RELATIVE

CLAUSES
Presented by:
Vassilia Evangelou
Definition

A relative clause is a part of a sentence beginning with

a relative pronoun (although this pronoun can be
omitted in certain cases). For example:
● The school where I taught is called Alboraya English
Centre.
●
The man who went into the baker's bought a loaf of bread.
●
My sister, who lives near London, is coming to visit me
soon.
The relative pronoun must be just after the antecedent
( what it refers to)
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
● WE ARE GOING TO CHOOSE THE RELATIVE PRONOUN
ACCORDING TO THE ANTECEDENT :

WHICH THAT
WHO WHEN

WHERE WHOM WHOSE

 WHO
● We use it to talk about PEOPLE.
● It can work as a subject or as an complement.

That woman is my boss. I saw her in a disco.

That woman who I saw in a disco is my boss.

BACK
 WHICH
● We use it to talk about ANIMALS or THINGS.
● It can work as a subject or as an complement.

That cat is Egyptian. My sister bought it yesterday.

That cat which my sister bought yesterday is Egyptian

BACK
THAT
● It can substitute WHO or WHICH:
● It can be only used in NON-DEFINING
CLAUSES:

That woman that I saw in a disco is my boss.

That cat that my sister bought yesterday is Egyptian

BACK
WHEN
● It is used to talk about TIME.
● It only works as a complement.

He visited us last year. We were moving then.

He visited us last year when we were moving.

BACK
 WHERE
● It is used to talk about PLACES.
● It only works as a complement.
● Many times it is the same as in which o to which

Tom came to Italy yesterday. His girlfriend is living there.

Tom came to Italy where his girlfriend is living yesterday.

BACK
WHOM

● We are going to use it to talk about PEOPLE.

● It is usually used in formal English.
● It can be after a preposition.

● The woman to whom he was talking is his sister.

BACK
WHOSE
● It is used to talk about POSSESSION.

Last week I found a dog. Its owner was very rich.

Last week I found a dog WHOSE owner was very
rich.

BACK
Trickier relative pronouns

Four relative pronouns often seem to confuse people, but

they're easy to use too.

WHICH
This can be used to refer to the whole part of the sentence
that went before. Usually a pronoun refers to a noun, but
this refers to more. For example:
● I've broken my leg, which means I can't walk.
● I've still got some money left, which is surprising.
WHAT

This can be literally translated to mean 'the

thing that' or 'that which'. It is not used
anywhere near as often as 'which' or 'that'
and is not used in the same way. For
example:

● I didn't know what he was going to do next.

Non-defining relative clauses

These are the ones that give extra information. They

are always written between commas. If you leave
out the relative clause between the commas it still
makes sense. For example:
● Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on the
Mediterranean coast.
(We all know Valencia, so this is extra information not
needed for understanding.)
● My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every year.
(I've only got one set of parents.)
● I used to live in London, where I was born and went to
school.
Defining relative clauses

These are the ones that give you the information you
need to understand the sentence. There are no
commas. If you take the relative clause away, the
sentence doesn't make sense. For example:

● The team that wins will receive a cup and 1,000 €.

(What team?)
● The man who lives next door is always making a noise.
(What man?)
● Has he told you what he's going to do?
(Has he told me what?)
Subject and object pronouns
The use of who/which/that may depend on whether the
pronoun is the subject or the object of the sentence.
For example:
● The man who spoke to me told me the story of his life.
(He spoke to me, so 'who' is the subject and 'me' is the
object.)
● The man that I spoke to told me the story of his life.
(I spoke to him, so 'I' is the subject and 'that' is the object.)
When the pronoun is the object it can be left out (in
defining clauses):
● The man I spoke to told me the story of his life.
Combine the sentences using
non-defining relative pronouns.
My greasy neighbour stinks of after-shave. My greasy neighbour is
a bus driver.
● My greasy neighbour, who is a bus driver, stinks of after-shave.

Valencia is a great place. Valencia is due east of Madrid.

● Valencia, which is due east of Madrid, is a great place.

Jimbo is living in Thailand now. Jimbo got divorced last year.

● Jimbo, who got divorced last year, is living in Thailand now.

Clare is a good teacher. I don't like Clare very much.

● Clare, who(m) I don't like very much, is a good teacher.

The Flaca pub rocks. I met my girlfriend in The Flaca. (use

WHERE)
● The Flaca pub, where I met my girlfriend, rocks.
Combine the sentences using
defining relative pronouns (omit the
pronoun when it is possible)
That's the girl. She spoke to me yesterday.
● That's the girl who spoke to me yesterday.
What's the name of the book? You want me to
read it.
● What's the name of the book (that) you want me
to read?
●
What's the name of the book (which) you want me
●
to read?
What's the name of the book you want me to
read?
We stayed in a hotel. The hotel was very
expensive.
● The hotel we stayed in was very expensive.
● The hotel (which) we stayed in was very
expensive.
● The hotel (that) we stayed in was very expensive.
● The hotel where we stayed was very expensive.
●
We stayed in a hotel which was very expensive.
I rent a house. It is very small.
● The house I rent is very small.
● The house (which) I rent is very small.
● The house (that) I rent is very small.
● I stay in a house which is very small.
The car was stolen. It was a BMW.
● The car which was stolen was a BMW.
● The car that was stolen was a BMW.
The man smoked forty cigarettes a day. He died of a
heart attack.
● The man who died of a heart attack smoked forty cigarettes
a day.
● The man who smoked forty cigarettes a day died of a heart
attack.
That's the building. I work there.
● That's the building where I work.
That's the boy. His mother works in the post office.
● That's the boy whose mother works in the post office.
The businessman was very rich. I saw him last night.
● The businessman was very rich. I saw him last night.
● The businessman (whom) I saw last night was very rich.
● The businessman (who) I saw last night was very rich.
● The businessman (that) I saw last night was very rich.
That's the dog. Its owner is French.
● That's the dog whose owner is French.
LET’S PRACTISE!