RELATIVE CLAUSES

relative clauses

definition

These refer to clauses that give more INFORMATION about people or things. As a clause it contains SUBJECT+VERB+OBJECTS/COMPLEMENTS In some way they work as ADJECTIVES in the sense that they describe things or people in a much deeper way. Compare: 1) My dad is retired. 2) My dad, who is 80 years old, is retired.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

In order to introduce a RELATIVE CLAUSE it is neccessary to use a PRONOUN that can help us give more information and make ourselves clear. LIST OF RELATIVE PRONOUNS: WHO/WHOM WHICH/THAT WHERE WHEN WHY ( That's the reason why) WHOSE + noun

SOME EXAMPLES

EXAMPLES: 1. What's the name of the man who just came in? 2.It's a book which will interest children of all ages. 3.I'll never forget the day when I first met you. ( I'll never forget the day on which I first met you. ) 4. Do you know a shop where I can find sandals? ( Do you know a shop at which I can find sandals?)

LEAVING OUT OBJECT PRONOUNS

In some kinds of relative clauses , OBJECT PRONOUNS can be left out. Ex: She's somebody I really can't stand. ( ...somebody that ...) Here are the papers you were looking for. ( the papers that...)

WHOSE + NOUN

WHOSE is a possesssive relative word , used as a determiner before NOUNS. It replaces his/her/its. Ex: I saw a girl WHOSE HAIR comes down to her waist.

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES

DEFINING / NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

DEFINING relative clauses provide information that is essential to understand the whole message. If we omit it , the rest of the sentence doesn't make sense. Ex: People who take physical exercise live longer. We do not use commas to separate sentences .

DEFINING / NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

NON-DEFINING relative clauses provide information that is not essential to understand the whole message. If we omit it , the rest of the sentence makes sense. Ex: Jill, who used to be my neighbour, is going to marry my nephew. We use commas to separate sentences. In these kind of sentences we do not use THAT when referring to things or objects. Instead we prefer WHICH.

WHO and WHOM

WHO can be used as an OBJECT in defining clauses in an informal style. Ex: The woman who I marry will have a good sense of humour. ( More formal: The woman whom I marry ...) In NON-DEFINING clauses , WHO is less common as an object, though it is sometimes used in an informal style. Ex: In that year he met Rachel , whom he was later to marry. ( OR...Rachel, who he was later to marry . - informal)

WHEN and WHERE

After common nouns referring to time, WHEN is often replaced by THAT or simply dropped in an informal style. Ex: I'll never forget the day ( that ) we met. The same thing happens with WHERE after somewhere, anywhere everywhere, nowhere and place. Ex: Have you got somewhere ( that ) I can lie down for an hour?

REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

We use the Present Participle ( in the active voice ) or the Past Participle ( in the passive voice ) instead of the relative pronoun and the verb. Ex: Who's the girl dancing ( who is dancing ) to your brother? Half of the people invited ( who were invited ) to the party didn't turn up.

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