Appendix
quick reference
ReferenceOne-page summary
The basic structure
[whu CLAUSE] NOUNwhuannounces a relative clause- The clause describes the noun
- The noun appears at the end, closing the clause
In a full sentence
[whu CLAUSE NOUN] MAIN-VERB
or
SUBJECT [whu CLAUSE NOUN] MAIN-VERB
Key facts
| Feature | Phi | English |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Pre-nominal (clause before noun) | Post-nominal (noun before clause) |
| Marker | Single whu for all cases | who, whom, which, that, where, when... |
| Closer | None needed (noun closes clause) | None (but can sprawl) |
| Gap | Position indicates role | Relative pronoun indicates role |
The gap positions
Subject gap: The head noun is the doer
whu ___ nophi kealo miona "the person who creates stories"
Object gap: The head noun is the receiver
whu mia ___ to theo shelu "the book that I read"
Oblique gap: The head noun fills a prepositional phrase; the preposition stays and its object is gapped
whu mia mua ___ to thalo shelira "the forest that I walked in"
Headless relatives
When the noun is implied, whu remains and the head goes unspoken:
whu lothea shelomu phue nai "one who understands love is wise"
Headless never means markerless: without whu, the words are a statement, not a thing.
What whu is NOT
- NOT a pronoun (doesn't change form, doesn't fill the gap)
- NOT optional, headed or headless
- NOT followed by a closer
Checklist
whuat the beginning- Complete clause (subject, verb, etc.)
- Gap where the head noun would be
- Head noun at the end
- Main clause continues after
ReferenceGlossary
Complementizer: A function word that introduces a subordinate clause. In Phi: whu, tha/tho, sha/sho, pha/pho.
Gap: The empty position inside a relative clause where the head noun would appear if it were a normal sentence.
Head noun: The noun being described by the relative clause. In Phi, it appears at the end of the clause.
Headed relative clause: A relative clause with an explicit head noun: "the book that I read."
Headless relative clause: A relative clause without an explicit head noun: "what I read" or "one who reads."
Post-nominal: Placed after the noun. English relative clauses are post-nominal.
Pre-nominal: Placed before the noun. Phi relative clauses are pre-nominal.
Relative clause: A clause that functions as a modifier, describing a noun by relating it to a situation or action.
Relativizer: A word that introduces a relative clause. In Phi: whu. In English: who, which, that, etc.
Relative pronoun: A pronoun that introduces a relative clause and stands in for the head noun inside it. English uses these; Phi does not.
ReferenceCommon vocabulary in examples
| Phi | Gloss | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| miona | person | person |
| shelu | book | book |
| nophi | story | story |
| peloru | flower | flower |
| shiro | tree | tree |
| shelira | forest | forest |
| thepalu | garden | garden |
| womu | home | home |
| ruela | path | path |
| lopia | child | child |
| kealo | create | create |
| theo | read | read |
| nila | see | see |
| haolu | speak | speak |
| hea | hear | hear |
| thumela | teach | teach |
| lothea | love | love |
| sano | know | know |
| shelomu | understand | understand |
| thuroa | grow | grow |
| naphe | help | help |
| howela | receive | receive |
| shua | come | come |
| kamo | arrive | arrive (at a place, with mua) |
| thalo | walk | walk |
| mioru | beautiful | beautiful |
| phue | wise | wise |
| serao | old | old |
| whalo | large | large |
| sonu | alone | alone |
| shea | peace | peace |
| mua | LOC | in, at |
| nia | on | on |
| wei | DAT | to, for (recipient) |
| kau | ALL | to (goal of motion) |
| wea | TOWARD | toward (without arrival) |
| to | PST | past tense |
| so | FUT | future tense |
| ma | NEG | negation |
ReferenceCross-reference to main manual
This pamphlet expands on chapter 20, Relative clauses, in the Phi manual.
Related chapters:
- Chapter 9, the particle system: how particles work in relative clauses
- Chapter 13, pronouns: topic-drop and when subjects can be omitted
- Chapter 19, subordinate clauses: the complementizers tha/tho, sha/sho, pha/pho
Related grammar documents:
- complementizer_reference.md, full reference for all complementizers including whu
ReferenceFurther practice
After completing this pamphlet:
- Re-read Chapter 20 in the main manual
- Find relative clauses in the example texts throughout the manual
- Practice translating simple English relative clauses daily
- Try writing a journal entry in Phi using relative clauses
- Listen for (or imagine) how Japanese handles relatives: same pre-nominal structure
Pre-nominal relative clauses are ordinary grammar for speakers of Japanese, Korean, and Turkish. Phi asks nothing that hundreds of millions of people do not already do.