there are three "relative" parts of speech ("relative" being a kind of label that identifies function rather than part of speech):
1. "That's the guy who (pronoun) stole my purse!"
2. "She's reading Homer, from which (adjective) author she will indubitably learn a great deal." (archaic in English)
3. "That's the way whence (adverb) we came." (archaic in English)
1. relative pronoun = 2. relative adjective in form in Greek (cf. Lat. qui quae quod): ος, η, ο
fancy by-forms are used to indicate:
quantity: οσος, η, ον (Lat. quantus) (its correlative demonstrative form: τοσος, τοσουτος)
quality: οιος, α, ον (Lat. qualis) (its correlative demonstrative form: τοιος, τοιουτος)
3. relative adverbs: ως ("as"), οιον ("as", lit. "what kind-ly"), οσον ("as", lit. "how much-ly")
add -περ to any of these forms to make the relative point more precisely to its antecedent:
"That's exactly the guy who stole my purse!"
twelve relative rules
1. all relatives have antecedents, whether explicit on the page or implied
"That's the guy (antecedent) who stole my purse!"
"Do what I say." (implied antecedent="the thing" or some such)
2. relative clauses can be classified semantically as either having definite or indefinite antecedents
definite: "That's the guy who stole my purse."
indefinite: "I hate people who go around stealing purses"="Whoever goes around stealing purses, I hate."
indefinites always imply the English word "ever", Gk and Lat. have "ever" in οσ-τις and qui-cumque etc but frequently change the mood of the verb to denote indefiniteness: ποιησον ο εκελευσε vs ποιησον ο κελευσηι
3. all relative clauses can unpacked as a demonstrative plus coordinating conjunction
"That's the guy who stole my purse!" = "That's the guy! And he stole my purse!"
"She's reading Homer. And from this author she will indubitably learn a great deal."
"That's the way. And we came that way."
4. relatives pronouns and adjectives agree with their antecedent in gender and number
5. but not necessarily case, since the relative word introduces a clause with its own verb
"That's the guy who (subject of clause) stole my purse!"
"That's the guy whom (object of verb in clause) I accused of stealing my purse!"
6. Greek (and esp. Latin) uses relatives more than English as a way of expressing abstract ideas (eg "what he did"="his accomplishments") and in different ways (eg relative adverbs frequent)
7. just because you've identified a word as relative doesn't mean you've figured out its part of speech
8. a "correlative" sentence always features an explicit demonstrative in Greek (as antecedent) and relative: eg "I don't hate him as much as you do" = "How much you hate him--that much I don't hate him"; they frequently feature "as x as" in fluent English and omit the demonstrative
9. the relative pronoun can be attracted into the case of the antecedent and vice versa
10. using μη in a relative clause with the indicative makes the clause indefinite
11. putting the verb in the subjunctive (in primary seq.) or optative (in secondary seq. unless deliberately left vivid in the subj.) makes the clause indefinite
12. the relative clause is the origin of result and purpose clauses and conditional and time clauses, ie these clauses imitate the syntax of the relative clause (esp. regarding definite and indefinite constructions)
exercises
nb extra rule of relatives: frequently the English relative can be rendered by a Greek participle: try both in these exercises where possible
1. Those judges are going to hear me.
2. Those are the judges who are going to hear me making my self-defence.
3. I see the judges who are going to hear me speaking.
4. I saw the judges who were going to hear me making my self-defence.
5. I fear the judges who are going to hear me speaking.
6. I feared the judges who were going to hear me speaking.
7. May the judges who are about to hear me today be good! (use opt. of wish in main clause)
8. May you, men on Athens, who are about to hear me make my self-defence, be just! (use opt. wish)
9. May whoever hears me today be good! (use opt. wish).
10. May you be as just as he is! (=How just he is, may you be that just!)
11. I wish you could be like her.
12. He was like him in every way.
13. I wish you could be as good to me as I am to you.
14. I wish you would be the kind of judges to me (προς εμε) that you would be to yourselves.
15. Everyone who speaks the truth is just.
16. Whoever does not speak the truth is not just.
17. Do (pl.) what he told you to do.
18. Do (pl.) whatever he commands.
19. If he ordered you to do something, do it.
20. If he ordered you to do something, do it.
21. I arrived (<αφικνεομαι) when (οτε) Socrates did.
22. I was laughing when Socrates was speaking.
23. I laugh whenever Socrates speaks.
24. I used to laugh whenever Socrates spoke.
25. I waited until Socrates arrived.
26. Let's wait for Socrates to arrive.
27. I waited for Socrates to arrive.
28. I'm going into town to (ινα) find some friends.
28. I went into town to find some friends.
30. Do what you want.
31. She does whatever her husband wants.
32. He used to do whatever his wife wanted.
33. I wish you would do what I want!
34. He was evil enough to kill a man.
35. ουτως μεγας ην ωστε πολλα φαγειν τε και πινειν.
36. ουτως μεγας ην ο χειμων ωστε πολλας πολεις απολεσθαι.
37. δυναμαι ταυτα ποιησαι.
38. οιος τ'ειμι ταυτα ποιειν.
39. οιος τ'ει ταυτα ποιειν.
40. εδυναμην ταυτα ποιειν.
41. εδυνω ταυτα ποιησαι.
42. οιοι τ'εσμεν ταυτα ποιειν.
43. οιος τ'ην ταυτα ποιειν.
44. δυναιμην ταυτα ποιειν.
45. οιος τ'ειην ταυτα ποιειν.
46. νομιζω σε οιον τ'ειναι ποιησαι.
47. ενομιζον οιος τ'ειναι ποιειν.
48. οιον τ'ην ταυτα ποιειν.
49. ενομισα οιον τ'ειναι.