This work examines the various types of relative clauses that have been described for languages of the Cariban family. The most important type is based on nominalized verb forms; in many languages, this is the only available mechanism. Examples from several languages are presented and discussed. In some languages, there are finite relative clauses, marked by relativizing particles; examples of several subcases are described and discussed. It is concluded that the former type is older, since it is more homogeneous in the family. This type is characterized by the apposition of the nominalized verb forms to the nouns that they modify. Apposition is a more general phenomenon, of which there are many examples involving other non-verbal nominalized forms, and even monomorphemic nouns. In addition, since there is no word class ('adjectives') specialized in modifying nouns, it is suggested that there is no grammatical modification: everything happens by means of the apposition of nouns (or noun phrases), iconically understood as coreferent.
Indigenous languages; Descriptive linguistics; Syntax; Modification
