english

English

Relative Clauses &

 Relative Pronouns

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

RELATIVE CLAUSES: USE

dependent clauses

´give additional information about something without starting another sentence

´by combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words

Example: 

I like working with students who want to learn something.

I downloaded a new film which is really interesting

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

• ´introduce relative clauses

• ´relative clause tells us which person / thing the speaker means / refers to

• ´WHO (subject)              PEOPLE

• ´WHOM (object)          

• ´WHICH                           THINGS

• ´WHOSE (posession)

• ´THAT_____  instead of WHO, WHOM, WHICH          

´WHERE

´WHEN                                RELATIVE ADVERBS

´WHY: the reason why       

Example: 

   

The students are smart.

 They are learning relative clause. 

The students who are learning relative clauses are smart.

‘who’ is used instead of ‘they’

Remember:

´the pronoun refers to the same thing as the relative pronoun

e.g. The girl is my sister. You saw her yesterday.

 

A: The girl whom you saw her yesterday is my sister.

 

 → The girl whom you saw yesterday is my sister.

Relative adverbs

WHY: THE REASON WHY

´I didn’t get a pay rise – that was the reason why I left.

´I didn’t get a pay rise – that was the reason (that) I left.

 WHERE

´The street where we used to play as kids is very busy now.

 

 WHEN

´He will never forget the day when he started working in that company.

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES

´Defining relative clauses give important information to identify the person or thing we are talking about.→  We don’t use a comma.

´The office equipment (which / that) we bought was very expensive.

´The student (who/ that) I saw yesterday is from Spain.

´Non-defining relative clauses give additional information about the person or thing we are talking about. → We use a comma.

´Mr Jones, who is the CEO of the company, will retire soon.

´The Smiths, who live next door, have bought a new car.

RELATIVE CLAUSES

´DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

´WHO

´WHOM

´WHICH

´THAT

´WHEN, WHERE

DEFINING vs. NON-DEFINING

CLAUSES SHORT

´WHO

´WHOM

´WHICH

´WHEN, WHERE

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

SUBJECT

- The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

- The person that phoned me last night is my teacher.

- "that" is preferable

subject

- The car which hit me was yellow.

- The car that hit me was yellow.

"that" is preferable

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

OBJECT:

- The person whom I phoned last night is my teacher.

- The people who I phoned last night are my teachers.

- The person that I phoned last night is my teacher.

- The person I phoned last night is my teacher.

-"whom" is correct but formal

- relative pronoun is optional

Object:

- The car which I drive is old.

- The car that I drive is old.

- The car I drive is old.

- "that" is preferable to "which"

- relative pronoun is optional

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

SUBJECT:

- Mrs. Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher.

-The car, which was a taxi, exploded.

-The cars, which were taxis, exploded.

OBJECT:

- Mrs. Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher.

- Mrs. Pratt, who I like very much, is my teacher.

-"whom" is correct but formal

- "who" is common in spoken English and informal written English

Object:

- The car, which I was driving at the time, suddenly caught fire.

 

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

POSSESSIVE

- My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor

- The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.

- The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.

- "whose" can be used with things

- "of which" is also possible

PREPOSITIONS + RELATIVE CLAUSES 

• FORMAL STYLE:

  ´we usually put a preposition before the relative pronoun and we use whom instead of who The office to which Graham took us was filled with books.

    

• LESS FORMAL STYLE:´ we usually put the preposition at the end of the relative clause.

  The office that Graham took us to was filled with books

• More examples:

  1)That’s the car for which I paid $2,000.       (more formal)

  2) That’s the car which / that I paid $2,000 for.     (more usual)

  3) That’s the car I paid $2,000 for.              (everyday English)

Multiple Choice

Check your

understanding

1. I know a great little restaurant

… we can get lunch.

• that

• who

• where

Multiple Choice

2. Sam knows a man … brother works for the president.

• a) who

• a) whose

• a) whom

Multiple Choice

3. Students … study hard get good grades.

• when

• when

• who

Multiple Choice

4. Food … is imported from other countries is expensive.

• that

• where

• why

Multiple Choice

5. The bad weather is the reason … I was late for class yesterday.

• whom

• when

• why

Multiple Choice

6. The cookies … you baked are really delicious.

• why

• which

• when

Multiple Choice

7. My grandfather remembers the time

… there was no television.

• when

• where

• that

Multiple Choice

8. I visited my uncle … lives in a different city.

• who

• whose

• when

Multiple Choice

9. The movie … we saw last week won three awards.

• who

• when

• which

Multiple Choice

10. Do you know the reason … there are no penguins at the North Pole?

• where

• why

• whose

Multiple Choice

10. The people … names are on the list will stay here.

• whose

• where

• that

Multiple Choice

10. He had a feeling … something terrible was going to happen.

• why

• who

• that

Multiple Choice

13. I want to borrow the book … you bought last month.

• whom

• that

• when

Multiple Choice

14. My home is a place … I can come home and relax after work.

• where

• when

• whom

Multiple Choice

15. Most of the people … she met were from Sydney.

• whom

• when

• whose

Multiple Choice

16. Can you find the teacher … you talked to this morning?

• whose

• when

• whom