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Relative clause or coordinative clause? Could you please help me analyse these two sentences? The first one is from the essay Finding Fossil Man by Robin Place— These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migrations of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Is "none could write down what they did" a relative clause or coordinate clause? The second one is from The French Foreign Legion by Edgar O'Ballance— For some time Paris had been swarming with countless other discharged foreign soldiers who had served in the French army at various times under the Empire and the Republic, many of whom were in needy circumstances and open to suggestion, whilst others were openly looking for trouble and always ready to take part in any disturbance. Is "whilst others were openly looking for trouble and always ready to take part in any disturbance" a relative clause or coordinate clause? Would you please share your ideas?Another one from The Story of the French Foreign Legion: The Royal Ordinance decreed that there should be a legion formed of foreigners for service outside France, which was to be called the ‘Foreign Legion’ and it was to be part of the French army and under the control of the War Minister. 'And it was to be part of the French army and under the control of the War Minister' follows immediately, even without a comma, a preceding non-restrictive relative clause 'which was to be called the "Foreign Legion"'. Is it proper grammar-wise to join two different sorts of clauses, like a relative clause and a coordinate clause in this way?
Nov 10, 2017 5:55 AM
Answers · 2
This are very complicated structures, so I'm not to sure, but I don't think either of them are relative clauses. They are related to previously mentioned things in the paragraphs, but they are stand alone and they don't have a relative pronoun connecting them (who, whom, which, whoever, whomever, whichever, or that). "... something about migrations of people who lived long ago" 'who lived long ago' is an example of a (defining) relative clause, but I don't think the phrases you pulled out are.
November 10, 2017
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