I looked into the word “relative” to investigate how to use it in English grammar.

The definition in the dictionary says:
(Grammar) denoting a pronoun, determiner, or adverb that refers to an expressed or implied antecedent and attaches a subordinate clause to it

I know there is relative pronouns and relative adverb but I didn’t quite understand whether relative could denote determiners. Is there any example of a sentence in that case?

Question

I looked into the word “relative” to investigate how to use it in English grammar.

The definition in the dictionary says:
(Grammar) denoting a pronoun, determiner, or adverb that refers to an expressed or implied antecedent and attaches a subordinate clause to it

I know there is relative pronouns and relative adverb but I didn’t quite understand whether relative could denote determiners. Is there any example of a sentence in that case?

Answer

"That" can be a relative pronoun or a demonstrative determiner:

He is the boy that goes to my school.

That boy goes to my school.

Answer

Many determiners can refer to something previously mentioned:
demonstrative: this, that, those, these
quatitative: some, a few, many, a little, little, few, none
possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
("whose" can be used as a determiner, as in
"Whose woods these are, I think I know.")

If there is one for which you want an example, let me know.

Answer

Example:

Person #1: “You know, you shouldn’t be smoking a pack a day (cigarettes), especially if you’re also a heavy drinker,”

Person #2: “Eh, it’s all relative.”

“Relative” meaning, the answer can vary depending on the perspective of the person you are speaking to.[Audio]

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