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RELATIVE CLAUSES

The document explains relative clauses, which provide additional information about a noun (antecedent) in a main sentence. It distinguishes between defining and non-defining relative clauses, detailing the use of relative pronouns and adverbs such as 'who,' 'whom,' 'which,' 'that,' 'when,' 'where,' and 'whose.' The document also discusses the omission of relative pronouns and the placement of clauses in sentences.

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10 views

RELATIVE CLAUSES

The document explains relative clauses, which provide additional information about a noun (antecedent) in a main sentence. It distinguishes between defining and non-defining relative clauses, detailing the use of relative pronouns and adverbs such as 'who,' 'whom,' 'which,' 'that,' 'when,' 'where,' and 'whose.' The document also discusses the omission of relative pronouns and the placement of clauses in sentences.

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luuuusiitalop
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REL ATIVE

CL AUSES
1ST PCSE
WHAT IS A
REL ATIVE
CL AUSE?
– It is a sentence that gives MORE INFORMATION about a noun, called,
ANTECEDENT (a person, a thing, a place, a time...) in a MAIN sentence.

• He’s the man who scored the winning goal.


• He’s the man that scored the winning goal.
• The hotel which is in front of the beach is quite expensive.
• The house where I live is in Granada.
• The girl whose book a borrowed is in love with you.
• It was the year when she married her husband.
REL ATIVE
PRONOUNS /
ADVERBS
WHO WHOM

“quien, quienes, el cual, la cual…” “con quien, a quien…”


-More formal, and less and less common.
-Preceded by a preposition.

-Who are those children? Nowadays, I would not change anything I’ve done or what
-I don’t know who they are. I’ve lived, and with whom I have lived those moments.

The man who was carrying the bags is Mary’s brother. The girl whom I saw at the party is my friend’s ex-
girlfriend.

WHO vs WHOM
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BET WEEN BOTH EX AMPLES?

A)THE STUDENTS WHO ARE


DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE
H A R D W O R K I N G PA S S E D T H E
EXAM.
B)THE STUDENTS, WHO ARE
H A R D W O R K I N G , PA S S E D T H E NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

EXAM.
DEFINING
REL ATIVE
CL AUSES
“ORACIONES DE RELATIVO ESPECIFICATIVAS”
• They give essential information about their antecedent and without them the
meaning will be incomplete.
– She spoke to the man who painted the house. (REL CL: it refers to a specific man, the one
who painted the house and not other man).
• We don’t use commas.

• RELATIVE PRONOUNS and ADVERBS (SUBJECT or OBJECT of subordinate


sentence)
– WHO: people- That’s the boy who I met yesterday.
– WHOM: people*- That’s the boy whom I met yesterday. (*more formal/”who” is the
object of the subordinate)
– WHICH: things- He bought the bike which you liked.
– THAT: people / things (colloquial style)- I saw the woman that visited you.
• He bought the motorbike that you liked.
– WHEN: time- Summer is the season when I'm happiest.
– WHERE: place- That's the stadium where Real Madrid play.
– WHOSE: possession- He's a musician whose albums have sold millions.
OMISSION OF THE RELATIVE
• Unlike Spanish, where we can find a sentence without a subjected
(omitted), in English the subject is compulsory.

• When the relative pronouns function as an object you can omit it. It
cannot be omitted when it functions as a subject.
– That’s the boy (who/that) I met yesterday.
– She loves the chocolate (which/that) I bought for her.
– I’m looking for a secretary WHO/THAT can use that specific
accounting programme.
– We bought a house WHICH/THAT is 200 years old.
OMISSION OF THE RELATIVE
'Whose' is always the subject of the relative clause and can't be left out. It
replaces a possessive. It can be used for people and things.
The dog is over there. The dog's / its owner lives next door.
→ The dog whose owner lives next door is over there.
The little girl is sad. The little girl's / her doll was lost.
→ The little girl whose doll was lost is sad.
The woman is coming tonight. Her car is a BMW.
→ The woman whose car is a BMW is coming tonight.
The house belongs to me. Its roof is very old.
→ The house whose roof is old belongs to me.
NON-DEFINING
REL ATIVE
CL AUSES
“ORACIONES DE RELATIVO EXPLICATIVAS”
• They give extra information about their antecedent.
– The new doctor in town, who is really tall, is the best I’ve ever had.
• We use commas.

• RELATIVE PRONOUNS and ADVERBS


– WHO: people- My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester.
– WHOM: people*- My sister, whom I always help with maths, is younger than me.
(*more formal/”who” is the object of the subordinate)
– WHICH: things- My bike, which I’ve had for 10 years, is falling apart.
– WHEN: time- December, when Christmas is celebrated, is my favourite month.
– WHERE: place- City Park, where we used to go every Sunday, is closed now.
– WHOSE: possession- The award was given to Sarah, whose short story impressed
everyone.
– THAT* CANNOT BE USED IN NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES.
• THE RELATIVE PRONOUN CANNOT BE OMITTED.
POSITION OF NON-DEFINING REL.CL.

• Clause comes after the subject • Clause comes after the object
• My boss, who is very nice, lives in • Yesterday I called our friend Julie,
Manchester. who lives in New York.
• My sister, who I live with, knows a • The photographer called to the Queen,
lot about cars. who looked annoyed.
• My bicycle, which I've had for • Last week I bought a new computer,
more than ten years, is falling which I don't like now.
apart. • I really love the new Chinese
• My mother's house, which I grew up restaurant, which we went to last
in, is very small. night.
PREPOSITIONS
AND REL ATIVE
CL AUSES
•listen to
The music is good. Julie listens to the music.
→ The music (which / that) Julie listens to is good.
•work with
My brother met a woman. I used to work with the woman.
→ My brother met a woman (who / that) I used to work with.
•go to
The country is very hot. He went to the country.
→ The country (which / that) he went to is very hot.
•come from
I visited the city. John comes from the city.
→ I visited the city (that / which) John comes from.
•apply for
The job is well paid. She applied for the job.
→ The job (which / that) she applied for is well paid.

IF THE VERB IN THE RELATIVE CLAUSE NEEDS A PREPOSITION, WE PUT


IT AT THE END OF THE CLAUSE
ANY QUESTIONS?

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