RELATIVE CLAUSES

 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS 

Relative pronouns are used to join two or more clauses, thus forming what we call "relative clauses". There are two types of relative clauses: those that add additional information and those that modify (or define) the subject of the sentence. Below is a list of relative pronouns.

 GRAMMATICAL RULES

• That: is the most commonly used relative pronoun in spoken English, as it can be used with both people and things. Used to replace “which”, “who” or “whom”

Example: This is the restaurant that received the excellent reviews in the newspaper.(Este es el restaurante que recibió excelentes críticas en el periódico).

• Which: Can only be used with things.

Example: The house which we lived in when we were children burnt down last week.(La casa en la que vivíamos cuando éramos niños se quemó la semana pasada).

• Who: It can only be used with people.

Example: My sister, who just moved in with me, is looking for a job.(Mi hermana, que se acaba de mudar conmigo, está buscando trabajo.)

• Whom: Is used to refer to the indirect object of the verb, but we don't use it much in colloquial English.

Example: The woman with whom I was talking to was my cousin.(La mujer con quién estaba hablando era mi prima).

• Whose: Indicates possession, both for people and for things.

Example: That is the girl whose parents got divorced last year.(Esa es la chica cuyos padres se divorciaron el año pasado.)

Note: The relative pronoun can be omitted when it is the object of the sentence.

Examples:   

1. The exam [that] I took this morning won’t be corrected and returned until next week.(El examen que hice esta mañana no se corregirá ni se devolverá hasta la semana que viene).
2. The woman [who] I’m dating is a teacher.(La mujer con quien estoy saliendo es profesora).

RELATIVE CLAUSES

We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information about something.

Example: I bought a new car. It is very fast.

           → I bought a new car that is very fast.

 

DEFINING RELATIVE

A defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about:

Example: I like the woman who lives next door.

(If I don't say 'who lives next door', then we don't know which woman I mean).

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE

A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. We don't need this information to understand the sentence.

EXAMPLE: I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.

(Everybody knows where London is, so 'which has some fantastic parks' is extra information).

PRACTICE: https://agendaweb.org/exercises/grammar/relative-clauses/relative-pronouns-1