RELATIVE CLAUSES

We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence !" combining sentences with a relative clause# "our te$t becomes more fluent and "ou can avoid re%eating certain words How to Form Relative Clauses Imagine# a girl is tal&ing to Tom 'ou want to &now who she is and as& a friend whether he &nows her 'ou could sa"( A girl is tal&ing to Tom )o "ou &now the girl* That sounds rather com%licated# doesn+t it* It would be easier with a relative clause( "ou %ut both %ieces of information into one sentence Start with the most im%ortant thing , "ou want to &now who the girl is )o "ou &now the girlAs "our friend cannot &now which girl "ou are tal&ing about# "ou need to %ut in the additional information , the girl is tal&ing to Tom Use .the girl/onl" in the first %art of the sentence# in the second %art re%lace it with the relative %ronoun 0for %eo%le# use the relative %ronoun .who/1 So the final sentence is( )o "ou &now the girl who is tal&ing to Tom* Relative Pronouns relative pronoun who which which whose whom that use sub2ect or ob2ect %ronoun for %eo%le sub2ect or ob2ect %ronoun for animals and things referring to a whole sentence %ossession for %eo%le animals and things ob2ect %ronoun for %eo%le# es%eciall" in non5defining relative clauses 0in defining relative clauses we collo6uiall" %refer who1 sub2ect or ob2ect %ronoun for %eo%le# animals and things in defining relative clauses 0who or which are also %ossible1 example I told "ou about the woman who lives ne$t door )o "ou see the cat which is l"ing on the roof* 3e couldn4t read which sur%rised me )o "ou &now the bo" whose mother is a nurse* I was invited b" the %rofessor whom I met at the conference I don4t li&e the table that stands in the &itchen

Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun? Sub2ect and ob2ect %ronouns cannot be distinguished b" their forms 5 who# which# that are used for sub2ect and ob2ect %ronouns 'ou can# however# distinguish them as follows( If the relative %ronoun is followed b" a verb# the relative %ronoun is a subject pronoun Sub2ect %ronouns must alwa"s be used The a%%le which is l"ing on the table If the relative %ronoun is not followed b" a verb 0but b" a noun or %ronoun1# the relative %ronoun is an object pronoun 7b2ect %ronouns can be dro%%ed in defining relative clauses# which are then called Contact Clauses The a%%le (which) George la" on the table

Relative A verbs A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative %ronoun %lus %re%osition This often ma&es the sentence easier to understand This is the sho% in which I bought m" bi&e 9 This is the sho% where I bought m" bi&e relative a verb when where wh" meanin! in:on which in:at which for which use refers to a time e$%ression refers to a %lace refers to a reason example the da" when we met him the %lace where we met him the reason why we met him

"e#inin! Relative Clauses )efining relative clauses 0also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses1 give detailed information defining a general term or e$%ression )efining relative clauses are not %ut in commas Imagine# Tom is in a room with five girls 7ne girl is tal&ing to Tom and "ou as& somebod" whether he &nows this girl 3ere the relative clause defines which of the five girls "ou mean )o "ou &now the girl who is tal&ing to Tom* )efining relative clauses are often used in definitions A seaman is someone who wor&s on a shi% 7b2ect %ronouns in defining relative clauses can be dro%%ed 0Sentences with a relative clause without the relative %ronoun are called Contact Clauses 1 The bo" (who$whom) we met "esterda" is ver" nice %on&"e#inin! Relative Clauses ;on5defining relative clauses 0also called non-identifying relative clauses or nonrestrictive relative clauses1 give additional information on something# but do not define it ;on5defining relative clauses are %ut in commas Imagine# Tom is in a room with onl" one girl The two are tal&ing to each other and "ou as& somebod" whether he &nows this girl 3ere the relative clause is non5defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl "ou mean )o "ou &now the girl# who is tal&ing to Tom* ;ote( In non5defining relative clauses# who/which ma" not be re%laced with that 7b2ect %ronouns in non5defining relative clauses must be used <im# who:whom we met "esterda"# is ver" nice How to Shorten Relative Clauses? Relative clauses with who# which# that as sub2ect %ronoun can be re%laced with a %artici%le This ma&es the sentence shorter and easier to understand I told "ou about the woman who lives ne$t door , I told "ou about the woman living ne$t door )o "ou see the cat which is lying on the roof* , )o "ou see the cat lying on the roof* =