Object-headed relative clauses (Hungarian)

RelPro: Object-headed relative clauses include both the nominal head of the relative clause in the main clause and an obligatory coreferential pronoun in the relative clause. The pronoun is marked as the object of the relative clause, while the nominal head is marked for the role it plays in the main clause.

CorrelPro: Object-headed relative clauses include both the nominal head in the relative clause, marked as the object, and a coreferential (personal or demonstrative) pronoun in the main clause, marked for the role it plays in the clause.


(1) ve-tt-em egy szék-et a város-ban.

buy-pst-1sg a chair-acc the town-ine

‘I bought a chair in the town.’


(2) le-ül-t-em a város-ban ve-tt szék-re.

down-sit-pst-1sg the town-ine buy-pst.ptc chair-sub

‘I sat down on the chair, which I bought in the town.’


(3) le-ül-t-em (ar-ra) a szék-re, ami-t a város-ban ve-tt-em.

down-sit-pst-2sg det-sub the chair-sub that-acc the town-ine buy-pst-1sg

‘I sat down on that chair, which I bought in the town.’


In Hungarian, the head noun of the relative construction in the object function (1) is typically expressed by subordination (3), where the case marked determiner (arra ‘to that’) can optionally appear in the matrix clause and the head noun is expressed by a pronoun in the subordinate clause. It is also possible to use participle constructions (2) where the relative construction takes the case ending required by the verb (sublative in the example above) (cf. Balogh 2000b: 444‒448, Kenesei et al. 1998: 37‒41).

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás