The Relative clause in English

The Relative clause in English

Relative pronouns can cause trouble in English, specially when they are in unusual forms, such as “whom” or
“whose”. And there’s another problem: when to use which  and when to use that? Here are some clear guidelines
to help you.

1. The relative pronoun as subject

2. The relative pronoun as object
3. The relative pronoun as a possessive
4. Relative clauses starting with a preposition
5. More complex structures
6. Defining and non-defining relatives, and punctuation.
7. Relative clauses which qualify a whole sentence, not just a noun.
8. (Extra information for French-speakers)

1. The relative pronoun as subject

1.1. When the relative pronoun is subject of a clause and refers to a human, the relative pronoun
who is generally used. Examples:
     The man who lives next door is 99.
     I know someone who eats red hot chilli peppers.
Sometimes, who is replaced by that, especially in American English and in spoken language:

     The boy that lost his watch was careless.

However,
     The boy who lost his watch was careless.
is also quite possible.
After the antecedent those, who is almost always required:
     Those who can swim should go first.

1.2. If the relative is the subject of a clause and refers to an inanimate antecedent, which or that
must be used.
            The book that’s on the table is mine.
                The book which is on the table is mine.
1.3. IMPORTANT:
Omission: As subject of a clause, the relative pronoun can never be omitted. However, the
relative clause can be completely omitted:
            The book is on the table is mine   is quite impossible, but
            The book on the table is mine   is perfectly acceptable.

 
2. The relative pronoun as object:
When the relative is the direct object of the clause, and refers to a human, the relative pronoun
is either whom or that.
Examples:
     The man whom I saw yesterday is 99.            
     The man that I saw yesterday is 99.
Alternatively, the relative can be omitted, particularly in spoken language:            
     The man I saw yesterday is 99.

Whom is not used very often: that, or omission of the relative pronoun, are much more common.
When an inanimate object is referred to, the same rules apply, except that whom is never used: it
is replaced by which.
Example:
      The book that I was reading was very interesting,  or
     The book which I was reading was very interesting,  or
      The book I was reading was very interesting
are all possible

Omission: when it is the object of the clause, the relative pronoun can often be omitted,
particularly in written English.

3. The relative pronoun as a possessive

Whose is required with both animate and inanimate antecedents: it is the only derivative of who
which can refer to animates and inanimates:
 Examples:
      I know someone whose sister is a nurse.
      The man whose car I borrowed is very rich.
      I chose the set whose price was reduced.

4. Relative clauses starting with a prepositon:

Note how to form relative clauses after prepositions:
      The man with whom I was talking was angry.
      The chair on which I sat down collapsed.

5. More complex structures:

   5.1 Possession + propositon:
      The player on whose skills the match most depended, was the goalkeeper.
    5.2. Selective possession
      The café, most of whose customers had deserted it, had to close.
      The writer, the first of whose books had been a bestseller, was a coal miner. 

6. Defining and non-defining relatives.

A "Defining" relative clause is one which is essential for the understanding of a statement.
Examples:
     Protestors who smash windows will be arrested.
In this example, it is clear that "all protestors who smash windows" will be arrested. The word
"protestors" in this example is restricted by the relative clause that defines it
 Commas are not required before and after the relative clause.
In a non-defining relative clause, the relative clause is not essential for an understanding of the
sentence:
     Protestors, who are mostly aged under 30, want to express an opinion.
In this example, the question of age is not an essential bit of information. The relative clause can
be omitted without making the sentence meaningless.
     In cases like this, commas are usually required before and after the relative clause.

Compare these two examples:

     People who eat too much tend to have poorer health.
     Sportsmen, who  pay attention to their diet, are not usually over-weight.

7: Relative clauses which qualify a whole sentence, not just a noun:

The relative clause is introduced by which, never that or what.

C1. He drank too much, which is why he was sick.

C2. It was raining yesterday, which was rather a pity.

(8: for French speakers; click here for information on expressing the French relative pronoun
"dont" in English.)

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Grammar notes: relative clauses

http://valenciaenglish.netfirms.com/pdffiles/relatives.pdf
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 company where I worked is called International Enterprises Plc.
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.
Basic relative pronouns
The relative pronoun you use depends on the thing you're talking about. Generally speaking, the most basic ones
are
these:
for people who/that
for things which/that
for places where
for reasons why
for times when
Who, which and that cannot be used indiscriminately. That can only be used in defining relative clauses.
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.
WHOM
This is hardly ever used in spoken English, and not often in written English. It sounds very formal to most people.
If
you're going to use it at all, then only use it after prepositions. Even so, there's usually another less formal way to
say
the same thing. For example:
The woman to whom he was talking is his sister.
The woman that he was talking to is his sister.
WHOSE
This is used to show possession. It means basically 'of who(m)'. It can always be used for people and animals, but
also
for things, though this sometimes sounds strange and it might be better to change the structure of the sentence
unless the thing is made up of people (a team, a city, an organisation). For example:
My students, whose homework is never done, will fail the exam.
The homework belongs to the students, it's theirs, so possessive.
That dog whose bone you took is going to bite your leg off.
It is - or was - the dog's bone.
The city, whose football team lost the final, never wins anything.
The city's made up of people, so it sounds OK.
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.
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:

The man I spoke to told me the story of his life.

Relative clauses
Put a relative pronoun into each gap. At the same time, decide whether the relative pronoun can be omitted.
1 The books, _______________ I'd ordered over the internet, took nearly three weeks to arrive.
2 The books _______________ I'd ordered from a bookshop arrived the following week.
3 My parents, _______________ were born in the north of England, moved to London to find work.
4 The man _______________ lives upstairs is always playing music when I'm trying to get to sleep.
5 The building _______________ I live in was built in the 1920s.
6 The building _______________ I live was built in the 1920s.
7 The car's making a funny noise again, _______________ means we'll have to get someone to look at it.
8 The employee to _______________ you refer is no longer working for this company.
9 Do you remember the name of the man _______________ car you crashed into?
10 Have you any idea _______________ they were arguing about?
11 Have you any idea _______________ they were arguing?

12 The hotel _______________ we stayed was very good for the price.

Relative Clauses
Combine the sentences into one single sentence using relative clauses. Use pronouns instead of nouns where it
sounds
better. There may be more than one possibility.
1 My flat is in an old part of the city. It was built in the 1920s.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2 There are lots of bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood. I live in the neighbourhood.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3 My neighbour comes from Ecuador. He works on the fruit farms around the city.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4 The neighbour makes a lot of noise walking around. His flat is above mine.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5 The traffic is also very noisy. It passes my flat.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6 The local market sells excellent local produce. It is a two-minute walk from my flat.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7 In my study there are doors leading to a balcony. The balcony overlooks the street. You can see a long way in
both directions from my balcony.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8 The price of flats in this area has risen a great deal since 1998. I bought my flat in 1998. This means I could
make money if I sold my flat.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
9 The government carried out a census. According to the census there are more people moving into the area.
This makes me think that the council should invest more money here.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
10 I once wanted to apply for a property grant, so I rang the council and spoke to a woman. She told me that I
should go to the local council offices. I could pick up an application form at the local council offices. I should
fill in the application form and return it as soon as possible.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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