by Max Wheeler
*Qui vindran seran benvinguts.
Els qui vindran seran benvinguts./Aquells qui vindran seran benvinguts.
Those who come/Whoever comes will be welcome.
Adverbial question words (on ‘where’, quan ‘when’ and com ‘how’, see 31.8) can also function as headless relatives:
Ho posarem on tu diguis. We’ll put it wherever you say.
Quan tu vols és massa tard per a mi. The time/When you say is too late for me.
ÉS millor com ho fa ella. The way she does it is best.
Note that, unlike English ‘what’, Catalan què cannot be used in a headless relative construction; el que or allò que must be used (further examples and discussion at 9.2.2):
El que més m’agrada és escoltar música. What I like best is to listen to music.
31.8 ‘ADVERBIAL’ RELATIVES
The question-words (on, quan, com) can function as relative pronouns, as their English counterparts can, after suitable antecedents denoting places, times, or manners.
On ‘where’/‘in which’/‘on which’/‘at which’ is generally equivalent to en què, a què (or en el qual, al qual, etc.):
la sala on ens reunim the room where/in which we meet
l’obstacle on tots ensopeguem the obstacle we all stumble over
la porta per on entraven les autoritats the door the authorities went in through
Quan ‘when’ occurs only in non-restrictive clauses. See 31.2.1.
fins i tot en aquell temps, quan la vida era molt més dura
even at that time, when life was much harder
Com ‘how’ may stand as a relative pronoun with a manner antecedent, or alone as a headless relative representing la manera en què or la manera com ‘the way that/in which’:
T’has de fixar (en la manera) com ho fa.
You must notice the way she does it.
No m’agrada com em mira la gent
I don’t like the way (that) people are looking at me.
31.9 RELATIVE ADJECTIVES
The compound el qual, etc., discussed in 31.4, has in origin an adjectival function, which is seen in the following example:
Han imposat unes normes noves, les quals normes implicaran diversos canvis de procediment.
They have imposed some new regulations, which (regulations) will entail several changes in procedure.
Invertiren tres milions de dòlars, a la qual suma es va afegir la subvenció estatal
They invested three million dollars, to which amount the state subsidy was added.
This relative adjective, however, is very sparingly used, even in formal writing, being characteristic of legal language. Alternative constructions are made by using el qual without a following noun, by repeating the antecedent (or a synonym) before a que clause in apposition, or by expressing the idea through a linked clause headed by a demonstrative:
Han imposat unes normes noves, les quals implicaran …
They have imposed some new rules, which imply …
Els posaren una multa de vint mil pessetes, quantitat que van haver d’entregar a l’acte.
They were fined 20,000 pesetas, which they had to pay on the spot.
Demanen una declaració oficial, i aquesta declaració s’ha de presentar per triplicat
They require an official statement, and this has to be supplied in triplicate.
31.10 MISCELLANEOUS ASPECTS OF RELATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
(i) Catalan relative clauses occur in several contexts where English may use a different construction, such as a present participle, a passive participle, a prepositional phrase complement:
les tasses que hi ha a l’armari
the cups in the cupboard
els estris que tine a la bossa
the tools in my bag
Hi havia una cua que s’estenia fins a la cantonada.
There was a queue stretching to the end of the block.
Les botigues que hi havia a la plaça feien més goig que les de l’avinguda.
The shops in the square looked more attractive than those in the avenue.
el panorama magnífic que és la badia vista des d’allí dalt
the magnificent vista of the bay seen from up there
(ii) A relative clause may contain an infinitive rather than a finite verb (see 20.3.1.3). Here Catalan mirrors English quite well.
No hi he vist res de què queixar-nos.
I saw nothing (for us) to complain about.
No troba amb qui casar-se.
He can’t find anybody to marry.
Busco un llibre amb el qual distreure’m
I’m looking for a book to entertain myself with.
(iii) Pseudo-relatives. These are constructions which overlap with indirect questions, dependent on verbs of physical or mental perception; see 27.1.3.9 for further discussion.
No t’imagines la gent que hi havia! = No t’imagines quanta gent hi havia! = No t’imagines quina gentada hi havia!
You can’t imagine how many people there were!
No sabien el que havíem fet. = No sabien què havíem fet.
They didn’t know what we had done.
Pregunta el tren amb què hem de marxar. = Pregunta amb quin tren hem de marxar
Ask what train we have to leave on.
(iv) On the subjunctive used in relative clauses with a negative or indefinite antecedent, see 17.1.4.1, 19.3, and 19.3.1. On the relative clause structure of cleft sentences, see 35.1.
32 COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
Complement clauses, or noun clauses – introduced by que ‘that’, com ‘how’, si ‘if’, and so on – occupy the place typical of a noun phrase in a sentence. Such a clause may be the object of a verb, the subject of another clause, or the complement of a noun or adjective. Unlike English, Catalan never drops the complementizer (conjunction) que ‘that’ introducing a complement clause: M’han dit que tornaran ‘They’ve told me (that) they’ll come back’. Other divergences between English and Catalan syntax, including contexts where the subjunctive appears in complement clauses (see 19.2.1), are discussed under separate headings in 32.1–3. Other functions are described in 32.4–5.
32.1 SUBJECT COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
Headed by que (except when forming an indirect question: see 27.1.2 and 27.1.3.8), a subject complement clause may precede or follow the main verb.
Que és capaç de fer-ho ha estat prou demostrat; que vulgui fer-ho és una altra qüestió.
That she is able to do it has been well demonstrated; her wanting to do it is another matter.
M’irrita que seguin tan a la vora.
I’m irritated (by the fact) that they sit so close (to me).
Que sigui tan gelosa no ens hauria de sorprendre.
We shouldn’t be surprised that she is so jealous.
M’agrada que m’expliquis aquestes coses.
I like you to tell me these things.
Ens consta que els altres ja han cobrat.
We know for sure that the others have already been paid.
Some differences in syntactic pattern between English and Catalan will be observed in these examples: in M’agrada que … the finite clause in Catalan corresponds to an English infinitive clause; in Ens consta que … the Catalan subject clause corresponds to the object clause in English. Also to be noted is the fact that many such subject clauses go with verbs that generally take the subjunctive (see 19.2.1 and 19.2.2):
Em sap greu/Em sorprèn quet’ho prenguis així.
I’m sorry/surprised you are taking it like this.
No et va intrigar que portés aquell anell?
Weren’t you intrigued (by the fact) that he was wearing that ring?
In colloquial speech el may be placed before a subject complement clause introduced by que: M’irrita el que seguin tan a la vora ‘I’m irritated by the fact that they sit so close’. This construction is regarded as a Castilianism and is non-standard.
Impersonal expressions (except those stating a fact or certainty:és veritat que ‘it�
�s true that’, és segur que ‘it’s certain that’) always have the subjunctive in the complement clause predicated by ‘it’:
Era urgent que algú ho revisés.
It was urgent that someone checked it.
Sembla mentida que triguin tant.
It’s incredible that they’re taking so long.
Convé ques’enllesteixi aviat.
It’s appropriate that it be finished off soon./It needs to be finished off soon.
32.2 OBJECT COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
An object complement clause usually follows the main verb:
Han confirmat que arribaran demà.
They have confirmed they’ll be arriving tomorrow.
Havia observat que sempre entraven per la porta de darrere.
I had observed that they always went in by the back door.
Indirect commands (with the subordinate verb always in the subjunctive; see 19.2.3) come into this category:
M’han suggerit que en faci unacòpia. They have suggested I make a copy of it.
Volem quete’n vagis. We want you to go away.
Li he dit que no pateixi. I told him not to get upset.
When the main verb is suppressed, que + subjunctive becomes the main clause, a toned-down imperative, as described in 19.6:
(Vull) que se’n vagin ara mateix. They’d better go away right now.
Queet diverteixis. Enjoy yourself.
Que no sigui res. The best of luck!
32.3 COMPLEMENT CLAUSE AS COMPLEMENT OF A NOUN OR ADJECTIVE
(i) Complement of a noun:
El fet que els aplaudim els anima molt.
The fact that we applaud them spurs them on.
No qüestionem la idea que la nova política afavoreix els pobres.
We are not questioning the idea that the new policy favours the poor.
D’on treuen la noció que això ens ha d’agradar?
Where do they get the notion that we are going to like this?
Either the indicative (as in the last two examples) or the subjunctive mood may be appropriate in cases like these. Use of the subjunctive(la idea que … afavoreixi, la noció queaixò enshagid’agradar) backgrounds information supplied in the complement clause, as explained in 19.2.1, or it may convey an element of doubt or uncertainty on the part of the speaker.
(ii) Complement of an adjective:
Estic molt satisfet quete n’hagis recordat.
I am very glad you have remembered.
No estàveu orgullosos que ens haguessin premiat?
Weren’t you proud that we had won a prize?
Estic segur que tindran èxit.
I am sure they’ll be successful.
In both (i) and (ii) above the de that governs a noun complement is dropped before the complement clause (el fet d’aplaudir, but el fet queaplaudim). In the spoken language there is a strong tendency for this de to be retained before the clause: e.g. Vet aquí la prova (de)que no ens ha entès ‘Here’s the proof that he hasn’t understood us’. This feature is part of the more complex issue of preposition drop/non-drop as discussed in 14.1.5, and in more detail in 32.4–5.
32.4 COMPLEMENT CLAUSES AS OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS
32.4.1 Tonic Prepositions and Complement Clauses
Tonic prepositions like excepte ‘except’, malgrat ‘despite’, segons ‘according to’, and sense ‘without’ can introduce a que clause. Or, to put it another way, prepositions can combine with que to make complex conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses (Chapter 33).
Malgrat que parlava bé l’anglès, no va entendre el conferenciant.
Despite the fact that she spoke English well, she did not understand the lecturer.
Segons que ho vagin explicant, els posarem notes bones ο dolentes.
According to how they explain it, we’ll give them good or bad marks.
32.4.2 Atonic Prepositions and Complement Clauses
The dropping of the preposition de is the normal pattern when a complement clause depends on either a noun or an adjective, as illustrated in 32.3. The same process operates with verbs and verbal phrases that introduce their complement with one of the atonic prepositions a and en and amb. Thus the general rule is that an atonic preposition (a, de, en, amb) will drop before a complement clause; infraction of the rule is frequent in spontaneous usage, as described in 32.5.
La demostració que no en sap res és que …
The proof that he knows nothing about it is that…
Comentaven la notícia quel’ambaixador havia tornat.
They were commenting on the news that the ambassador had come back.
Estem contents que hagis vingut.
We are pleased that you have come.
S’observa la tendència que els raigs convergeixin.
One observes the tendency for the rays to converge.
Compare, la demostració d’això … ‘the proof of that’, la notícia del retorn de l’ambaixador ‘the news of the ambassador’s return’, contentsdela teva vinguda ‘pleased at your coming’, la tendència a convergir ‘the tendency to converge’. Examples of complement clauses depending on verb + preposition constructions:
Els hem d’acostumar que no hi vagin. cf. S’ha acostumat a no anar-hi. We must get them used to not going there.They have got used to not going there.
S’adonarà aviat que s’ha equivocat. cf. S’adonà aviat del seu error. He’ll soon realize that he was wrong.He soon realized his mistake.
M’havia oblidat que li ho havia de dir. cf. M’he oblidat de dir-li-ho. I had forgotten that I had to tell him.I have forgotten to tell him.
Té por que el denunciïn. cf. Té por de denunciar-los. He is frightened of being reported.He is frightened to report them.
No m’havia fixat que ja eres aquí. cf. T’has fixat en aquests detalls? I hadn’t noticed you were here.Have you noticed these details?
The phenomenon of weak preposition drop is also observed when the compound prepositions, such as abans de ‘before’, des de ‘since’, després de ‘after’, fins (a) ‘until’, per tal de ‘in order to’, introduce a clause:
abans que ho facis cf. abans de fer-ho before you do itbefore doing it
des que ho va saber cf. des d’aquell dia since he found outfrom that day
fins que parteixin cf. fins (a) la seva partida until they departuntil their departure
per tal que no els eixordem cf. per tal de no eixordar-los so that we don’t deafen themso as not to deafen them
Usage in respect of the atonic preposition amb ‘with’ is more complicated. In the compound conditional conjunction amb que ‘provided that’, ‘if only’, amb is always retained.
Vindria tot seguit amb que li proporcionessin un vehicle.
He would come straightaway if only he were supplied with a vehicle.
When amb is itself the complement of an adjective, quantifier, etc., normative grammar recommends the general preposition-drop rule, but many speakers find this excessively unnatural.
N’hi ha prou que en reproduïm una part./N’hi ha prou amb que …
It is enough that we reproduce a part of it.
cf. N’hi ha prou amb la reproducció d’una part.
There is enough with the reproduction of part of it.
32.5 RESISTANCE TO PREPOSITION DROP
There are many constructions analogous to those covered in 32.4 which are less stable and where native speech habits display especial reluctance to drop the preposition before que. The presence of the preposition is deemed nonstandard but its absence is felt by speakers to be confusing or bizarre. Standard solutions to this dilemma are mentioned in (i)-(iv) below. Typical instances are:
gràcies (a) que hi vau intervenir a temps
thanks to your intervening in time
No aspiràvem (a)que ens donessin el premi.
We didn’t aspire to being awarded the prize.
S’arrisquen (a) que tot els surti malament.
They’re running the risk of it all tur
ning out badly for them.
Uns resultats tan contradictoris deriven (de) que l’experiència ha estat incompleta.
Such contradictory results derive from the experiment being incomplete.
N’hi haurà prou (amb)que firmin el primer full.
It’ll be sufficient if they just sign the first page.
En el que no estaven d’acord era (en) que …
What they didn’t agree about was that…
L’havien amenaçat (amb) queel denunciarien.
They had threatened him with being reported.
Written representation of this construction sometimes replaces que by què, presumably by analogy with per → per què and with stressed relative què after a preposition:
Se sent satisfet amb què hagin aprovat (= que hagin aprovat) l’examen. (Badia 1995: 356)
He feels satisfied (with the fact) that they have passed the exam.
Han d’estar esperançats en què la hipòtesi de pacte PSM-UM arribi a concretar-se. (El Temps, 18 September 1995)
They should be hopeful that the hypothetical PSM-UM pact can come about.
On this tricky point of usage and grammar the most reliable authorities coincide in remarking that Catalan has alternative natural resources which produce more authentic solutions for the preposition +que construction: