For a long time, you have seen forms of quī, quae, quod, which means "who" or "which." Let's look a little closer at how that word actually functions.
Quī, quae, quod is a relative pronoun. Relative pronouns connect main (or independent) clauses with subordinate clauses. A main (or independent) clause can stand on its own, while a subordinate (or dependent) clause can not. Let's look at an example in English:
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I saw a town. |
This is a main clause, because it can stand on its own as a complete sentence. |
|
which was very large |
This is a subordinate clause, because it cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence. |
|
I saw a town which was very large. |
Now we've combined two clauses into a complete sentence, and the word "which" joins them. |
In this example, which is a relative pronoun, joining the main and subordinate clauses. A couple of important points:
1. The word which refers to the noun town. Town is in the main clause, not in the subordinate clause.
2. Inside the subordinate clause, which functions as the subject.
So, the following rule governs relative pronouns: Relative pronouns agree with their antecedants in gender and number, but their case is determined by their use in the subordinate clause.
In our example sentence:
I saw a town which was very large.
Vidī oppidum quod maximum erat.
Quod is the relative pronoun. In this case, it is neuter and singluar to agree with the antecedant oppidum. But it is nominatve because it is the subject of the subordinate clause.
Here are all the forms of quī, quae, quod.
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|
m. |
f. |
n. |
|
|
Singular |
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|
Nom |
quī |
quae |
quod |
|
Gen |
cuius |
cuius |
cuius |
|
Dat |
cuī |
cuī |
cuī |
|
Acc |
quem |
quam |
quod |
|
Abl |
quō |
quā |
quō |
|
|
Plural |
||
|
Nom |
quī |
quae |
quae |
|
Gen |
quōrum |
quārum |
quōrum |
|
Dat |
quibus |
quibus |
quibus |
|
Acc |
quōs |
quās |
quae |
|
Abl |
quibus |
quibus |
quibus |