Relative clauses.

Look at the following sentences:

A very tall boy came to the party. He is Sarah's brother.

There are two pieces of information about one person. Each of these pieces of
information is in a different sentence. Relative clauses are subordinate clauses that
help us condense them into one single sentence:

The tall boy that came to the party is Sarah's brother.

There are two main types of relative clauses: defining (espécificativas) and non-
defining (explicativas) relative clauses.

Defining relative clauses provide us with a piece of information that is essential to

identify the element that we are talking about in the main clause (the antecedent). If
we omit the relative clause, we do not really know how to identify it. See:

The boy who has very long hair sells books.

Non-defining relative clauses provide us with some extra information about the
element that we are talking about in the main clause (the antecedent). If we omit the
relative clause, we still know how to identify it. See:

Her boyfriend, who lives in Seville, has travelled around the world.

Non-defining relative clauses are easy to identify because they always come between
commas (or dashes).

There are different relative pronouns we can use depending on the antecedent, that
is, depending to what the pronoun refers to:

• who: when the antecedent is a person (e.g. The man who lives next door is a
doctor).
• which: when the antecedent is an object or animal (e.g. The car which is outside
belongs to my friend).
• which: it can also refer to a whole idea or previous clause/sentence (e.g. I passed all
my exams, which made me really happy).
• that: it can replace who, which and sometimes when in defining relative clauses
(e.g. I saw the man that was sitting on the floor/ The object that they used to open the
box was broken/ I discovered the truth the moment that I heard him speaking).
- "that" can never be used in non-defining relative clauses.
• whose: it refers to possession (e.g. Maria, whose brother is in my class, has passed
all her exams).
• whom: it refers to people and is preceded by a preposition (e.g. The guy with whom
I went to the cinema is not my boyfriend). In this case, it is important to know
whether the verb of the relative clause works with a preposition or not. (See X1)

There are also relative adverbs that we can use depending on some specific
antecedents:
• where (= in which): it refers to a place (e.g. The restaurant where we had dinner was
opened last winter).
• when (= in which): it refers to a time expression (e.g. The day when I met you was
the happiest in my life).
• why (= for which): it refers to a reason (e.g. The reason why I didn't call you is that
I was angry with you).

Sometimes, relative pronouns and adverbs can be omitted. This happens when they
are the object of the relative clause, not when they are the subject of the relative
clause.

- I know the topic (which/that) they are discussing.

- She lives with the girl (that) she met at the party last year.
- The day (when) he arrived was a very special one for everybody.
- The boy that lives in your building is my best friend's cousin.

X1. RELATIVE CLAUSES WITH PREPOSITIONS

1. FORMAL STRUCTURE:
• The preposition appears before the relative pronoun. Also, "whom" always replaces
"who".
• Examples:
• The person to whom he pointed had paid for our meal.
• The test in which she succeeded was very difficult.
• The crimes of which he's accused all involve money.
• The girl with whom I went to the cinema enjoyed the film.
• The waiter about whom I complained was very rude.

2. INFORMAL STRUCTURE:
• The preposition appears at the end of the relative clause. Besides, the relative
pronoun can be eliminated if it's not preceded by a comma and if it's followed by
subject + verb.
• Examples:
• The person he pointed to had paid for our meal.
• The test she succeeded in was very difficult.
• The crimes he's accused of all involve money.
• The girl I went to the cinema withenjoyed the film.
• The waiter I complained about was very rude.