Index

1 Introduction.................................................................................................................3

1.1 Objectives.............................................................................................................4

1.1.1 General...........................................................................................................4

1.1.2 Specifics.........................................................................................................4

1.2 Methodology.........................................................................................................4

2 Theoretical foundation................................................................................................9

2.1 Relative Clauses....................................................................................................9

2.1.1 Relative pronoun............................................................................................9

2.1.1.1 The relative pronoun “who”:.....................................................................9

2.1.1.2 The relative pronoun “which”:..................................................................9

2.1.1.3 The relative pronoun “that”:....................................................................10

2.1.2 Types of Relative Clauses...........................................................................10

2.1.2.1 Restrictive Relative Clauses....................................................................10

2.1.2.2 Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses...............................................................10

3 Conclusion..................................................................................................................9

4 Bibliographic references...........................................................................................10
1 Introduction

The present work has as its theme of approach: Relative Clauses. A relative (or adjective)
clause modifies a noun or pronoun and is introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom,
whose, which, or that) or occasionally a relative adverb (usually when, where, or why).
Relative clauses function as subordinate or dependent clauses and therefore cannot stand
alone as complete sentences. The relative pronoun (or adverb) is used to connect the relative
clause to an independent clause by referring to the noun or pronoun being modified.

Relative clauses are extremely useful because they enable writers to be more specific and
make writing more sophisticated. At the same time, they are confusing to many writers and
often used incorrectly. The most common difficulties occur in understanding the structure of
relative clauses, choosing the right pronoun (or adverb), using the correct punctuation, and
maintaining subject-verb agreement.

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1.1 Objectives

1.1.1 General

 To study Relative Clauses.

1.1.2 Specifics

 To Identify relative clauses

 Describe relative pronoun.
 Describe types of relative clauses.

1.2 Methodology

According to Marconi and Lakatos (2004, p. 44), “method is the path by which a certain
result is reached, even if this path has not been fixed in advance in a reflected and deliberate
way”.

a) Type of research
 As for nature: Basic research

Directly, basic research generates new knowledge for the advancement of science without
foreseen practical application.

 Regarding the procedures: Bibliographic research

As the authors Cervo and Bervian (2002, p. 32) teach, the bibliographic research is
carried out from the survey of theoretical references already analyzed, and published by
written and electronic means, such as books, scientific articles, Web sites pages.

In this research, bibliographic research will be applied in order to guarantee scientific

support through the comment or studies that were previously developed by several authors
around the topic under study. Likewise, the bibliographic research will be applied in order to
help in the triangulation of the data that are collected during the research and, observed by the
author of the work during the course of it.

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2 Theoretical foundation

2.1 Relative Clauses

 Defining relative clauses

According to Murphy (1994), they specify a noun or pronoun in the main clause and are
necessary if we want to understand the meaning of a sentence.

E.g: I saw the girl who was outside our house. They wanted the picture that cost two
pounds.

These relative clauses specify the objects of the main clauses. If we omit them, it is not
clear what girl or picture we are talking about. The defining relative clauses follow after the
relative pronouns who, which, that, whose and whom. We do not write them with commas.

2.1.1 Relative pronoun

The three most common relative pronouns are who, which, and that, but the choice of
pronoun depends upon the noun or pronoun modified by the clause.

2.1.1.1 The relative pronoun “who”:

 Refers to a person or people
 May be used with a clause that makes a noun specific (a restrictive clause)
 May be used with a clause that adds information (a nonrestrictive clause)

Example 1: People who live in New York lead very busy lives.

Example 2: My sister, who works for the YMCA, leads a very active life.

2.1.1.2 The relative pronoun “which”:

 Refers to a thing or concept
 Is most often used in clauses that add information
 Is sometimes used in a clause that makes a noun specific (usually when a speaker
or writer wants to sound more formal)

Example: The Empire State Building, which used to be the tallest building in the world,
is still a popular tourist attraction.

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2.1.1.3 The relative pronoun “that”:
 Most often refers to a thing or concept
 Is used only in clauses that make a noun more specific
 Is sometimes used to refer to a person or people (usually only in informal writing
or in speaking).

The lessons that we have learned are no more important than the lessons that we have
yet to learn.

2.1.2 Relative pronouns with prepositions

We use the relative pronouns with prepositions as follows.

 The man I got it from .....

 The man who/that I got it from .....
 The man from whom I got it .....

2.1.3 Types of Relative Clauses

2.1.3.1 Restrictive Relative Clauses

A restrictive relative clause defines or limits the meaning of the word it modifies, which
makes it essential to the meaning of the sentence. Restrictive relative clauses are not set off by
commas (Harrison, 1996, p. 34).

E.g: Women who work are happier than women who don’t work.

According to Harrison (Harrison, 1996, p.36), in the above sentence, the relative clauses
“who work” and “who don’t work” are used to make the noun “women” more specific. This
type of relative clause changes the meaning of the noun it modifies. In essence, women “who
work” and those “who don’t work” represent two different groups of women. Without the
appropriate relative clauses, this meaning would not be clear to the reader.

Examples of sentences that show how a relative clause can change the meaning of a noun:

Example 1: Students learn a lot.

 Students who ask questions learn a lot.

Example 2: Teachers are unpopular

 Teachers who give a lot of assignments are unpopular.

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2.1.3.2 Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses

A nonrestrictive relative clause describes a noun or pronoun whose meaning is already

defined or limited. As a result, the additional information is not essential and if the
nonrestrictive element was removed it would not significantly change your understanding of
the sentence (Fernández, 2000).

E.g: Going to the movies, which I love to do, can be very expensive.

In the above sentence, the relative clause “which I love to do” modifies “Going to the
movies,” but the additional information does not change the basic meaning of the sentence:
Going to the movies can be very expensive.

Example: “Creativity, which may take many forms, is a quality all human beings
have.” The relative clause “which may take many forms” modifies “Creativity,” but the
additional information does not change the basic meaning of the sentence.

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3 Conclusion

In conclusion, relative clauses describe the preceding noun in such a way to distinguish it
from other nouns of the same class. A clause of this kind is essential to clear understanding of
the noun.

In academic or formal writing, the relative pronoun “who” is preferred when referring to
a person or people: “The girl who lives next door was accepted into the nursing program.”
However, some writers as well as speakers will interchange “who” with “that.” It is best to
use “that” when referring to things or concepts with the exception of a group or class of
people.

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4 Bibliographic references

Fernández, C. (2000). English Grammar with exercises. Longman.

Harrison, M. (1996). Grammar Spectrum 2. Oxford University Press.

Murphy, R. (1994). Essential Grammar in Use. Cambridge University Press.