In grammar, correlatives are words that are separated in a sentence but function together to perform a single function.
In English, examples are both—and, either—or, neither—nor, the—the ("the more the better"), so—that ("it ate so much food that 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 what you did", rather than *"I saw that, what you did".
Famous quotes containing the word correlative:
“I conceive that the leading characteristic of the nineteenth century has been the rapid growth of the scientific spirit, the consequent application of scientific methods of investigation to all the problems with which the human mind is occupied, and the correlative rejection of traditional beliefs which have proved their incompetence to bear such investigation.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)