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Nausikaa87 Posted 8 years ago
Grammar

Relative Clauses

I'm looking at "when" as a relative pronoun. Does it function as such in this sentence: I don’t like eating snacks when I am on a diet. Or can it have a different function? This doesn't seem like a prototypical relative clause to me so I'm a bit confused.

  

Top answer

nausikaa87 I'm looking at "when" as a relative pronoun adverb . "when I am on a diet" does not modify, or tell us more about, "snacks", so it is not a relative clause. Compare "I remember a time when I was happier", where "when I was happier" explains which time is meant.

  • nausikaa87 I'm looking at "when" as a relative pronoun adverb .
  • "when I am on a diet" does not modify, or tell us more about, "snacks", so it is not a relative clause.
  • Compare "I remember a time when I was happier", where "when I was happier" explains which time is meant.
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2 Answers
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nausikaa87I'm looking at "when" as a relative pronoun adverb.

"when I am on a diet" does not modify, or tell us more about, "snacks", so it is not a relative clause. Compare "I remember a time when I was happier", where "when I was happier" explains which time is meant.

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I don’t like eating snacks when I am on a diet.


"When" is not anaphoric to some noun or nominal here, so it cannot be a relative word.

The analysis of the underlined expression is in fact quite problematic. One solution is to treat it as a preposition phrase with a prep (when) as head and a subordinate content clause as complement.

An alternat

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