Correlative

In grammar, a correlative is a word that is paired with another word with which it functions to perform a single function but from which it is separated in the sentence.

In English, examples of correlative pairs are both–and, either–or, neither–nor, the–the ("<u>the</u> more <u>the</u> better"), so–that ("it ate <u>so</u> much food <u>that</u> it burst"), and if–then.

In the Romance languages, the demonstrative pro-forms function as correlatives with the relative pro-forms, as autant–que in French; in English, demonstratives are not used in such constructions, which depend on the relative only: "I saw <u>what</u> you did", rather than *"I saw <u>that</u>, <u>what</u> you did".

See also

• Correlative conjunction
• Pro-form (namely section Table of correlatives)

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