RELATIVE CLAUSES

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, whose, where, when, why). 

Relative pronouns have a double function:
a) They refer to the noun that goes before them (ANTECEDENT)
b) They have a function in the relative clause 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS:
1. WHO: for people
    The man WHO lives on the second floor is a doctor

2. WHICH: for objects/animals/things
    The book WHICH you gave me is interesting.

3. THAT: can substitute WHO or WHICH (never in non-defining clauses), and it is more informal.
     The man THAT lives on the second floor is a doctor
     The book THAT you gave me is interesting.
   
4. WHOM: it is the same as WHO, but when it has a preposition before
     The man to WHOM you spoke is my brother.

5. WHOSE: indicates posession. It cannot be omitted. 
    I saw the boy WHOSE father is a doctor (...cuyo padre...)


6. WHERE: for places
    This is the place WHERE I was born

7. WHEN: for time
    The year WHEN I was born was very cold

8. WHY: for reasons
    The reason WHY I am here is to teach you English.


As we briefly (and quickly) saw in class, there are two types of clauses: defining and non-defining.

1. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (ESPECIFICATIVAS)
- They add essential information and specify something about the person/thing/place... 
- They can be introduced by all the pronouns above
- WHO, WHICH and THAT can be omitted when they are NOT the subject of the relative clause:
     The medicine [ WHICH/ THAT/ ------ the doctor gave me ] tastes horrible.
                                                                   subject

2. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (EXPLICATIVAS)
- They add extra information, that is not necessary to understand the sentence
- They go between commas.
- The relative pronoun CANNOT be omitted
- They CANNOT go with THAT
     My doctor, who is very nice, game me the medicine yesterday.
     Pedrajas, which is a town in Valladolid, is famous for its pine nuts.


Now, let's practice a little bit:

1.- COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES USING WHICH / WHO / WHEN / WHERE / WHOSE / THAT / NOTHING:

    1- There’s the man _________ taught me English.
    2- Do you know a bar _________ sells cheap beer?
    3- Do you know a shop _________ I can buy a laptop computer?
    4- The police haven’t found the person _________ killed Jack Dover.
    5- John Skull, _______ book "English made simple" sold a million copies, died today.
    6- The language ________ people speak in Wales is called Welsh.
    7- Ted, _________ fixes my car, has just won the lottery.
    8- This is Joe Biggs, _________ works in Greenwich.
    9- I’d like to speak to the person _________ deals with accounts.
    10- I hate it ________ my boss asks me to work overtime.
    11- Have you got a typewriter _________ I can borrow?
    12- The job ________ he got wasn’t very interesting.

2.- DECIDE   WHETHER  IT  IS  POSSIBLE  OR  NOT   TO   LEAVE  OUT   THE UNDERLINED WORD.

1. The parcel that contains your present is on the table.

2. Do you like the neighbour who lives next door?

3. There is no one whom I would prefer to you as a school mate.

4. It’s the short dark days that really depress most people.

5. The letter that I received this morning had bad news.

6. There is only a book written by Roald  Dhal which I haven’t read.

Quite easy, right? Check your answers here: 

ANSWERS