RELATIVE PRONOUNS

⮚ The relative pronouns replace nouns and also link sentences:

❖ They have the same form for singular and plural

● The man who caught the burglar was a baker
● The men who flew the planes were real pilots

❖ There are relative pronouns only used with people: who / whom / whose

❖ There are relative only used with things: which / of which

❖ There is one pronoun , that , used for things and people.

❖ Sometimes we can omit the relative pronoun, when it’s not the subject of the verb:
● The man that l visited = the man l visited.

Persons Animals/things
subject who / that that / which
object whom / that that / which
possessive whose of which
with preposition prep. + whom prep. + which

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

⮚ These describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class.
⮚ A clause of this kind is essential to the clear understanding of the noun:
● The man who told me this refused to give me his name.
⮚ “ who told me this “ is the relative clause. If we omit this, it is not clear what man we are talking about. There’s no comma
between a noun and a defining relative clause.
● The noise that he made woke everybody up

CONTACT CLAUSES

When we omit the relative pronoun we call it a “ contact clause”. These are always defining.

⮚ That is the man. I saw him yesterday. -That is the man I saw yesterday.
⮚ I’ve borrowed a book from the library. It is a very old novel. - The book I have borrowed from the library is a
very old novel.

NON - DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

⮚ Non-defining relative clauses are placed after nouns which are definite already. They do not therefore define the noun, but
merely add something to it by giving some more information about it. Unlike defining relative clauses, they are not essential
in the sentence and can be omitted without causing confusion. They are separated from their noun by commas. The
pronoun can never be omitted in a non-defining relative clause.
● The neighbor, who is very pessimistic, says there will be no apples this year.
● Ann, whose children are at school all day, is trying to get a job.
● These books, which you can get at any bookshop, will give you all the information you need.
⮚ When the relative refers to the whole idea in the clause, you should use a comma and the relative WHICH ( =o que). This
clause is always non-defining: We often work in groups, which is very stimulating.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMAS IN RELATIVE CLAUSES

● The travellers who knew about the floods took another road.
● The travellers, who knew about the floods, took another road.

⮚ In the first sentence we have a defining relative clause, which defines or limits the noun “ travellers “. This sentence
therefore tells us that only the travellers who knew about the floods took the other road, and implies that there were other
travellers who did not know and who took the flooded road.

⮚ In the second sentence we have a non – defining clause, which does not define or limit the noun it follows. This sentence
therefore implies that all the travellers knew about the floods and took the other road.
 EXERCISES
1. Sydney has got dozens of beaches. They are long and clean.

2. A lot of information is now stored on microfilm. This is quite innovative.

3. Ted is one of our best athletes. He is now at the starting line.

4. Mr. Hill was born in New York. He considers himself to be Australian.

5. I know a woman. She works 12 hours a day.

6. Nicholas studies at Northlands College. He is working at a cafeteria.

7. The man had a gun in his hand. He was shouting.

8. Jane took a university degree. I know her mother.

9. She was still living with her parents. They were loving and tolerant.

10. The boy is going to travel with me. You saw him sitting next to me yesterday.

11. He got the job. It really surprised us.

12. The boy is my best friend. You see him sitting over there.

13. The gentleman must be rich. His car is a Jaguar.

14. The well-known politician has just returned. He went to Paris in a secret mission.

15. We all decided mountain climbing. This made everyone very cheerful.

16. Their house was completely ruined. It could be seen from the distance.

17. Any man should be sent to prison. He commits crimes against nature.

18. His latest book is autobiographical. It was published before he died.

19. The sound was like a shot. It woke me up.

20. The gentleman is my English teacher. You spoke to him on the street.

21. The architect has come from abroad. I most admire his works.

22. Bob Fisher flew to Beirut. The international police has been looking for him.

23. France is going to reduce her armaments. Her army has a great tradition.

24. The man invented television. His name is John Black.

25. They’re cataloguing the new library books. This is a very useful job.

26. The man didn’t sound English. He spoke to the passengers.

27. Laura has gone to see the doctor. She hasn’t been feeling well lately.

28. Malcolm is very keen on sport. He also does a lot of photography.

29. The man was wearing his best suit. He was coming for an interview.

30. The key was on the table. He needed it.

31. Jill Smith never sits still. She is just sixteen.

32. That’s the pop star. A journalist interviewed her at the airport.