48.2. Head object of relative clause
| k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ cxʷ cə swə́y̓qaʔ k̓ʷə́nən. | ‘You saw the man that I saw.’ |
| k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ cxʷ cə swə́y̓qaʔ k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ. | ‘You saw the man that you saw.’ |
| k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ cxʷ cə swə́y̓qaʔ k̓ʷə́nəɬ. | ‘You saw the man that we saw.’ |
| k̓ʷə́nnəxʷ cxʷ cə swə́y̓qaʔ k̓ʷə́nəs. | ‘You saw the man that he/she/they saw.’ |
► 1 Compare this set of models with the models shown in §48.1.
► 2 Looking first at the English translations, notice that the relative clauses in these models have subjects: ‘I,’ ‘you,’ and so on. The relative clauses in the models in §48.1 had objects: ‘me,’ ‘you,’ and so on.
► 3 Now, looking at the Klallam, notice that where the models in §48.1 had the object suffixes in the relative clauses, these models have the subordinate subject suffixes.
► 4 Pause now and review the subordinate subject suffixes in §13, §27, §30.1, and §37.1.
► 5 In these models the head is the object of the relative clause. Other than that and the subordinate subject suffixes, the structure is the same as in the previous section—the head comes before the relative clause.
► 6 A very common use of relative clauses is in a pattern that is usually called a ‘cleft’ construction. Compare:
čúkʷs cn cə nəx̣ʷúʔŋət. ‘I used my paddle.’
use it I the my paddle
níɬ cə nəx̣ʷúʔŋət čúkʷən. ‘It’s my paddle I used.’
it is the my paddle that I use
The second example is what’s called a cleft sentence. In English, these types of cleft sentences begin with ‘it’; in Klallam they begin with níɬ. Cleft sentences are used when you want to focus the listener’s attention on the object rather than the action.
 | x̣čít u cxʷ kʷsə q̓áʔŋiʔ yúyitən. | ‘Do you know the girl I asked out?’ |
 | ʔáa. mán̓ ʔuʔ ʔə́y̓. | ‘Yes. She’s very nice.’ |
| níɬ u cə q̓áʔŋiʔ qʷiŋítəxʷ. | ‘Is she the girl you talked to?’ |
| ʔáa. čʔáyəs u. | ‘Yes. Does she have a sister?’ |