SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180.

(adapted)

Relative Clauses
We use a relative clause to give more information about a noun phrase in a preceding clause.
Instead of repeating the subject noun phrase, we can use a relative pronoun (who, which).

1. I have a friend. The friend or He lives in London. ⇒ I have a friend who lives in
London.
2. We found a shop. The shop or It sold old records. ⇒ We found a shop which sold old
records.

When we use a relative pronoun instead of an object noun or pronoun, we put the relative
pronoun at the beginning of the relative clause. We don’t repeat the noun or pronoun.

3. I loved the card. You sent it. ⇒ I loved the card that you sent. (not …that you sent it.)
4. He’s one man. I admire him. ⇒ He’s one man whom I admire.

We usually try to put relative clauses immediately after the noun phrases they describe (5),
but we can include a prepositional phrase between the noun phrase and the relative clause (6).

5. The food came in plastic bags. We had to eat the food. ⇒ The food that we had to eat
came in plastic bags.
6. A pirate is a person on a ship who attacks and steals from other ships.

Relative pronouns: who, whom, which, that

We use who and whom when we are talking about people. We can use who as the subject of a
relative clause (7) and whom as the object (8). Whom is formal. In informal situations, we
can use who as the object or, more usually, we leave out the relative pronoun (9).

7. Michael is a teacher. He works in Dublin. ⇒ Michael is a teacher who works in

Dublin.
8. The person wasn’t Michael. You met him. ⇒ The person whom you met wasn’t
Michael.
9. The person who you met wasn’t Michael/The person _you met wasn’t Michael.

We can use whom after prepositions at the beginning of a relative clause in formal situations.
In informal situations, we can put the preposition after the verb and use who at the beginning
or, more usually, we leave out the relative pronoun.

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

10. The man is Joe Nash. You should talk to him. ⇒ The man to whom you should talk is
Joe Nash/ The man who you should talk to is Joe Nash/The man you should talk to is
Joe Nash.

We use which and that for things or animals (11) and after group nouns such as team, for a
group of people we are thinking as a single unit (12). Which is more formal. In informal
situations, we sometimes use that instead of who/whom for people. (13)

11. I found the keys which/that were missing. / They own a cat which/that doesn’t have a
tail.
12. We were in the team. The team won the cup.. ⇒ We were in the team which/that won
the cup.
13. The woman is a nurse. She lives next door. ⇒ The woman that lives next door is a
nurse.

We can use which after the prepositions at the beginning of a relative clause in formal
situations. In informal situations, we put the preposition after the verb and use that at the
beginning of the relative clause or, more usually, we leave out the relative pronoun.

14. I can’t remember the hotel. We stayed in the hotel. ⇒ I can’t remember the hotel in
which we stayed / I can’t remember the hotel (that) we stayed in.

1. Defining Relative Clauses

In a defining relative clause, we include information that identifies or classifies people (1)
and things (2). The meaning of the sentence is not complete without the defining relative
clause.

1. Do you remember the woman who used to work in the bookshop?

2. Do you have a thing that measures temperature?

We often use (that) at the beginning of a defining relative clause instead of the object (3) or
the object of a preposition (4). We usually use (that) after noun phrases containing
superlatives (5) or quantifiers (6).

3. I bought the dictionary. Sonia wanted it. ⇒ I bought the dictionary that Sonia wanted.
4. The film is “Twins”. He’s talking about it” ⇒ The film (that) he’s talking about is
“Twins”.
5. It’s the best film (that) I’ve seen in years. He was the worst teacher (that) I had at
school.

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

6. There’s a lot (that) I don’t know about computers. Every person (that) we met had a
cold.

We can also begin defining relative clauses with who, whom and which.

7. I don’t know anyone who/whom I can trust / There are two rules which you must
always obey.

2. Non-Defining Relative Clauses

When we want to include essential information, we use a defining relative clause (8). When
we are simply adding extra information, we use a non-defining relative clause (9). We usually
put a comma before a non-defining clause and a comma after it, unless it is the end of the
sentence.

8. The first caller who can give the correct answer will win the prize.
9. The first caller, who was from the London area, didn’t give the correct answer.

We usually use who, whom or which at the beginning of non-defining relative clauses (10).
We don’t usually begin non-defining relative clauses with that or without a relative pronoun
(11).

10. Our new boss, who seems to be nice, has said nothing about Mr Bell, whom he
replaced.
11. The Mini, which some people initially laughed at, soon became the most popular car.

We can use non-defining relative clauses with which to add comments about preceding
statements (12). We also use which in preposition phrases such as in which case at the
beginning of non-defining relative clauses used to add comments (13).

12. They said Catherine had been in prison, which simply wasn’t true.
13. There may be a strike, in which case the office will remain closed.

In non-defining relative clauses we can use of which and of whom after quantifiers such as
some (14) or superlatives such as the most famous (15). We do this when we want to add
information about part of something or about an individual from a group already mentioned.

14. The last lecture, some of which I just didn’t understand, was about osmosis.
15. At the conference, there were several writers, the most famous of whom was Paul
Theroux.

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

3. Possessives with relative clauses

We use whose instead of possessive determiners such as his before nouns. We usually use
whose to refer to people (1), but it can also be used after nouns for places and organizations.

1. Is he the boy? His bag was stolen. ⇒ Is he the boy whose bag was stolen?
2. Napa is in a region whose wines are famous.
3. Delco is a company whose products are everywhere.

We can also use whose to talk about things that are part of, or belong to other things.

4. Draw a circle. Its radius is one inch. ⇒ Draw a circle whose radius is one inch.
5. They live in a small town whose name I’ve forgotten.

Instead of whose before a noun, we can use of which after a noun when we talk about things.
In informal uses, we can put which or that at the beginning and the noun plus of at the end.

6. It’s a small town, the name of which I’ve forgotten.

7. They live in a small town which/that I’ve forgotten the name of.

In formal uses, of which is sometimes before the noun: Draw a circle, of which the radius is
one inch.

4. Prepositions in relative clauses

We can use prepositions at the beginning or the end of relative clauses. We usually put
prepositions at the end in informal situations.

1. This is the room. I work in it. ⇒ This is the room in which I work OR the room that I
work in.

When we put prepositions at the end, we usually use that (2) or no relative pronoun (3) at the
beginning. In formal situations, we include which, who and whom at the beginning (4).

2. Cook’s was the shop that everybody went to for shoes. / There were bunk beds that
we slept in.
3. Your opponent is the person _ you play against. / The day _ I’d been waiting for soon
arrived.
4. Camden is the area (which) I grew up in. / Is he the boy (who/whom) you were telling
us about?

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

We always put the preposition at the end after a phrasal verb in a relative clause.

5. There are things (which) he’s had to cut back on. (not on which…)
He is a person (who/whom) I’ve always looked up to (not to whom I’ve looked up…)

When we put prepositions at the beginning of a relative clause, we use which (not that) (6) or
whom (not who) (7).

6. A clothes horse is a frame on which clothes are hung to dry.

7. A lot will be expected from people to whom a lot is given.

Relative clauses with where, when, why

We can use where instead of in which, at which, etc, after nouns for places (1) and after
nouns such as point and stage (2). More figuratively, we can use where after nouns like
situation (3).

1. There’s a small box. I keep keys in it. ⇒ There’s a small box where/in which I keep
keys.
2. We have reached a stage where we now have more people applying than we have
space for.
3. Women are better in situations where strategy is more important than strength.

Other nouns used like this include: activity, case, example, experience, society.

We can use when instead of at which, during which, etc, after nouns referring to time.

4. Do you have a moment when we can talk? / That was a period when everything was
fine.

We don’t use when after each/every time. ⇒ That happens each/every time (that) it rains.

After the noun reason, we can use why or no relative pronoun.

5. There may be good reasons (why) he couldn’t come. / There’s no reason (why) you
can’t do it.

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

5. Reduced Relative Clauses

A relative clause formed with a participle and no relative pronoun is called a reduced relative
clause. We use present participles (1) and past participles (2).

1. There are two students who are waiting outside. ⇒ There are two students waiting
outside.
2. The strawberries which had been dipped in chocolate were really delicious! ⇒ The
strawberries dipped in chocolate were really delicious!

We use a present participle in place of an active verb (3) and a past participle in place of a
passive verb (4).

3. There were teachers who were shouting and children who were running out of the
building.
⇒ There were teachers shouting and children running out of the building.

4. Debbie only drinks juice that is made from fresh fruit that is grown organically.
⇒ Debbie only drinks juice made from fresh fruit grown organically.

We can use participles instead of verbs referring to the past, present or future.

5. The winner is the person who scored/scores/will score the most points in this game.

⇒ The winner is the person scoring the most points in this game.

6. First prize is for the most points which were scored/are scored/will be scored in the
game.

⇒ First prize is for the most points scored in the game.

We can use a participle from a simple passive to describe a general situation (7), a continuous
passive to emphasize that a situation is continuing (8) or perfect passive to emphasize that a
situation has continued from an earlier time (9).

7. We are concerned about people held in person without a trial (= who are held)
8. We are concerned about people being held in prison without a trial (who are being
held)
9. We are concerned about people having been held in prison for years (= who have
been held).

Participles can also be used in non-defining relative clauses, usually in written descriptions
and narratives.

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 SOURCE: Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced P. 172–180. (adapted)

10. The old car, trailing black smoke, drove off towards town (= which was trailing
smoke)
Robert Ball, nicknamed ‘Big Bob’, was my favorite teacher.

We put not before the participle in negative reduced relative clauses.

11. My parents, not having much money, never went on holiday (= who didn’t have)

We don’t use a participle instead of a verb that describes a single or sudden action (12) or a
verb with a subject that is different from the relative pronoun (13).

12. There was a sudden bang that woke me up (not “waking me up”)
13. There are several things that we need from the shop (not “needing”)
This isn’t the information that I was given before (not “the information given
before”)

We usually use an infinitive, not a participle, after a noun preceded by the adjectives first,
second, etc.

14. Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon (= who walked on the
moon)

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

Nominal Clauses
- His story wasn’t clear ⇒ What he said wasn’t clear.
NP/S Nominal Clause/S (function is Subject)

- I didn’t understand his story ⇒ I didn’t understand what he said.

NP/Od Nominal Clause /Od

⇒ A nominal clause is a dependent clause (having a subject and a verb) which is used instead
of an NP.

⇒ It exemplifies the expansion of an NP into a clause within the structure of a sentence.

A nominal clause could be finite or non-finite.

- A finite clause is a clause which includes a tensed verb, i.e., a verb that shows
agreement in person and number, voice (active or passive), aspect (simple,
perfect or progressive), etc.
- A non-finite clause is a clause which includes a verb in the -ing participle, -ed
participle, to-infinitive or bare infinitive form.

A nominal clause could be a:

- Wh-interrogative Nominal Clause

- Yes-No interrogative Nominal Clause
- That Nominal Clause

I. WH-interrogative nominal clauses

Wh-interrogative nominal clauses are reported wh-questions introduced by wh-words. They
always leave a gap of information.

Example: Ex1 : Where does Tom live? I want to know.

⇒ 2 independent clauses (a question + a statement)

⇒ We want to know where Tom lives.

Independent clause Nominal clause which

A dependent clause (nominal clause) is connected to an independent clause.

In a nominal clause, DO NOT USE :

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

- question word order

- auxiliaries (do/does…)
- question mark if the independent clause is a statement

Ex2: Where are they? I don’t know. ⇒ I don’t know where they are.

Ex3: How much does this dress cost? I’m not quite sure.

⇒ I’m not quite sure how much this dress costs.

(Pay attention how you report a question in the present with ‘do’ or ‘does’; the verb should
remain in the present and coordinate with the singular pronoun: ‘dress’ = ‘i’ hence ‘costs’
and not ‘cost’)

Ex4: What color are her eyes? Do you know?

⇒ Do you know what color her eyes are? ⇒ The question mark is left because the
independent clause (Do you know) is a question.

Ex5 &6: What did he say? Could you tell me? ⇒ Could you tell me what he said?
-When did he begin? I want to know. ⇒ I want to know when he begins.

(Pay attention to the tense of the verb: it is in the past ‘began’ and ‘said’ because of the use
of ‘did’ in the question).

Ex 7: Who is she? No one knows. ⇒ No one knows who she is.

Ex8: Who wrote this email? Do you know? ⇒ Do you know who wrote this email?

(Pay attention to the word order which is the same in both the question and the nominal
clause because ‘who’ is Subject)

Look at the following examples:

1. How the book will sell depends on the publisher.

2. The real question is what we should do next.
3. Please, tell me how much money you need.
4. I am not sure which one of them is the most dependable.

⇒ The nominal clauses function as S in (1), (Cs) in (2), Od in (3) and AdjC in (4).

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

II. Yes-No Interrogative Nominal Clauses

They are reported Yes-No questions and the clauses are introduced by the conjunction
‘whether’ or ‘if’.

Ex1: Did he show you his passport? I want to know.

⇒ I want to know:- if he showed you his passport

- whether he showed you his passport
- if he showed you his passport or not.
- whether or not he showed you his passport

But we can’t say: ‘if or not’ he showed you his passport.

‘If’can’t be immediately followed by ‘or not’ but ‘or not’ can be postponed.
(Whether is more acceptable in formal English)

Ex 2: Should we inform him? Please tell me.

Please tell me: - if we should inform him (or not).

- whether we should inform him (or not)
- whether or not we should inform him.

Ex 3: Is it properly insured? I am not sure.

⇒ I am not sure - if it is properly insured (or not)

- whether it is properly insured (or not)
- whether or not it is properly insured.

Ex 4: Does this train go north? I wonder.

⇒ I wonder if/whether this train goes north (or not)/ I wonder whether or not this train
goes noth.

Ex 5: Has he recovered from his illness? I don’t know.

⇒ I don’t know if/whether he has recovered from his illness (or not) / I don’t know
whether or not he has recovered from his illness.

Ex 6: Will he resign? It is not clear.

⇒ Whether he will resign (or not)/Whether or not he will resign is not clear.

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

‘If’ can’t be used because the Yes-No interrogative nominal clause is Subject.

Ex 7: Can it be easily resold? My decision will depend on that.

⇒ My decision will depend on whether it can be easily resold.

‘If’ can’t be used after a preposition.

III. Reducing Nominal Clauses (from finite to

non-finite clauses)
Ex 1 : I can’t decide which book I should buy.
wh-interrogative nominal clause.

⇒ The subject ‘I’ of the monotransitive verb ‘decide’ has the same referent as the subject
of the nominal clause, ‘I’.

⇒ I can’t decide which book to buy.

to-infinitive non-finite wh-interrogative nominal clause.

Ex 2: Mandy didn’t know where she could find him.

wh-interrogative nominal clause.

⇒ The subject ‘Mandy’ of the monotransitive verb ‘know’ has the same referent as the
subject of the nominal clause.

⇒ Mandy didn’t know where to find him.

Ex 3 : Kate didn’t tell me when I should turn off the oven.

⇒ The indirect object ‘me’ of the ditransitive verb ‘didn’t tell’ has the same referent as the
subject of the nominal clause.

⇒ Kate didn’t tell me when to turn off the oven.

Ex 4: Can you tell me how I can get to the station?

⇒ The indirect object ‘me’ of the ditransitive verb ‘tell’ has the same referent as the
subject of the nominal clause.

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

⇒ Can you tell me how to get to the station?

Question words (when/where/how/who/whom/whose/what/which) and whether (not if)

may be followed by an infinitive.

Ex 5: I can’t remember where I put my sunglasses.

⇒ The nominal clause cannot be reduced to an infinitive clause because the tense of the
main verb (present tense) is different from the tense of the verb of the nominal clause (past
tense).

Ex 6: Can you tell me why I have to attend the meeting?

⇒ The nominal clause cannot be reduced because the wh-word is ‘why’.

Ex 7: He doesn’t know what they should do.

⇒ The nominal clause cannot be reduced because the subject ‘he’ of the monotransitive
verb ‘know’ doesn’t have the same referent as the subject of the nominal clause.

Ex 8: Can you tell us how she can get to the market?

⇒ The nominal clause cannot be reduced because the indirect object ‘us’ of the
ditransitive verb ‘tell’ doesn’t have the same referent as the subject of the nominal
clause.

IV. That Nominal Clauses

That clauses are finite and they are introduced by the conjunction ‘that’.

Ex 1: -She is smart. We believe so. ⇒ We believe that she is smart.

That nominal clause/Od (function is Direct Object)

Ex 2: - She is lying. It is obvious. ⇒ That she is lying is obvious.

That nominal clause/S (function is Subject).

Ex 3: -He didn’t get a letter. The only surprise is that.

⇒ The only surprise is that he didn’t get the letter.

That nominal clause/Cs (function is complement of the subject: Cs)

Ex 4: We shall not be able to meet you in June. We are sorry.

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 From the Grammar Course provided by Professor Lamia Dhaou (FLAHM)

⇒ We are sorry that we shall not be able to meet you in June.

That nominal clause/Adjectival complement

Ex 5: They had to leave without prior notice. It is strange.

a) That they had to leave without prior notice is strange.

b) It is strange that they had to leave without prior notice.

In (b) the subject is extraposed, i.e., delayed in the sentence and its initial position is filled
out with the anticipatory ‘it’.