Phi pamphlets — Part 3: Headed relative clauses: examples

Fluency with whu is mostly a matter of volume: enough examples, said aloud, until the order stops being a puzzle and becomes a habit. Each example below is a complete sentence. Give each one your voice; the eye alone will not build the reflex.

01Subject gap examples

The head noun is the subject inside the relative clause: the one doing the action.

Basic actions

whu nophi kealo miona phue nai

REL story create person wise be

(The person who creates stories is wise.)

whu mua shelira nai ruela mioru nai

REL LOC forest be path beautiful be

(The path that is in the forest is beautiful.)

whu to shua miona mia melu nai

REL PST come person 1SG friend be

(The person who came is my friend.)

whu lopia thumela miona ha nai

REL child teach person PROX be

(The person who teaches children is here.)

whu thuroa peloru mioru nai

REL grow flower beautiful be

(The flower that grows is beautiful.)

whu mioru nai womu mia womu nai

REL beautiful be home 1SG home be

(The home that is beautiful is my home.)

With tense particles

whu to naphe miona mia melu nai

REL PST help person 1SG friend be

(The person who helped is my friend.)

whu so shua miona shia nai

REL FUT come person 3SG be

(The person who will come is them.)

whu to thuroa peloru mioru nai

REL PST grow flower beautiful be

(The flower that grew is beautiful.)

With aspect particles

whu ro thumela miona phue nai

REL HAB teach person wise be

(The person who habitually teaches is wise.)

whu si thuroa shiro whalo nai

REL IPFV grow tree large be

(The tree that is growing is large.)

With negation

wa whu to ma shua miona shia nai

Q REL PST NEG come person 3SG be

(Is the person who didn't come them?)

whu ma thuroa peloru thiku nai

REL NEG grow flower small be

(The flower that doesn't grow is small.)

02Object gap examples

The head noun is the object inside the relative clause: the thing receiving the action.

Basic actions

mia whu mia to nila shelu lothea

1SG REL 1SG PST see book love

(I love the book that I saw.)

whu thia to kealo nophi mioru nai

REL 2SG PST create story beautiful be

(The story that you created is beautiful.)

mia whu shia thumela lopia sano

1SG REL 3SG teach child know

(I know the child whom they teach.)

whu mia to theo shelu serao nai

REL 1SG PST read book old be

(The book that I read is old.)

whu shia to howela peloru mioru nai

REL 3SG PST receive flower beautiful be

(The flower that they received is beautiful.)

With multiple actors

mia whu thia wei mia to haolu nophi shelomu

1SG REL 2SG DAT 1SG PST speak story understand

(I understand the story that you told me.)

mia whu shia wei lopia to loa peloru sano

1SG REL 3SG DAT child PST give flower know

(I know the flower that they gave the child.)

With tense and aspect

whu mia so theo shelu ha nai

REL 1SG FUT read book PROX be

(The book that I will read is here.)

whu shia ro kealo nophi mioru nai

REL 3SG HAB create story beautiful be

(The stories that they habitually create are beautiful.)

With negation

whu mia to ma nila miona shia nai

REL 1SG PST NEG see person 3SG be

(The person whom I didn't see is them.)

mia whu thia to ma theo shelu wilao

1SG REL 2SG PST NEG read book long-for

(I long for the book that you didn't read.)

03Locative and oblique gap examples

The head noun fills a prepositional phrase inside the relative clause.

Location

whu mia mua to thalo shelira mioru nai

REL 1SG LOC PST walk forest beautiful be

(The forest that I walked in is beautiful.)

whu shia mua nai womu whalo nai

REL 3SG LOC be home large be

(The home that they are in is large.)

whu mia mua to nulae womu mia womu nai

REL 1SG LOC PST sleep home 1SG home be

(The home that I slept in is my home.)

The preposition stays inside the clause; only its object is gapped. Hearing a preposition whose object never arrives tells you the head fills that slot.

Recipient

whu mia wei to haolu miona ha nai

REL 1SG DAT PST speak person PROX be

(The person whom I spoke to is here.)

whu shia wei peloru to loa miona mia melu nai

REL 3SG DAT flower PST give person 1SG friend be

(The person to whom they gave a flower is my friend.)

04Relative clauses as sentence subjects

The entire relative clause + noun phrase serves as the subject of the main clause.

whu shea kealo miona phue nai

REL peace create person wise be

(The person who creates peace is wise.)

whu ma lothea miona sonu nai

REL NEG love person alone be

(The person who does not love is alone.)

whu serao nai shelu ruka nai

REL old be book complex be

(The book that is old is complex.)

whu mia to shelomu nophi mia ka phaelo

REL 1SG PST understand story 1SG CAUS feel

(The story that I understood moves me.)

whu mua shelira thuroa shiro whalo nai

REL LOC forest grow tree large be

(The tree that grows in the forest is large.)

05Relative clauses as sentence objects

The relative clause + noun phrase serves as the object of the main verb.

mia whu shia to kealo nophi theo

1SG REL 3SG PST create story read

(I read the story that they created.)

wa thia whu mia to nila miona sano

Q 2SG REL 1SG PST see person know

(Do you know the person whom I saw?)

mia whu mioru nai peloru lothea

1SG REL beautiful be flower love

(I love the flower that is beautiful.)

shia whu mua shelira nai ruela nila

3SG REL LOC forest be path see

(They see the path that is in the forest.)

lo mia whu womu to kealo miona naphe

PL 1SG REL home PST create person help

(We help the person who created the home.)

06Relative clauses with prepositions

The relative clause + noun phrase follows a preposition in the main clause.

mia nia whu mua shelira nai ruela thalo

1SG ON REL LOC forest be path walk

(I walk on the path that is in the forest.)

shia mua whu mia to kealo womu nai

3SG LOC REL 1SG PST create home be

(They are in the home that I created.)

mia wei whu shea kealo miona haolu

1SG DAT REL peace create person speak

(I speak to the person who creates peace.)

07Stacking modifiers

Multiple descriptors can precede the noun: relative clause, then adjectives.

mia whu mia to nila mioru serao shelu lothea

1SG REL 1SG PST see beautiful old book love

(I love the beautiful old book that I saw.)

The order is: [relative clause] + [adjectives] + [noun]

whu thuroa whalo mioru shiro mia shiro nai

REL grow large beautiful tree 1SG tree be

(The large beautiful tree that grows is my tree.)

mia whu shia to kealo newu mioru nophi theo

1SG REL 3SG PST create new beautiful story read

(I read the new beautiful story that they created.)

08Extended examples with context

These examples tell mini-stories to show relative clauses in natural discourse.

The gardener

mia serao miona sano. whu peloru thumela miona phue nai.

1SG old person know. REL flower teach person wise be.

(I know an old person. The person who teaches about flowers is wise.)

shia whu mia to nila peloru ka thuroa. mioru nai.

3SG REL 1SG PST see flower CAUS grow. beautiful be.

(They grow the flowers that I saw. [The flowers] are beautiful.)

The book

mia whu shia to kealo shelu theo. ruka nai.

1SG REL 3SG PST create book read. complex be.

(I read the book that they created. [It] is complex.)

whu mia to shelomu nophi mia phaelo.

REL 1SG PST understand story 1SG feel.

(The story that I understood moves me.)

The path home

whu mua shelira nai ruela mioru nai.

REL LOC forest be path beautiful be.

(The path that is in the forest is beautiful.)

mia nia ha ruela to thalo. mua whu mia to nila womu to kamo.

1SG ON PROX path PST walk. LOC REL 1SG PST see home PST arrive.

(I walked on this path. [I] arrived at the home that I saw.)

The three little stories are the real exercise: relative clauses doing quiet work inside ordinary talk, identifying a person, a book, a way home.