Correlative
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, correlatives are words that are separated in a sentence but function together to perform a single function.
In English, examples are both—and, either—or, neither—nor, the—the ("the more the better"), so—that ("it ate so much food that it burst"), and if—then. In the Romance languages
, the demonstrative
pro-form
s function as correlatives with the relative
pro-forms, as autant—que in French
; in English, demonstratives are not used in such constructions, which depend on the relative only: "I saw what you did", rather than *"I saw that, what you did".
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, correlatives are words that are separated in a sentence but function together to perform a single function.
In English, examples are both—and, either—or, neither—nor, the—the ("the more the better"), so—that ("it ate so much food that it burst"), and if—then. In the Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, the demonstrative
Demonstrative
In linguistics, demonstratives are deictic words that indicate which entities a speaker refers to and distinguishes those entities from others...
pro-form
Pro-form
A pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in for another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context...
s function as correlatives with the relative
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
pro-forms, as autant—que in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
; in English, demonstratives are not used in such constructions, which depend on the relative only: "I saw what you did", rather than *"I saw that, what you did".
See also
- Pro-formPro-formA pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in for another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context...
(namely section Table of correlatives) - Correlative conjunction