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Consider the following sentences:

I admire the way a lion pursues its prey.

He pursues his dreams the way a lion pursues its prey.

In the first sentence, am I right that "the way" is an object modified by the relative clause "(that) a lion pursues its prey?" If not, is there a grammatical term for "the way a lion pursues its prey?"

In the second sentence, even though the latter part of the sentence (clause?) is identical to the latter part of the previous sentence, I feel it is functioning as an adverb, not as a noun, modifying "pursues." I'd like to know:

  1. What is the grammatical term for "the way" as it is used in this context? Is it a subordinating conjunction? Or some other thing? It's definitely not a relative pronoun, right?
  2. Is the entire thing ("the way a lion pursues its prey") a subordinate clause? Or is it only "(that) a lion pursues its prey" that is the subordinate clause? If the latter, I find it hard to figure out what "the way" is because it wouldn't be a noun in this context.

I feel more confident about the first sentence than the second sentence and would appreciate any assistance. Thank you!

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There is a difference between the part-of-speech classification (syntactic category) of a clause, phrase or word and its function in clause or phrase structure.

[function - syntactic category]

I [subject - noun phrase]

admire [predicator - verb]

the way a lion pursues its prey [object - noun phrase]

Phrases are then headed by a word corresponding to the phrase type, with the other elements being dependents of that word: either modifiers or complements typically, with noun phrases also having determiners.

the [determiner - determinative]

way [head - noun]

a lion pursues its prey [post-head modifier - relative clause]

For the second sentence, at a clause level, we get:

He [subject - noun phrase]

pursues [predicator - verb]

his dreams [object - noun phrase]

the way a lion pursues its prey. [adjunct(modifier) - noun phrase]

So the part-of-speech (or form / syntactic category) classification of the way a lion pursues its prey does not change between the two sentences, but the function it plays in clause structure does: object in the first sentence, and adjunct(modifier) in the second.

You'll of course find some variation in terms depending on which grammar you follow. The above is terminology from The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, but the same idea holds for all modern grammars: syntactic category and function are considered separately.

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  • In the second example, the way means in the way that.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 26 at 7:43
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    @KateBunting In an example with in the way that, the phrase in the way that means the way that ;-)
    – Araucaria - Him
    Commented Jul 26 at 9:06
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    @EdwinAshworth If you have a copy of CGEL or access to an online version through your library, it's page 1053, examples (62). I think they're right. It's the gap what does it, and the discussion of when-type RCs. They don't discuss it, but the reason for the apparent obligatoriness in the example above is that he relative is 'defining' in terms of its pragmatic function. The word the sets up the expectation that we're going to get some clarification as to which way. But way doesn't require a relative clause: "Let's do this the other way/a different way".
    – Araucaria - Him
    Commented Jul 26 at 11:02
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    Thank you! This response and the comments are very helpful. I guess what tripped me up is I've learned that a phrase (missing a subject, predicate, or both) and a clause (has a subject and a predicate) are mutually exclusive. I had trouble wrapping my head around the idea that "the way a lion hunts its prey" is a noun phrase, but the concept of "dependents" is new to me and helps me make sense of it. I also find Kate Bunting's and others' responses enlightening, so thanks, all.
    – Jose
    Commented Jul 27 at 1:15
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    @EdwinAshworth You're welcome. It's actually a video of the talk he gave at the 'fest' bit of the festschrift.
    – Araucaria - Him
    Commented Jul 27 at 13:43

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