Relative Determiners
Some grammar references use “relative determiner” for forms such as “what,” “which,” and “whose” when they modify a following noun outside an interrogative question. Grammar terminology varies across references, so distinguish the observable function from the label; the same forms can act as pronouns or interrogative determiners in other constructions.
Some grammar references use “relative determiner” for forms such as “what,” “which,” and “whose” when they modify a following noun outside an interrogative question.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Grammar terminology varies across references, so distinguish the observable function from the label; the same forms can act as pronouns or interrogative determiners in other constructions.
Further guidance
Application
Check whether the word directly determines a noun phrase rather than standing alone: that noun-modifying function is what motivates the determiner label.
Core Rule
Some grammar references use “relative determiner” for forms such as “what,” “which,” and “whose” when they modify a following noun outside an interrogative question.
Practical Application
When your grammar framework uses the term “relative determiner,” apply it to a form such as “which” or “whose” when it introduces a relative construction and modifies a following noun.
Reader Check
Check both function and terminology: the same written word can be interrogative in a question or relative in another construction, and grammar references do not all use identical labels.
Worked Example
In “The committee chose a date, which decision surprised us,” “which” modifies “decision” within a relative construction; in “Which decision surprised you?” it is interrogative.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- What Is a Determiner? — Scribbr (opens in a new tab)Scribbr · Grammar-reference evidence that what, which, and whose can be called relative determiners when they function as determiners outside questions.
- Determiners and quantifiers (opens in a new tab)British Council · Authority used to verify the public writing guidance.