Types of relative clauses (Hungarian)

ExtRel: The head appears outside the relative clause. This is called an external relative clause.

IntRel: The head appears within the relative clause. This is called an internal relative clause.


(1) a folyó túlpart-já-n lak-ó ember nagyon vadász.

the river opposite_bank-3sg-sup live-prs.ptc man very good hunter

‘The man living on the opposite bank of the river is a very good hunter.’


(2) az ember, aki a folyó túlpart-já-n lak-ik, nagyon vadász.

the man who the river opposite_bank-3sg-sup live-prs.3sg very good hunter

‘The man, who lives on the opposite bank of the river, is a very good hunter.’


(3) amelyik ember a folyó túlpart-já-n lak-ik, (az) nagyon vadász.

which man the river opposite_bank-3sg-sup live-prs.3sg det very good hunter

‘The man, who lives on the opposite bank of the river; is a very good hunter.’


In Hungarian, the head noun of the relative clause is outside the subordination (1‒2), but sometimes it can be imbedded in the relative clause (Haader 2000a: 498‒502, Kenesei et al. 1998: 40‒41, É. Kiss 2003: 145‒157). If the construction has more arguments, it is more likely that the subordinate clause is introduced by a relative pronoun.

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás