sentence. Such complex sentences as What fell from the cart, then disappeared and What fell from the cart, disappeared, do not differ from each other in content, and with the proposed classification, the subordinate clause in the first sentence is considered as attributive, and in the second - as explanatory;


Dictionary-reference book of linguistic terms. Ed. 2nd. - M.: Enlightenment. Rosenthal D. E., Telenkova M. A.. 1976 .

See what a "defining clause" is in other dictionaries:

    - (subordinate predicate) see attributive clause ...

    The same as the attributive clause ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

    A subordinate clause that answers any case question and referring to a member of the main clause that needs semantic expansion: without a subordinate clause, the main would be structurally and semantically incomplete. Adjunctive ... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

    A subordinate clause that explains the content of the main clause by comparison based on any associations; is attached to the main clause by conjunctions like, as if, as if, as if, exactly, just like, as if, etc ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

    - (gram.). O. A sentence is a subordinate clause that contains an expression of the attribute of an object whose name represents some member of the main clause. At the same time, it is completely indifferent what role this name plays in the main ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

    Constructions that are close in meaning, but expressed by different syntactic units (cf .: synonymous constructions). Usually, parallel syntactic constructions are formed by subordinate clauses and members of a simple sentence, more often ... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

  • - oh, oh. adj. to the appendage. || Being an appendage (in 2 meanings). Adnexal stomach in birds. adnexal organs in plants. ◊ subordinate clause gram. part of a complex sentence, syntactically subordinate to the main (subordinating) ... ... Small Academic Dictionary

A definitive clause is a subordinate clause of a complex sentence that refers to one member of the main clause, expressed by a noun or a pronoun with a subjective meaning (sometimes to the phrase "noun + demonstrative word"). For example: Road, which went into the distance, was very beautiful and I took with me those books, which I needed so much.

  • Definitive clauses explain main member sentences, revealing its features or clarifying the meaning of demonstrative pronouns. Definitive relations arise between the main and subordinate parts.
  • The adjective usually answers the question which? and joins the noun in the main clause with the help of allied words which, which, whose, what, where, where, when etc. For example: K artina ( which), which I saw in the back room, stunned me with its splendor[n., ( which- union. word)].
  • Definitive clauses always come after the noun they refer to. union word which the can be located not only at the beginning, but also in the middle of the subordinate part: A trapezoid was pushed into the opening of the half-open window sunlight, the upper corner of which touched the edge of the mirror cabinet.(D. Rubina) The subordinate attributive part can break the main part, being in the middle of it: The photograph that my father left me was always with me.
  • The defined word in the main part can have demonstrative words with it. then, that one, such and others, for example: In the country where I live, it never snows. This indicator word may be omitted, it is not mandatory.
  • Allied words agree in gender and number with the noun being defined in the main clause, and their case depends on syntactic role in the subordinate part (usually act as a subject or object). For example:

Severe frost does not joke with people in the taiga, which go into the taiga without mittens and hats; (the union word of which is the subject).

I asked for a book which brought from the library yesterday;(joint word which is an addition).

They were answered by an even rumble from San Marco, against the background whom the upper bells were ringing(D. Rubina); (joint word whom is an addition).

allied words in complex sentences with adjectives

Allied words in sentences with subordinate clauses can be divided into main (which, whose, what) and and non-basic (where, what, when, where, from where).

Non-basic can be replaced by the main allied word which the. For example :

Making my way along the shore to my hut, I involuntarily peered in that direction, where the day before the blind man waited for the night swimmer... (M.Yu. Lermontov).

Definitive clauses with non-basic allied words also answers the question which ? however, they have some peculiarities.

Adverbial clause with allied words where, where, where, when has additional value place or time. For example:

I stopped in the living room where all the passers-by stopped and where, meanwhile, there was no one to order the pheasant to be roasted. (M.Yu. Lermontov)

I stopped in the living room where(in which) all passers-by stopped and where(in which) meanwhile, there is no one to order to roast a pheasant.

Here is the window again where again do not sleep ... ( M. Tsvetaeva).

Streets, where we spent childhood and youth, will forever be remembered. (D. Rubina)

Onegin, remember that hour when in the garden, in the alley, did fate bring us together?(A.S. Pushkin)

union word what used only in the form of the nominative or accusative case (acts as a subject or direct object):

You sing me that song what old mother used to sing to us...(S. Yesenin) (union word what as an addition).

Unions as if, as if, as, as if bring an additional shade of comparison :

She had this feeling as if everyone turned away from her.

Pronoun-correlative sentences

Relative attributive clauses referring to demonstrative or attributive pronouns that, that, such, such, each, all, each, etc.., acting as the subject or nominal predicate in the main part are called pronominal-definitive (correlative).

The means of communication in them are relative pronouns who, what, which, what, which. For example: She laughed topics sweet laugh, which the was one of her main charms.(noun + indication word), ( which the- allied word)

Unlike proper attributive clauses, such clauses can stand not only after the word being defined, but also before it.

At the same time, pronouns that act as demonstrative words form correlative pairs with allied words: that - who, so - that, that - that, that - which, such - that, such - what etc.

After his painting, everyone began to see the London fog so, what the artist saw it.

Planes were coming So low, what one of them was shot down.

I took with me then, what was necessary.

This book is good topics, what allows you to think.

The next year blew such harvest, what it would be a shame not to eat.

Members of a sentence, parsing a sentence, means of connecting sentences - all this is the syntax of the Russian language. The attributive clause is an example of one of the most difficult topics in learning Russian syntax.

Relative clause: definition

An integral part of a complex sentence is the subordinate clause. The subordinate part is the part that is dependent on the main part. Lying in the fields White snow when they went to the village. Here is the main suggestion There was snow on the fields. It asks a question to the dependent part: lay (when?) when they went to the village. The subordinate clause is a separate sentence, since it has a predicative stem. However, being connected with the main member semantically and grammatically, it cannot exist independently. This is the difference between the main part of a complex sentence and the subordinate clause. Thus, a subordinate clause is a part of a complex sentence dependent on the main part.

Relative clause: types

There are four types of subordinate clauses. The type of the dependent part is determined by the question asked from the main sentence.

Kinds accessory parts
NameMeaningExample
definingOne word in the main sentence asks a question which? At that time, he led the ensemble, where Ilyin played. (ensemble (what?) where Ilyin played)
explanatoryFrom one word in the main sentence, the question of the indirect case is asked: what? what? how? about what? whom? to whom? by whom? about whom? Imagine how happy she will be! (can you imagine (what?) how happy she will be)
circumstantialFrom one word in the main sentence, the question of circumstance is asked: where? when? where? as? why? and othersHe did what cowards do. (acted (how?) like cowards do)
ConnectingFrom the entire main sentence, any question is asked.Was strong wind why the flights were cancelled. (flights were canceled (why?) because there was a strong wind)

Correctly determining the type of subordinate clause is the task that the student faces.

Relative attributive clause

Attributive, examples of which are given in the table, consists of two or more parts, where the main part is characterized by a subordinate clause. The attributive part refers to one word from the main clause. It is either a noun or a pronoun.

The attributive clause is an example of the formation of attributive relations between the main and dependent parts. One word from the main part is consistent with the whole subordinate clause. For example, Victor looked at the sea, in the vastness of which a ship appeared. (The sea (what?), in the expanses of which the ship appeared).

Definitive clause: features

There are some features in the Examples from the table to help you figure it out.

Sentences with relative clauses: examples and features
PeculiaritiesExamples
The attributive clause is attached to the main clause, usually by an allied word ( whose, which, what, where, what and others).

He was shocked by the picture (what?) that hung in the living room.

The city (what?), where magnolias grow, he remembered forever.

In the main part of the NGN there may be demonstrative pronouns associated with allied words that, that, such and others.

In the city (what?), where we rested, there are many historical monuments.

From the apple orchard there was such a fragrance (what?), which happens only on warm May days.

Definitive clauses must follow immediately after the word they define.

The photo (what?) that lies in his notebook was presented to him by Olga.

The day (what?) when they met was remembered by everyone.

Definitive clause (examples of sentences with a union word which the) can be separated from the main word by other members of sentences.

The room within which the gallery was located was well lit.

In the evenings, the sound of the sea was heard in the resort town, against which seagulls screamed.

Relative clauses

Compound sentences with a subordinate clause have one more feature. If in the main part of the NGN the subject or the nominal part of the compound nominal predicate is expressed by a definitive or demonstrative pronoun, on which the subordinate definitive part depends, then such a part is called correlative (pronoun-defining). That is, sentences in which there is a correlation between the pronoun in the main part and in the dependent part are sentences where there are pronominal-defining clauses.

Examples: He was only told what happenedrequired(ratio that + that). The woman swore so loudly that the whole square could hear(ratio so+that). The answer was the same as the question itself.(ratio such+what). The captain's voice was so loud and stern that the whole unit immediately heard and formed(ratio such+that). hallmark pronominal-defining clauses is that they can precede the main clause: Those who have not been to Baikal have not seen the true beauty of nature.

Definitive clause: examples from fiction

There are many variants of complex sentences with a subordinate clause.

Writers actively use them in their works. For example, I.A. Bunin: The northern county town (which one?), where my family stayed, ... was far from me. At an early dawn (what?), when the roosters are still crowing and the huts are smoking black, you will open the window, it used to be ...

A.S. Pushkin: In one minute the road skidded, the neighborhood disappeared into the mist (what?) ... through which white flakes of snow flew ... Berestov answered with the same zeal (what?) With which the chain bear bows to the gentlemen on the orders of his leader.

T. Dreiser: We can only console ourselves with the thought (what?) that human evolution will never stop... She was flooded with feelings (what?) that an outcast feels.

The relative attributive sentence (examples from the literature illustrate this) introduces an additional shade of the meaning of the main word, having a wide descriptive ability, allows the author of the work to colorfully and reliably describe this or that object.

Violation of the construction of sentences with a subordinate clause

In the examination work in the Russian language, there are tasks where the attributive clause is incorrectly used. An example of a similar task: H The clerk came to the city, who was in charge of financing the project. In this sentence, due to the separation of the subordinate part from the main part, a semantic shift occurred.

It is necessary to see the error and correctly use the attributive clause. Example: The official who was in charge of financing the project came to town. An error has been corrected in the proposal. In the speech of native speakers and in creative works students also encounter other errors when using sentences with relative clauses. Examples and characteristics of errors are given in the table.

Errors with defining clauses
ExampleCharacteristics of errorsCorrected version
She was rescued by someone she helped in the past. Unjustified deletion of the demonstrative pronounShe was rescued by someone she had helped in the past.
Narwhal is a unique mammal that lives in the Kara Sea. Incorrect agreement of the allied word with the main wordNarwhal is a unique animal that lives in the Kara Sea.
People opened their mouths in surprise, which were amazed at the action taking place. Logical and semantic connections are not observedPeople who were amazed by the action, opened their mouths in surprise.

Definitive clause and participial turnover

Sentences where there is a participial phrase are semantically similar to a complex sentence in which there is a definitive clause. Examples: Oak planted by great-grandfather turned into huge tree. - The oak that my great-grandfather planted turned into a huge tree. Two similar sentences have different shades of meaning. In the artistic style, preference is given to participle turnover, which is more descriptive and expressive. AT colloquial speech the attributive clause is used more often than the participial phrase.

4. Stylistic use of attributive clauses

In colloquial speech, especially in her oral, we mainly use simple sentences, and very often - incomplete (the absence of certain members is made up for by facial expressions, gestures); less commonly used complex (mainly demonic).

The use of complex sentences is a hallmark of book styles. At the same time, with The most common are sentences with an attributive clause (33.6%). Complex sentences are, as it were, “adapted” to express complex semantic and grammatical relationships that are especially characteristic of the language of science: they allow not only to accurately formulate a particular thesis, but also to support it with the necessary argumentation, to give scientific justification.

In the official business style, in second place in terms of frequency after attributive clauses, there are conditional clauses. AT various types texts, the ratio of types of complex sentences, of course, changes, but the strong predominance of conditional clauses in genres of a legal nature and a rather significant percentage in others determines the overall quantitative and qualitative picture of this functional style.

If in bookstores functional styles the choice of one or another type of complex sentence is associated, as a rule, with the logical side of the text, then in expressive speech its aesthetic side also becomes important: when choosing one or another type of complex sentence, its expressive possibilities are taken into account.

The master of the stylistic use of complex syntactic constructions was Leo Tolstoy. Simple, and especially short sentences, are rare in his work. Compound sentences are usually found in Tolstoy when depicting specific pictures (for example, in descriptions of nature):

"The next morning rising bright sun quickly ate the thin ice that tugged at the water, and the whole warm air trembled from the vapors of the revived earth that filled it. The young grass, old and emerging with needles, turned green, the buds of viburnum, currant and sticky spirit birch puffed out, and on the vine sprinkled with golden color, an exposed flying bee buzzed.

The writer's appeal to the life of society suggested to him a complicated one. Recall the beginning of the novel "Resurrection":

No matter how hard people tried, having gathered in one small place several hundred thousand, to disfigure the land on which they huddled, no matter how they stoned the earth so that nothing would grow on it, no matter how they cleaned off any breaking grass, no matter how they smoked with coal and oil, no matter how they pruned the trees and drove out all the animals and birds, - spring was spring even in the city. The sun warmed, the grass, reviving, grew and turned green wherever they scraped it off, not only on the lawns of the boulevards, but also between slabs of stones, and birches, poplars, bird cherry blossomed their sticky and odorous leaves, lindens puffed out bursting buds, jackdaws, sparrows and doves were already joyfully preparing their nests in spring, and flies buzzed against the walls, warmed by the sun. Both plants and birds were cheerful ", and insects, and children. But people - big, adult people - did not stop deceiving and torturing themselves and each other. People believed that it was not this spring morning, not this beauty of the God's world, given for the good of all beings, that was sacred and important - beauty that has to peace, harmony and love, but sacred and important is what they themselves invented in order to rule over each other.

On the one hand, complicated constructions, on the other hand, simple, "transparent", emphasize the contrasting juxtaposition of the tragedy of human relations and harmony in nature.

It is interesting to touch upon the problem of A.P. Chekhov and Tolstoy. Chekhov found an aesthetic justification for the famous novelist's adherence to the complicated language. S. Shchukin recalled Chekhov's remark: “Did you pay attention to Tolstoy's language? Enormous periods, proposals piled one on top of the other. Do not think that this is an accident, that this is a disadvantage. This is art, and it is given after labor. These periods give the impression of strength." Chekhov's unfinished work "Letter" expresses the same positive evaluation Tolstoy's periods: "...what a fountain gushing from under these "whom", what a flexible, slender, deep thought hides under them, what a screaming truth!

Tolstoy's artistic speech reflects his complex, in-depth analysis of the depicted life. The writer seeks to show the reader not the result of his observations (which could easily be presented in the form of simple, short sentences), but the search for truth itself.

Here is how the flow of thoughts and the change of feelings of Pierre Bezukhov are described:

“It would be nice to go to Kuragin,” he thought. But at once he remembered his word of honor given to Prince Andrei not to visit Kuragin.

But immediately, as happens with people who are called spineless, he so passionately wanted to once again experience this dissolute life so familiar to him that he decided to go. And immediately the thought occurred to him that this word meant nothing, because even before Prince Andrei, he also gave Prince Anatole the word to be with him; finally, he thought that all these words of honor were such conditional things, having no definite meaning, especially if one realized that perhaps tomorrow either he would die, or something so unusual would happen to him that there would be no more neither honest nor dishonest ... He went to Kuragin.

Analyzing this passage, we could transform it into one short one: Despite the word given to Prince Andrei, Pierre went to Kuragin. But it is important for the writer to show the hero's path to this decision, the struggle in his soul, hence the sentences of a complicated type.

At the same time, it is indicative that in the late period of Tolstoy's work he puts forward the demand for brevity. Since the 1990s, he strongly advises to carefully study the prose of A.S. Pushkin, especially Belkin's Tales. “The presentation always wins from the reduction,” he says to N.N. Gusev. The same interlocutor records interesting statement Tolstoy: “Short thoughts are good because they make you think. I don’t like some of my long thoughts, everything is chewed up in them too much.

Thus, in artistic speech stylistic use complex syntactic constructions are largely due to the peculiarities of the author's individual style of writing, although the "ideal" style seems to be laconic and "light"; it should not be overloaded with heavy complex structures.

5. Mistakes in the use of attributive clauses

In examination papers in the Russian language, there are often tasks where the attributive clause is incorrectly used. For example :

An official came to the city who was in charge of financing the project.

In this sentence, due to the separation of the subordinate part from the main part, a semantic shift occurred.

It is necessary to see the mistake and correctly use the attributive clause.

The official who was in charge of financing the project came to town.

Oh, the bug has been fixed.

In the speech of native speakers and in the creative works of students, there are other errors when using sentences with attributive clauses. Examples and characteristics of errors are given below.

1. Unjustified omission of the demonstrative pronoun:

She was rescued by someone she helped in the past.(Correctly: She was rescued by someone she helped in the past)

2. Incorrect agreement of the new word with the main word:

Narwhal is a unique mammal that lives in the Kara Sea. (Correctly: Narwhal is a unique mammal that lives in the Kara Sea.)

3. Logical and semantic connections are not observed:

People opened their mouths in surprise, which were amazed at the action taking place.(Correctly: People who were amazed by the action, opened their mouths in surprise.)

6. Definitive clause and participial turnover

Sentences where there is a participial turnover are semantically similar to the complex m, which has a definitive clause. For example:

Oak, planted by great-grandfather (definition expressed by participial turnover)

Oak, planted by great-grandfather turned into a huge tree.(defining clause)

Participial always can be replaced by the attributive clause m without losing its meaning. In the artistic style, preference is given to participle turnover, which is more descriptive and expressive. In colloquial speech, the attributive clause is used more often than the participial phrase.

Oh but s change in the sentence of the attributive clause by participial turnover is possible not always.

IT IS FORBIDDEN replace the attributive clause with participle turnover:

1) those clauses in which the new word WHICH is used with various prepositions (in which, with which, with which, etc.) or before it is any noun not in the nominative case

The Idiot is a novel in which Dostoevsky's creative principles are embodied to the fullest extent, and the amazing mastery of the plot reaches its true flowering.

2) the subordinate clause already has a subject, and the word WHICH is not in the nominative case:

In the forest I saw a small yellow deer accompanied by a mother deer.

3) in the main part there is a demonstrative pronoun (that, that, those, that, etc.) or in the subordinate clause there is participial turnover which cannot be removed.

When I remember Adeline Patti, I relive the state that I experienced while listening to her coloratura.

4) in the sentence, instead of the word WHICH, there are new words WHERE, WHERE, FROM, WHEN:

Not far from the house where the writer lived, a tall poplar grew (= Not far from the house where the writer lived, a tall poplar grew).

Members of a sentence, parsing a sentence, means of connecting sentences - all this is the syntax of the Russian language. The attributive clause is an example of one of the most difficult topics in learning Russian syntax.

Relative clause: definition

An integral part of a complex sentence is the subordinate clause. A subordinate clause is that part of a complex sentence that is dependent on the main one. There was white snow on the fields when they drove to the village. Here is the main suggestion There was snow on the fields. It asks a question to the dependent part: lay (when?) when they went to the village. The subordinate clause is a separate sentence, since it has a predicative stem. However, being connected with the main member semantically and grammatically, it cannot exist independently. This is the difference between the main part of a complex sentence and the subordinate clause. Thus, a subordinate clause is a part of a complex sentence, dependent on the main part.

Relative clause: types

In the syntax of the Russian language, four types of subordinate clauses are distinguished. The type of the dependent part is determined by the question asked from the main sentence.

Types of accessory parts
NameMeaningExample
definingOne word in the main sentence asks a question which? At that time, he led the ensemble, where Ilyin played. (ensemble (what?) where Ilyin played)
explanatoryFrom one word in the main sentence, the question of the indirect case is asked: what? what? how? about what? whom? to whom? by whom? about whom? Imagine how happy she will be! (can you imagine (what?) how happy she will be)
circumstantialFrom one word in the main sentence, the question of circumstance is asked: where? when? where? as? why? and othersHe did what cowards do. (acted (how?) like cowards do)
ConnectingFrom the entire main sentence, any question is asked.There was a strong wind, which is why the flights were canceled. (flights were canceled (why?) because there was a strong wind)

Correctly determining the type of subordinate clause is the task that the student faces.

Relative attributive clause

A complex sentence (CSP) with attributive clauses, examples of which are given in the table, consists of two or more parts, where the main part is characterized by a subordinate clause. The attributive part refers to one word from the main clause. It is either a noun or a pronoun.
The attributive clause is an example of the formation of definitive relations between the main and dependent parts. One word from the main part is consistent with the whole subordinate clause. For example, Victor looked at the sea, in the vastness of which a ship appeared. (The sea (what?), in the expanses of which the ship appeared).

Definitive clause: features

There are some peculiarities in NGN with attributive clauses. The examples in the table will help you understand.

Sentences with relative clauses: examples and features
PeculiaritiesExamples
The attributive clause is attached to the main clause, usually by an allied word ( whose, which, what, where, what and others).

He was shocked by the picture (what?) that hung in the living room.

The city (what?), where magnolias grow, he remembered forever.

In the main part of the NGN there may be demonstrative pronouns associated with allied words that, that, such and others.

In the city (what?), where we rested, there are many historical monuments.

From the apple orchard there was such a fragrance (what?), which happens only on warm May days.

Definitive clauses must follow immediately after the word they define.

The photo (what?) that lies in his notebook was presented to him by Olga.

The day (what?) when they met was remembered by everyone.

Definitive clause (examples of sentences with a union word which the) can be separated from the main word by other members of sentences.

The room within which the gallery was located was well lit.

In the evenings, the sound of the sea was heard in the resort town, against which seagulls screamed.

Relative clauses

Compound sentences with a subordinate clause have one more feature. If in the main part of the NGN the subject or the nominal part of the compound nominal predicate is expressed by a definitive or demonstrative pronoun, on which the subordinate definitive part depends, then such a part is called correlative (pronoun-defining). That is, sentences in which there is a ratio of the pronoun in the main part and the allied word in the dependent one are sentences where there are pronominal-defining clauses.

Examples: He was only told what happenedrequired(ratio that + that). The woman swore so loudly that the whole square could hear(ratio so+that). The answer was the same as the question itself.(ratio such+what). The captain's voice was so loud and stern that the whole unit immediately heard and formed(ratio such+that). A distinctive feature of pronominal-defining clauses is that they can precede the main clause: Those who have not been to Baikal have not seen the true beauty of nature.

Definitive clause: examples from fiction

There are many variants of complex sentences with a subordinate clause.
Writers actively use them in their works. For example, I.A. Bunin: The northern county town (which one?), where my family stayed, ... was far from me. At an early dawn (what?), when the roosters are still crowing and the huts are smoking black, you will open the window, it used to be ...

A.S. Pushkin: In one minute the road skidded, the neighborhood disappeared into the mist (what?) ... through which white flakes of snow flew ... Berestov answered with the same zeal (what?) With which the chain bear bows to the gentlemen on the orders of his leader.

T. Dreiser: We can only console ourselves with the thought (what?) that human evolution will never stop... She was flooded with feelings (what?) that an outcast feels.

The relative attributive sentence (examples from the literature illustrate this) introduces an additional shade of the meaning of the main word, having a wide descriptive ability, allows the author of the work to colorfully and reliably describe this or that object.

Violation of the construction of sentences with a subordinate clause

In the examination work in the Russian language, there are tasks where the attributive clause is incorrectly used. An example of a similar task: H The clerk came to the city, who was in charge of financing the project. In this sentence, due to the separation of the subordinate part from the main part, a semantic shift occurred.
It is necessary to see the error and correctly use the attributive clause. Example: The official who was in charge of financing the project came to town. An error has been corrected in the proposal. In the speech of native speakers and in the creative works of students, there are other errors when using sentences with attributive clauses. Examples and characteristics of errors are given in the table.

Errors with defining clauses
ExampleCharacteristics of errorsCorrected version
She was rescued by someone she helped in the past. Unjustified deletion of the demonstrative pronounShe was rescued by someone she had helped in the past.
Narwhal is a unique mammal that lives in the Kara Sea. Incorrect agreement of the allied word with the main wordNarwhal is a unique animal that lives in the Kara Sea.
People opened their mouths in surprise, which were amazed at the action taking place. Logical and semantic connections are not observedPeople who were amazed by the action, opened their mouths in surprise.

Definitive clause and participial turnover

Sentences where there is a participial phrase are semantically similar to a complex sentence in which there is a definitive clause. Examples: The oak planted by my great-grandfather turned into a huge tree. - The oak that my great-grandfather planted turned into a huge tree. Two similar sentences have different shades of meaning. In the artistic style, preference is given to participle turnover, which is more descriptive and expressive. In colloquial speech, the attributive clause is used more often than the participial phrase.



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