Connecting Relative
If a relative pronoun comes at the very beginning of a sentence, it is often being used as a connecting relative, an odd combination of a coordinating conjunction and a pronoun. Depending on the gender and number of the relative pronoun, it can be used to refer to an entity in the previous sentence or the whole idea encapsulated in the previous sentence, and it can sometimes be prefaced by “and”, such that:
- quī = et is (masculine nominative singular)
- quem = et eum (masculine accusative singular)
- quae = et ea (feminine nominative singular OR neuter nominative/accusative plural) or et eae (feminine nominative plural)
- quod = et id (neuter nominative/accusative singular)
etc.
Take a look at the following examples:
- frātrēs patrem suum vidēre voluērunt; quem cum vidēre possent, laetī erant.
- The brothers wanted to see their father. (And) when they were able to see him, they were happy.
- dux interfectus est. quod cum mīlitēs vīdissent, fūgērunt.
- The leader was killed. (And) when the soldiers had seen this, they fled.
Note that in the second example, the connecting relative quod (= et id) refers to the entire thought contained in the previous sentence, rather than to any specific neuter noun.
This connecting relative often, though not always, is used in a cum clause, and the cum is often postponed until after the connecting relative, as in the examples above. Note that the verbs in these examples are subjunctive because they are used in a cum clause to express the circumstances of the main verb; they are not subjunctive because of the relative pronoun. This is an important distinction to make once we consider in what circumstances a relative clause WOULD use a subjunctive verb, as in a relative clause of characteristic.