Relative adverb
Relative adverb is a subtype of the part of speech adverb that is used to designate words that introduce a relative clause and have the function of an adverbial in the relative clause . Examples are the words where and how in:
„Das ist genau die Stelle, wo das Verbrechen geschah.“ „Er staunt über die Art, wie sie sich aus der Affäre zieht.“
Delimitations
Differentiation from relative pronouns
The separate designation "relative adverb" is necessary if pronouns are understood in the strict sense as words that are associated with the part of speech noun or noun and have the inflection characteristics typical of nouns such as number, gender and case. Then only those elements are designated as relative pronouns such as the one, the, the / his / the ... / which / ... etc., which have the same characteristics and which accordingly only function as subject or object in the relative clause. Words introducing relative clauses of the type like, where , etc. then result in a separate class.
Notwithstanding this, the relative adverb has the function in common with a pronoun of taking up a preceding noun; The relative adverb also belongs to a more general class of “pro forms”.
Differentiation from the relative clause conjunction wo
In German dialects and colloquial language, relative clauses sometimes appear, which are introduced with wo , but where this is not a relative adverb. Examples:
Suche einen netten Vermieter, der wo nichts dagegen hat, dass ich noch in Ausbildung bin. Dann findest du jemanden, wo immer zu dir steht.
This wo , which can also appear together with a relative pronoun (as in the first example above), does not have the meaning of the local adverb wo and is therefore not a relative adverb, but rather a conjunction. Even if the accompanying relative pronoun is omitted in the second example, the relative clause connection is based on the subject of the relative clause (which is then only noticeable through the subject gap); the connection is not based on an adverbial and therefore there cannot be a relative adverb. For this construction see also under relative pronouns # demarcation between relative pronouns and conjunctions in German and under complementers .
Form of the relative adverbs
Forms on "W-"
In today's German, relative adverbs usually have the same form as question adverbs . This means that some relative clauses are outwardly difficult to distinguish from embedded interrogative sentences, especially free relative clauses .
In contrast to relative pronouns, relative adverbs have the same form in attributive and free relative clauses:
Jemand, der so viel Geld verdient, kann auch etwas abgeben. (Relativpronomen, attributiv) Wer so viel Geld verdient, kann auch etwas abgeben. (freier Relativsatz)
die Stelle, wo ich bin (Relativadverb, attributiv) Ich bleibe, wo ich bin. (freier Relativsatz)
One of the few differences is that the word when is used as a question adverb and for the formation of free relative clauses, but less for the formation of attributive relative clauses. This is judged slightly differently by grammarians:
Ich arbeite, wann ich will. (freier Relativsatz) ? die Zeit, wann er ankommt. (attributiv?)
Forms on "D-"
In addition to the "W-words" shown, there are relative clauses, especially in the older written language, which are introduced with demonstrative adverbs on "d-", for example:
in dem Moment, da er das erkannte … (= Moment, in dem / wo / als er das erkannte). „Jakob aber richtete ein steinernes Mal auf an dem Ort, da er mit ihm geredet hatte.“ (= an dem Ort, wo…)
Particularly extended forms of this type are no longer common in contemporary German (the following example is a document from the 18th century):
[Er bat ihn, dass] „nichts vorgehen sollte, davon er ihm nicht Nachricht geben würde.“ (= nichts, wovon er ihm nicht Nachricht geben würde)
Even in recent times, however, this is occasionally found in poetic language:
„Mit wechselndem Schlüssel / schließt du das Haus auf, darin / der Schnee des Verschwiegenen treibt.“ (Paul Celan: „Mit wechselndem Schlüssel“, 1954)
literature
- DUDEN. The grammar. 8th edition. Dudenverlag, Mannheim 2009, ISBN 978-3-41104-048-3 .
- Pittner, Karin: Adverbials in German. (= Studies on German grammar, 60). Stauffenburg Verlag, Tübingen 1999, ISBN 3-86057-450-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ from Dudengrammatik (2009), p. 578.
- ↑ Dudengrammatik 2009, p. 578.
- ↑ According to Dudengrammatik (2009), p. 578, when could not be used as a relative adverb at all. Pittner (1999) refers to free relative clauses and also sees an attributive connection ... then, when ... as grammatically possible (p. 226).
- ↑ Genesis 35:14; Luther Bible 1912. [1]
- ↑ G. de la Vega: History of the Conquest of Florida. 1753. p. 406 .