Re: Relative clauses

caeruleancentaur wrote:
> I do not want Senjecas to have relative pronouns, adjectives, etc.  I
>[snip]
> construction, how does one differentiate between, e.g., "I know when
> you are going" and "I know where you are going"?
But these are surely indirect question, not relative constructions (at
least that is certainly what they are in Latin & Greek).

As I understand it 'when you are going' is a noun clause, being the
direct object of 'I know'. In Classical Latin:
scio quando iturus sis.

'quando' means "when" only as an _interrogative_. The relative "when" is
'cum', e.g.
cum ad flumen pervenissent pontem fecerunt.
When they arrived at the river, they made a bridge.

Classical Greek very often used definite article + participle where we
would use a relative clause. But thats another matter.

I'm not sure how you could do 'when you are going' and 'where you are
going' by participles; after all, a participle is a verbal adjective.
What would such an adjective agree with.

I guess you use some sort of gerund (i.e. verbal _noun_) as the direct
object of 'I know'. That would mean "I know your going" which, as you
wrote, would then need context to give further meaning such as 'when' &
'where'. I suppose one could have a system of gerunds such as:
temporal gerund ('when')
allative gerund ('where to')
ablative gerund ('where from')
inessive gerund ('where')
causal gerund ('why')
etc.

I don't know of any language that does that, but it would certainly add
interest  :)

However, as I say IMO the sentences you quote contain indirect
questions, so how does Senjecas deal 'indirect speech' ('ratio obliqua')?

I hope the above gives some ideas.

--
Ray
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ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
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"A mind which thinks at its own expense will always
interfere with language."         J.G. Hamann, 1760

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