Relative Clause

RELATIVE CLAUSES

By Özge Yılmaz

​A relative clause is one kind of dependent clause. It has a subject and verb, but can’t stand alone as a sentence. It is sometimes called an “adjective clause” because it functions like an adjective—it gives more information about a noun.

​PRONOUNS ARE:

​

Pronoun	Stands For	Uses
who	people	substitutes for subject nouns/pronouns (he, she, we, they)
whom	people	substitutes for object nouns/pronouns (him, her, us, them)
whose	people or things	substitutes for possessive nouns/pronouns (his, hers, ours, theirs)
that	people or things	can be used for either subject or object can only be used in restrictive relative clauses (see below)
which	things	can be used for either subject or object can be used in non-restrictive relative clauses can also be used in restrictive relative clauses, though some people don’t like this use

​Relative pronoun as subject (in red):

​

I like the person. The person was nice to me.

I like the person who was nice to me.

I hate the dog. The dog bit me.

I hate the dog that bit me.

I am moving to Louisville, KY. It is home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.

I am moving to Louisville, KY, which is home to the Muhammad Ali Museum.

​

Relative pronoun as object (in red):

​

​I like the bike. My father gave me the bike.

I like the bike that my father gave me.

​

I like the paintings. (Which paintings? We can’t clearly identify them without the relative clause.)

​

So we add the clause:

​

The paintings hang in the SASB North lobby.

​

I like the paintings that hang in the SASB North lobby.

​

​

I like the paintings which hang in the SASB North lobby. (Again, this is acceptable, but some people object to using “which” in a restrictive relative clause. “That” is preferred.)

​

Students who study hard will do well in my class. (Only this group of students will do well.)

​

Students whose grades are low can drop one test score. (Only this group can drop a test score.)

​

When the noun is the object of the preposition, both the noun and the preposition move together to the front of the relative clause. In less formal English, it’s common to move only the pronoun to the front of the clause.

​

I spent hours talking with a person last night. I hope to hear from her.

I hope I hear from the person with whom I spent hours talking last night. (more formal)

OR

I hope to hear from the person whom I spent hours talking with last night. (less formal)

Multiple Choice

A friend in England, ......... trip by herself to India was a complete disaster, says that, from now on, she will stick

• of which

• that

• whose

• when

Open Ended

The Galata Tower .......... overlooks the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, has the most spectacular view in Istanbul.

Poll

August is the month ......... the Chinese call "the month of the hungry ghosts".

• when

• what

• how

• whose

Multiple Choice

The west of Turkey is much different from the east .......... people follow a much more traditional lifestyle.

• where

• which

• when

• whose