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Relative Clauses 2

The document discusses relative pronouns and relative clauses. It begins by explaining that who, which, and that are used as relative pronouns after the noun at the beginning of a relative clause. Who refers to people, while that and which refer to things. That is more common in conversation while which can be more formal. The relative pronoun can be the subject or object of the relative clause. Prepositions can be used with relative pronouns. Whose is used to indicate possession. What and it can also be used as relative pronouns to add emphasis. The document distinguishes between identifying relative clauses, which provide essential information, and adding relative clauses, which provide extra context.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
382 views

Relative Clauses 2

The document discusses relative pronouns and relative clauses. It begins by explaining that who, which, and that are used as relative pronouns after the noun at the beginning of a relative clause. Who refers to people, while that and which refer to things. That is more common in conversation while which can be more formal. The relative pronoun can be the subject or object of the relative clause. Prepositions can be used with relative pronouns. Whose is used to indicate possession. What and it can also be used as relative pronouns to add emphasis. The document distinguishes between identifying relative clauses, which provide essential information, and adding relative clauses, which provide extra context.
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© © All Rights Reserved
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137 Relative clauses with who, which and that

The relative pronouns who, which and that go after the noun and at the beginning of the relative clause.
Who refers to people.
Nick is the man who owns that enormous dog.
I don't like people who tell jokes all the time.
The little girl who sat next to me on the coach ate sweets the whole way.
Sarah is pretty annoyed with the person who stole her mobile phone.
We can also use that, but it is less usual.
Jake is the man that plays the guitar.
The woman that lived here before us is a romantic novelist.

That and which refer to things. That is more usual than which, especially in conversation.
The car that won the race looked very futuristic, didn't it?
They've recaptured all the animals that escaped from the zoo.
The children saw the actual spacecraft that landed on the moon.
Which can be a little formal.
There are several restaurants which do Sunday lunches.
Is Zedco the company which was taken over last year?

We do not use another pronoun like he or it with the relative pronoun.


NOT the-man who he owns-that-enormous-dog
NOT the-actual spacecraft that it landed on the moon.

In all these sentences who, which and that are the subject of the relative clause.

138 The relative pronoun as object

A Subject and object

Harriet is showing David her holiday photos.


Harriet: That's an old castle that we visited on holiday. And those are some people we met, a couple
who were staying at the campsite.
David: Mm. They look very friendly.

A relative pronoun such as who or that can be the subject of a relative clause.

Harriet talked to a couple who were staying at the camp-site. (They were staying at the camp-site.)

The postcard that came this morning was from Harriet. (It came this morning.)

A relative pronoun can also be the object of a relative clause.

Mike and Harriet are visiting a woman who they met on holiday. (They met her on holiday.)
The old castle that we visited was really interesting. (We visited it.)

We do not use another pronoun like her or it with the relative pronoun.
NOT a woman who they met her
NOT -the old castle that we visited it

B Leaving out the relative pronoun

We can leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of the relative clause.

WITH OBJECT PRONOUN WITHOUT OBJECT PRONOUN


The man who Vicky saw at the concert is Sarah's boss. The man Vicky saw at the concert is Sarah's boss.

That's an old castle that we visited. That's an old castle we visited.

Here are some more examples of relative clauses without an object pronoun.
We don't know the name of the person the police are questioning.
The cakes Melanie baked were delicious.
That jacket you're wearing is falling to pieces, Mike.

Remember that we cannot leave out a pronoun when it is the subject of a relative clause.
The man who spoke to Vicky is Sarah's boss.

C Who and whom

In formal English, whom is sometimes used when the object of the relative clause is a person.
The person who/whom the police were questioning has now been released.

139 Prepositions in relative clauses

Introduction

A relative pronoun (e.g. that) can be the object of a preposition (e.g. for).

This is the bus that I've been waiting for. I've been waiting for the bus.
The restaurant that we normally go to is closed today. We normally go to the restaurant.

Compare the word order.

STATEMENT RELATIVE CLAUSE

I've been waiting for the bus. The bus that I've been waiting for

We go to the restaurant. The restaurant that we go to

We do not use another pronoun like it or her after the preposition.


NOT the restaurant that we go to it NOT someone who / work with her
B Leaving out the pronoun

We often leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of a preposition.

WITH OBJECT PRONOUN WITHOUT OBJECT PRONOUN

The bus that I'm waiting for is late. The bus I'm waiting for is late.

Is this the article which you were interested in? Is this the article you were interested in?

That's the man who I was talking about. That's the man I was talking about.

Here are some more examples of relative clauses without an object pronoun.
I can’t remember the name of the hotel we stayed at.
This is the color we've finally decided on.
The shop I got my stereo from has lots of bargains.

C A preposition at the beginning

These examples are typical of formal English.

Was that the restaurant to which you normally go?


Electronics is a subject about which I know very little.
The Sales Manager is the person from whom I obtained the figures.

Here the preposition comes at the beginning of the relative clause, before which or whom.

We cannot put a preposition before that or who.

a subject (that) I know little about


NOT a subject -about that I know little

the person (who) I got the figures from


NOT the-person from who I got the figures

140 Relative structures with whose, what and it

A. Whose

Vicky: What I'd really like is a job in television.


Daniel: The other day I met a man whose sister works in television. Vicky: Who? What's her name?
Daniel: Oh, I don't know. She's the woman whose car Tom crashed into.

Here whose sister means his sister (the sister of the man Daniel met), and whose car means her car (the
car belonging to the woman). Here are some more examples.

Someone whose bicycle had been stolen was reporting it to the police.
Wayne Johnson is the man whose goal won the game for United.

We use whose mainly with people, e.g. someone, the man. But sometimes it goes with other nouns.
Which is the European country whose economy is growing the fastest?
Round the corner was a building whose windows were all broken.
Melanie was looking after a dog whose leg had been broken in an accident.

B What

We use the relative pronoun what without a noun in front of it.


The shop didn't have what I wanted. (= the thing that I wanted)
What we saw gave us quite a shock. (= the thing that we saw)

We can also use what to give emphasis to a word or phrase, to make it more important. Compare these
examples.

NEUTRAL EMPHATIC

Rachel's stereo kept me awake. What kept me awake was Rachel's stereo.

Vicky is looking for a job in television. What Vicky is looking for is a job in television.

I want to make a fresh start. What I want to do is make a fresh start.

They booked a holiday together. What they did was book a holiday together.

C It

We also use it + be + a relative clause to give emphasis.

NEUTRAL EMPHATIC

Tom had an accident. It was Tom who had an accident (not David).

The computer gives me a headache. It's the computer that gives me a headache.

I'm eating chocolate cake. It's chocolate cake (that) I'm eating.

Mike's uncle died on Thursday. It was on Thursday that Mike's uncle died.

We must put in a pronoun when it is the subject of the relative clause (e.g. who had an accident). If it is
the object (e.g. that I'm eating), then we can leave it out.

141 The use of relative clauses

A. Introduction

There are two kinds of relative clause. Compare this conversation and newspaper report.

Laura: Art Golding has died.


Trevor: Who?
Laura: You know. The film star who played the ship's captain in 'Iceberg'.
Trevor: I don't think I've seen that.
Laura: Yes, you have. It's the film we saw on TV the other night.

ART GOLDING DIES

The actor Art Golding, who starred in films such as 'Tornado' and 'Iceberg', has died after a long illness.
He was seventy-eight. Art Golding's most famous role was as the scientist in the film 'Supernova', which
broke all box-office records. The clauses in this conversation identify which film star and which film
Laura means. They are called identifying clauses.

The clauses in this report add information about Art Golding and about 'Supernova'. They are called
adding clauses, or sometimes non-identifying clauses.

B. Identifying clauses and adding clauses

IDENTIFYING

The man who lives next door to Melanie is rather strange.


The river which flows through Hereford is the Wye.
The picture which was damaged is worth thousands of pounds.
These clauses identify which thing the speaker is talking about.
The clause who lives next door to Melanie tells us which man.
The clause which flows through Hereford tells us which river.
Without the relative clause the sentence would be incomplete.

The man is rather strange makes sense only if we know which man. An identifying clause does not have
commas around it. Most relative clauses are identifying. We use them both in speech and in writing.

ADDING

Jake, who lives next door to Melanie, is rather strange.


The Wye (which flows through Hereford) is a beautiful river.
This famous picture - which was damaged during the war - is worth thousands of pounds.

These clauses add extra information about something which is already identified. The clause who lives
next door to Melanie adds information about Jake.

But we can say the sentence on its own without the relative clause.
Jake is rather strange. – makes sense because the name Jake identifies who we are talking about.

An adding clause has commas around it. If the adding clause is at the end of the sentence, we need only
one comma or dash. That's Jake, who lives next door. Adding clauses can be rather formal. We use them
mainly in writing. They are common in news reports. In speech we often use two short sentences.
Jake lives next door to Melanie.
He's rather strange.
142 Relative pronouns and relative adverbs

A. Pronouns in identifying and adding clauses

There are two kinds of relative clause: identifying and adding.

Look at the pronouns in these examples.

IDENTIFYING

I'm sure I know the person who served us.


The pop singer whom Guy invited onto his chat show never turned up.
The woman whose flat was burgled spent the night at a friend's house.
Towns which/that attract tourists are usually crowded in the summer.

In an identifying clause we can use who, whom, whose, which or that.

ADDING

Natalie, who served us, is a friend of Emma's.


Arlene Black, whom Guy invited onto his chat show, never turned up.
Natasha, whose flat was burgled, spent the night at a friend's house.
Oxford, which attracts many tourists, is often crowded in the summer.

In an adding clause we can use who, whom, whose or which. We do NOT use that.

B Leaving out the pronoun

Sometimes we can leave the pronoun out of an identifying clause.

The woman (who) you met yesterday works in advertising.


Have you seen the book (that) I was reading?
Laura couldn't find the box (that) she kept her photos in.

We cannot leave the pronoun out of an adding clause.

Sarah, whom you met yesterday, works in advertising.


That book 'Brighton Rock', which I was reading, is really good.
Laura had a wooden box, in which she kept her photos OR which she kept her photos in.

C The relative adverbs where, when and why

Look at these examples.

This is the place where the accident happened.


Do you remember the day when we moved the piano upstairs?
The reason why Nick came was that he wanted to see Rita.
We can leave out when or why, or we can use that.
Do you remember the day (that) we moved the piano upstairs?
The reason (that) Nick came was that he wanted to see Rita.

There are also adding clauses with where and when.


We went to the Riverside Restaurant, where I once had lunch with Henry.
Mark likes to travel at night, when the roads are quiet.

D. A special use of which

In an adding clause, we can use which relating to a whole sentence, not just to a noun.
It rained all night, which was good for the garden. Here which means 'the fact that it rained all night'.

Here are some more examples.


David helped me clear up, which was very kind of him.
Sarah had to work late again, which annoyed Mark.
Tom pushed Nick into the swimming-pool, which seemed to amuse everyone.

143 Relative clauses: participle and to-infinitive

A Relative clauses with a participle

Read this news report about an accident.

Several people were injured this morning when a lorry carrying concrete pipes overturned in the centre
of town and hit two cars. Ambulances called to the scene took a long time to get through the rush hour
traffic. The accident happened in Alfred Road, where road repairs are under way. People who saw the
accident say that the lorry hit the cars after it swerved to avoid a pile of stones left in the road. The
traffic chaos caused by the accident has meant long delays for people travelling to work.

Carrying concrete pipes, called to the scene, etc are relative clauses: they relate to a noun. Carrying
concrete pipes tells us something about a lorry.

We can form these clauses with an active participle, e.g. carrying, or a passive participle, e.g. called. The
participles can refer to the present or the past.

B. ACTIVE

There are delays this morning for people travelling to work. (= people who are travelling to work)
A lorry carrying concrete pipes has overturned. (= a lorry which was carrying pipes)
the path leading to the church (= the path which leads/led to the church)

The active participle means the same as a pronoun + a continuous verb, e.g. which is/was carrying, or a
pronoun + a simple verb, e.g. which leads/led. But we do NOT use the active participle for a single action
in the past.
The police want to interview people who saw the accident.
NOT people-seeing-the-accident
PASSIVE

I have a message for people delayed by the traffic chaos. (= people who are being delayed)
We noticed a pile of stones left in the road. (= stones which had been left there)
food sold in supermarkets (= food which is/was sold in supermarkets)

The passive participle means the same as a pronoun + a passive verb, e.g. which is/was sold.

Relative clauses with a to-infinitive

Look at this structure with the to-infinitive.


New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote. (= the first country which gave women the
vote)
Melanie was the only person to write a letter of thanks. (= the only person who wrote a letter of thanks)

Here are some more examples.


The guest on our show is the youngest golfer to win the Open.
Emma Thompson is the most famous actress to appear on stage here.

We can use a to-infinitive with these words: first, second, etc; next and last; only; and superlatives, e.g.
youngest, most famous.
We can leave out the noun (except after only) if the meaning is clear.
The captain was the last to leave the sinking ship.

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