Relative Clause of Purpose: Latin Grammar

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GrammarRelative Clause of Purpose

Relative Clause of Purpose

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Latin's tidiest way to express purpose isn't ut + subjunctive — it's a relative pronoun + subjunctive, used whenever the purpose has a NOUN at its center.

Mittitur L. Decidius Saxa quī locī nātūram perspiciat, "Decidius Saxa is sent WHO IS TO inspect the terrain" — i.e.

"to inspect the terrain." The antecedent (Saxa, the envoys, the cavalry) IS the agent or instrument of the purpose, and the relative clause says what that agent is for.

The trap: the same quī + subjunctive shape also marks characteristic clauses ("the kind of person who…") and result-flavored relatives. Purpose has a sender — a verb of dispatching, choosing, leaving behind — and the antecedent does the purposed action.

Pattern

[verb of sending / choosing] + [acc. antecedent] + quī / quae / quō / unde / ubi + subjunctive

Relative Clause of Purpose

"X is sent / chosen / left behind WHO IS TO do Y" = "in order to do Y" — the antecedent is the means or agent of the purpose.

quī here = ut is; quō = ut eō (after a comparative); ubi = ut ibi. Same purpose, just relativized through the antecedent.

Triggers & Alternatives — Ways to Express Purpose in Latin

quī / quae / quod + subj. — the canonical relative purpose, with a noun antecedent

mittitur Saxa quī perspiciat — "Saxa is sent to inspect" (B. C. i. 66)

critical

ubi + subj. — relative adverb of place, "where to "

ubi cōnsisteret — "a place to make a stand" (Quinct. 73)

common

unde + subj. — "from whom / from where to "

unde discerem — "someone to learn from" (Cat. M. 12)

common

quō + subj. — "whither to flee, etc."

habēbam quō cōnfugerem — "I had a place to flee to" (Fam. iv. 6. 2)

common

quō + comparative + subj. — "so that the more X"

quō facilius frangerentur — "that the more easily they be broken" (Fam. xv. 4. 10)

important

ut + subj. — default final clause when there's no noun antecedent

ut sint auxiliō suīs subsistunt — "they halt to support their men" (B. C. i. 80)

critical

nē + subj. — negative purpose ("in order that NOT")

nē mīlitēs oppidum inrumperent — "to keep the soldiers from breaking in" (B. C. i. 27)

critical

ad + gerund/gerundive (acc.) — purpose via gerund

ad explōranda loca proficīscitur — "sets out to scout" (B. C. i. 66)

important

causā / grātiā + gen. gerund/gerundive — postpositive

hostis vidēndī causā — "for the sake of seeing the enemy"

common

Supine in -um after verbs of motion — archaic, very compact

lēgātōs mittunt rogātum auxilium — "they send envoys to ask aid" (B. G. i. 11)

common

See It In Action

mittitur L. Decidius Saxa cum paucīs quī locī nātūram perspiciat

Lucius Decidius Saxa is sent with a small party to examine the lay of the land

— B. C. i. 66

A&G's flagship case. quī perspiciat is literally "who is to examine," but English collapses it to a purpose infinitive. Saxa IS the antecedent AND the agent of the scouting.

legātōs ad eum mittunt nōbilissimōs cīvitātis, cuius lēgātiōnis Nammeius et Verucloetius prīncipem locum obtinēbant, quī dīcerent sibi esse in animō sine ūllō maleficiō iter per prōvinciam facere

They send envoys to him, the noblest of the state — Nammeius and Verucloetius held first place in the embassy — to say that they intended to make the journey through the province without any harm

— B. G. i. 7

Diplomatic boilerplate. legātōs… quī dīcerent = "envoys to say" — the envoys ARE the speaking-instrument. Imperfect dīcerent because mittunt is historical present (secondary sequence).

equitātumque praemittit, quī videant quās in partēs hostēs iter faciant

He sends ahead the cavalry to see in what direction the enemy was marching

— B. G. i. 15

Collective antecedent (equitātum, sg.) with plural verb (videant) — Latin agrees the relative with sense, not strict number, when the antecedent is a body of people.

ad praefectōs, quī cum omnī equitātū antecesserant, mittit quī nūntiārent nē hostēs proeliō lacesserent

He sends (men) to report to the prefects (who had gone on ahead with all the cavalry) that they should not provoke the enemy to battle

— B. G. iv. 11

One sentence, both kinds of relative back-to-back: quī antecesserant is descriptive (indic. — fact about the prefects); quī nūntiārent is purpose (subj.). Mood does the work.

Relative-Purpose vs. Descriptive Relative vs. *ut* + Subjunctive

Three constructions overlap on the page. Mood and trigger word disambiguate.

Relative Purpose (subj.)

antecedent is the agent/means; quī + subj. = "in order to"

mīsit quī dīcerent

he sent (men) to say

Descriptive Relative (indic.)

ordinary fact about the antecedent — no purpose intended

mīsit quī antecesserant

he sent (the men) who had gone ahead

Tip: Look at the mood. SUBJUNCTIVE in the quī-clause + a verb of sending/choosing/leaving in the main clause = purpose. INDICATIVE = the relative is just identifying or describing the antecedent. (See also Characteristic Clauses for the third quī + subj. possibility.)

Quick Check

In equitātum praemittit, quī videant quās in partēs hostēs iter faciant (B. G. i. 15), why is videant subjunctive?

Study Tips

See It In Action

mittitur L. Decidius Saxa cum paucīs quī locī nātūram perspiciat

Lucius Decidius Saxa is sent with a small party to examine the lay of the land

— B. C. i. 66

A&G's flagship case. quī perspiciat is literally "who is to examine," but English collapses it to a purpose infinitive. Saxa IS the antecedent AND the agent of the scouting.

They send envoys to him, the noblest of the state — Nammeius and Verucloetius held first place in the embassy — to say that they intended to make the journey through the province without any harm

— B. G. i. 7

Diplomatic boilerplate. legātōs… quī dīcerent = "envoys to say" — the envoys ARE the speaking-instrument. Imperfect dīcerent because mittunt is historical present (secondary sequence).

equitātumque praemittit, quī videant quās in partēs hostēs iter faciant

He sends ahead the cavalry to see in what direction the enemy was marching

— B. G. i. 15

Collective antecedent (equitātum, sg.) with plural verb (videant) — Latin agrees the relative with sense, not strict number, when the antecedent is a body of people.

ad praefectōs, quī cum omnī equitātū antecesserant, mittit quī nūntiārent nē hostēs proeliō lacesserent

He sends (men) to report to the prefects (who had gone on ahead with all the cavalry) that they should not provoke the enemy to battle

— B. G. iv. 11

One sentence, both kinds of relative back-to-back: quī antecesserant is descriptive (indic. — fact about the prefects); quī nūntiārent is purpose (subj.). Mood does the work.