Relative clauses are used to provide information about an antecedent like (het) boekthe book in (81). They contain an obligatory relative element, like the relative pronoun datthat in (81), which is coreferential with the antecedent, which we will indicate by coindexation. The relative element also performs a function in the relative clause, which therefore contains an interpretive gap, indicated by the trace ti in (81): in (81a) the relative pronoun functions as the object, and in (81b) as the subject of the relative clause. Relative clauses can be either restrictive or non-restrictive: the relative clause in (81a) is restrictive in the sense that its presence is necessary to enable the hearer to pick out the intended referent of the noun phrase; the relative clause in (81b) is non-restrictive and simply provides additional information about the intended referent, which in this case provides the rationale for the proposition expressed by the main clause.

This section on relative clauses is organized as follows. After a brief general introduction in Section 16.3.2.1, Section 16.3.2.2 will present an overview of the various relative elements in Dutch and discuss the differences in form and function between these elements. Section 16.3.2.3 will be devoted to a discussion of the differences between and some characteristics of restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses. Finally, the last two sections will address two specific issues related to the scope of the relative clause: Section 16.3.2.3.4 will deal with the stacking of relative clauses, while Section 16.3.2.4 will offer a detailed discussion of relative clauses with a coordinated antecedent.