Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Relative Clauses
Relative Clauses
Relative Clauses
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 sobject or object it refers to.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
WHO
WHICH
THAT WHEN
WHERE
WHOM
WHOSE
WHO
BACK
WHICH
BACK
THAT
WHEN
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.
BACK
WHOSE
It is used to talk about POSSESSION. In Spanish we translate it into cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas
Last week I found a dog. Its owner was very rich. Last week I found a dog WHOSE owner was very rich.
BACK
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:
A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. I didn't know what he was going to do next.
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.
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?)
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):
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.
That's the building. I work there. That's the boy. His mother works in the post office.
The businessman was very rich. I saw him last night. That's the dog. Its owner is French.