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Ordinary Relative Clauses define more exactly a definite antecedent, and show the mood and the negative of simple sentences.
Indicative: ταῦτ' ἐστὶν ἃ ἐγὼ δέομαι
παρ' ἐμὲ ἀφικόμενος οὐ πείσεται ἅπερ ἂν ἔπαθεν ἄλλῳ τῳ συγγενόμενος τῶν σοφιστῶν
Subjunctive: Ἄνυτος ὅδε παρεκαθέζετο, ᾧ μεταδῶμεν τῆς ζητήσεως
Optative: οἴομαι ἂν ἡμᾶς τοιαῦτα παθεῖν, οἷα τοὺς ἐχθροὺς οἱ θεοὶ ποιήσειαν
Imperative: πλάνην φράσω, ἣν ἐγγράφου σὺ μνήμοσιν δέλτοις φρενῶν
a. Ordinary relative clauses are explanatory, and (in sense) are equivalent to independent coördinated clauses. See cross2490.
b. Homer has κέ or ἄν with the future: παρ' ἐμοί γε καὶ ἄλλοι, οἵ κέ με τι_μήσουσι
Relative Clauses of Purpose (Final Relative Clauses) regularly take the future indicative, even after past tenses (negative μή). The antecedent of final relative clauses is usually indefinite. ὅς is commoner than ὅστις. (The construction with the future participle is more frequent: cross2065).
φημὶ δὴ δεῖν ἡμᾶς . . . πρεσβεία_ν πέμπειν, ἣ τοὺς μὲν διδάξει ταῦτα, τοὺς δὲ παροξυνεῖ
πέμψον τιν' ὅστις σημανεῖ
ἔδοξε τῷ δήμῳ τριά_κοντα ἄνδρας ἑλέσθαι, οἳ τοὺς πατρίους νόμους συγγράψουσι, καθ' οὓς πολι_τεύσουσι
κρύψω τόδ' ἔγχος . . . ἔνθα μή τις ὄψεται
a. After a secondary tense the future optative occurs rarely: οἱ δὲ τριά_κοντα ᾑρέθησαν μὲν ἐπεὶ τάχιστα τὰ μακρὰ τείχη . . . καθῃρέθη· αἱρεθέντες δ' ἐφ' ᾧτε ξυγγράψαι νόμους, καθ' οὕστινας πολι_τεύσοιντο κτλ.
b. A past purpose may be expressed by ἔμελλον and the infinitive. Thus, ναύαρχον προσέταξαν' Αλκίδα_ν, δς ἔμελλεν ἐπιπλεύσεσθαι
c. Homer uses the subjunctive (with κέ, except Γ 287) after primary tenses, the optative after secondary tenses. Thus,
κ 538μάντις ἐλεύσεται, ὅς κέν τοι ἔπῃσιν ὁδόν
ο 458ἄγγελον ἧκαν δς ἀγγείλειε γυναικί
Relative Clauses of Cause take the indicative (negative οὐ). ὅς is more common than ὅστις.
θαυμαστὸν ποιεῖς, δς ( = ὅτι σὺ) ἡμῖν . . . οὐδὲν δίδως
a deed most unhallowed, cheered me with words, etc.
a. γε is often added to ὅς or ὅστις.
b. μή is used when there is also an idea of characteristic (
Relative Clauses of Result (Consecutive Relative Clauses) usually take the indicative (for οἷος, ὅσος with the infinitive see cross2497). The negative is οὐ when the relative clause approximates ὥστε (οὐ) with the indicative, as is generally the case when the main clause is negative, expressed or implied. Here ὅστις is commoner than ὅς. The negative is μή when the relative clause expresses an intended ( cross2557) or anticipated ( cross2558) result, where ὥστε μή with the infinitive would be less precise.
τίς οὕτω μαίνεται ὅστις οὐ βούλεται σοὶ φίλος εἶναι; οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω βραχὺ ὅπλον ἑκάτεροι εἶχον ᾧ οὐκ ἐξι_κνοῦντο ἀλλήλων
a. The indicative with ἄν and the optative with ἄν are rare. Thus, τίς δ' ἦν οὕτως . . . μι_σαθήναιος, ὅστις ἐδυνήθη ἂν ἄτακτον αὑτὸν ὑπομεῖναι ἰδεῖν; who was such a hater of Athens that he could endure to see himself not at his post? Lyc. 39, τίς οὕτως ἰσχυ_ρός, δς . . . ῥἱ_γει δύναιτ' ἂν μαχόμενος στρατεύεσθαι
The indicative is normal in consecutive relative clauses introduced by οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις (οὐ), οὐδείς ἐστιν ὅστις (οὐ), οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως (οὐ), εἰσὶν οἵ, ἔστιν οἷς, etc.
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐχ αὑτὸν φιλεῖ
a. The indicative with ἄν and the optative with ἄν also occur. Thus, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὅ τι ἂν ἐποιεῖτε
ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις οὐκ ἂν καταφρονήσειεν
b. On the subjunctive and optative without ἄν, see cross2546, cross2547, 2552.
2558The future indicative is often used to express an intended result (negative μή).
ἀνόητον ἐπὶ τοιούτους ἰέναι ὧν κρατήσα_ς μὴ κατασχήσει τις
The future indicative is especially common when the main clause contains an idea of ability, capacity, or characteristic, and the relative clause denotes what is to be expected of the subject.
ἱκανοί ἐσμεν . . . ὑ_μῖν πέμψαι ναῦς τε καὶ ἄνδρας οἵτινες συμμαχοῦνταί τε καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν ἡγήσονται (cp. ὥστε συμμάχεσθαι) δεῖταί τινος ὅστις αὐτὸν ὀνήσει
ψήφισμα νι_κῆσαι τοιοῦτο δι' οὗ Φωκεῖς ἀπολοῦνται
Conditional Relative Clauses may be resolved into if clauses, ὅς (ὅστις) corresponding to εἴ τις and ὅς (ὅστις) ἄν to ἐά_ν τις. The negative is μή.
a. The antecedent of conditional relative clauses is indefinite ( cross2505 b).
b. Such relative clauses, like temporal clauses, correspond in form to the protases of ordinary conditional sentences. Conditional relative sentences show, in general, the same substitutions permitted in the corresponding conditional sentences. δς ἄν is always generic, ἐά_ν may be particular in prose.
2561The correspondence in construction between the common forms of conditional, temporal, and conditional relative, sentences is shown by the following table:
| Present | |||
| Simple: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | ἔχει | δίδωσι |
| Unreal: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | εἶχεν | ἐδίδου ἄν |
| General: | ἐά_ν τι (ὅταν τι, ὅ τι) | ἔχῃ | δίδωσι |
| Past | |||
| Simple: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | εἶχεν (ἔσχεν) | ἐδίδου (ἔδωκε) |
| Unreal: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | ἔσχεν (εἶχεν) | ἔδωκεν (ἐδίδου) ἄν |
| General: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | ἔχοι | ἐδίδου |
| Future | |||
| More Vivid: | ἐά_ν τι (ὅταν τι, ὅ τι ἂν) | ἔχῃ | δώσει |
| Less Vivid: | εἴ (ὅτε, ὅ) τι | ἔχοι | διδοίη (δοίη) ἄν |
N.—English cannot always, without obscurity, use a relative to translate ὅτε or ὅ τι with an unreal indicative; in such cases when (
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Herbert Weir Smyth [n.d.], A Greek Grammar for Colleges; Machine readable text [info] [word count] [Smyth].
