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Relative adjectives are relative pronouns used as adjectives to modify or describe a noun or pronoun. They allow for clear meaning without repetition in sentences.
A relative adjective is basically a relative pronoun that is used within a sentence as an adjective, ultimately modifying or describing a noun or pronoun. For example, the word “that” is a relative pronoun and is often used in a sentence such as “I have a cat who eats a lot.” In this sentence, the word “that” is used as a pronoun instead of “cat” to indicate which object in the sentence “eat a lot”. If the relative pronoun “that” is used in an adjectival form, as in the sentence “Pass me that book,” it is a relative adjective since it describes the noun “book.”
One of the easiest ways to understand the purpose of a relative adjective is to first understand the relative pronouns. These are words that function like other pronouns, taking the place of a noun in a sentence, but doing so in reference to a noun already within that sentence. They are “relative” in that they cannot operate on their own and still express any kind of clear meaning. A pronoun like “he” still has a general meaning outside a specific context, while a pronoun like “that” is essentially meaningless without the noun to which it refers.
In a sentence like “The man wore a hat that made him look taller,” the words “that” and “he” are both pronouns that refer to other nouns. “He” refers to “man” which is used earlier in the sentence, but still has a meaning outside the context in which it is used. The word “that” in the example is essentially meaningless without its context, where it refers to the “hat” mentioned earlier to mean that it is what makes him “look taller”.
There are some contexts, however, where a relative pronoun can be used in an adjectival form, where they become a relative adjective. In a sentence like “Please give me that hat,” the word “that” now functions as an adjective. It’s still a relative pronoun as it has no intrinsic meaning outside of context, but in this context it works to modify the word “hat” in a way that specifies which one is being referred to in the sentence. Its function is much the same as an adjective like “small” or “blue” which could also describe the hat.
The role of a relative adjective is quite important, as it allows statements to have meaning without requiring repetition. Someone might say, “The hat on the table is mine, please give me the hat on the table,” but the repeated phrasing sounds strange. It is more natural for someone to say “The hat on the table is mine, please give me that hat” and use a relative adjective to make the meaning clear without repetition.
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