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Grammar Notes: Relative Clauses

Introduction

Here is a brief review of adjective clauses and relative pronouns.

An adjective clause is used to describe a noun:

The car, which was red, belonged to Young-Hee.

A relative pronoun is usually used to introduce an adjective clause:

Young-Hee, who is a Korean student, lives in Victoria.

The main relative pronouns are:

Who: used for humans:

Hans, who is an architect, lives in Berlin.

Which: used for things and animals:

Marike has a dog which follows her everywhere.

That: used for humans, animals and things (but see below):

Marike is decorating a house that Hans designed.

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There are two main kinds of adjective clause:

Non-defining clauses: give extra information about the noun, but they are not essential:

The desk in the corner, which is covered in books, is mine.

(We don't need this information in order to understand the sentence. "The desk in the corner is mine" is a good sentence on its own -- we still know which desk is referred to. Note that non-defining clauses are usually separated by commas, and that is not usually used in this kind of context.)

Defining clauses: give essential information about the noun:

The package that arrived this morning is on the desk. (We need this information in order to understand the sentence. Without the relative clause, we don't know which package is being referred to. Note that that is often used in non-defining relative clauses, and they are not separated by commas.)

Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause is a dependent clause which takes the place of an adjective in another clause or phrase. Like an adjective, an adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun, answering questions like "which?" or "what kind of?" Consider the following examples:

Adjective

the red coat

Adjective clause

the coat which I bought yesterday

Like the word "red" in the first example, the dependent clause "which I bought yesterday" in the second example modifies the noun "coat." Note that an adjective clause usually comes after what it modifies, while an adjective usually comes before.

In formal writing, an adjective clause begins with the relative pronouns "who(m)," "that," or "which." In informal writing or speech, you may leave out the relative pronoun when it is not the

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subject of the adjective clause, but you should usually include the relative pronoun in formal, academic writing:

informal

The books people read were mainly religious.

formal

The books that people read were mainly religious.

informal

Some firefighters never meet the people they save.

formal

Some firefighters never meet the people whom they save.

Here are some more examples of adjective clauses:

the meat which they ate was tainted

This clause modifies the noun "meat" and answers the question "which meat?".

about the movie which made him cry

This clause modifies the noun "movie" and answers the question "which movie?".

they are searching for the one who borrowed the book

The clause modifies the pronoun "one" and answers the question "which one?".

Did I tell you about the author whom I met?

The clause modifies the noun "author" and answers the question "which author?".

You can use a relative pronoun to link one phrase or clause to another phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are "who," "whom," "that," and "which."

Grammar Exercise: Adjective Clauses

Combine the two sentences to make one, using an adjective clause. For example,

"I met Mary in the hall. She is a tour guide." becomes "I met Mary, who is a tour guide, in the hall."

1. The man was sick. He looked very pale.

Correct answer(s):The man, who looked very pale, was sick.The man, who was sick, looked very pale.The man who looked very pale was sick.The man who was sick looked very pale.

2. He was sitting in the emergency room. It was very crowded.

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Correct answer(s):He was sitting in the emergency room, which was very crowded.

3. A nurse was nearby. He called her.

Correct answer(s):He called a nurse, who was nearby.He called a nurse who was nearby.

A nurse, whom he called, was nearby.A nurse whom he called was nearby.

4. The nurse called a doctor. He came quickly.

Correct answer(s):The nurse called a doctor, who came quickly.The nurse called a doctor who came quickly.

5. The doctor asked him to lie down. She looked very worried.

Correct answer(s):The doctor, who looked very worried, asked him to lie down.

6. She gave the man an injection. It made him go to sleep.

Correct answer(s):She gave the man an injection, which made him go to sleep.She gave the man an injection which made him go to sleep.She gave the man an injection that made him go to sleep.

7. The Olympic snowboarding event was exciting. Many people watched it on TV.

Correct answers:The Olympic snowboarding event, which many people watched on TV, was exciting.

The Olympic snowboarding event that many people watched on TV was exciting.

8. It was the first time snowboarding had been included in the Olympics. Snowboarding is a new sport.

Correct answers:It was the first time snowboarding, which is a new sport, had been included in the

Olympics.

9. The competition was very exciting. A Canadian won it.

Correct answers:The competition, which a Canadian won, was very exciting.

10.The winner, Ross Rebagliati, lives in Whistler, BC. Many young snowboarders admire him.

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Correct answers:The winner, Ross Rebagliati, whom many young snowboarders admire, lives in Whistler,

BC.The winner, Ross Rebagliati, who many young snowboarders admire, lives in Whistler,

BC.The winner, Ross Rebagliati, whom many young snowboarders admire, lives in Whistler,

B.C.The winner, Ross Rebagliati, who many young snowboarders admire, lives in Whistler,

B.C.

Adjective Clauses: Multiple Choice Exercise

Using Relative Pronouns

In each sentence, choose the correct relative pronoun to introduce the clause.

1 The cougar is a member of the cat family ______ grows to around 8 feet in length.

who

which

whom

that

2 The cougar lives in deserts, forests, plains and mountains, but according to scientists ________ have studied the animal, it is becoming endangered in some areas.

who

which

whom

whose

3 The cougar has powerful legs, ________ it uses to climb and to jump into trees.

who

which

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whom

whose4 Cougars sometimes prey on sheep and goats, so they may be killed by the farmers ________ animals they attack.

who

which

whom

whose

5 However, cougars very rarely attack humans, of ________ they are usually afraid.

who

whom

which

that

How to Form Relative Clauses

Imagine, a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows

her. You could say:

A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?

That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both

pieces of information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing  – you want to know

who the girl is.

Do you know the girl …

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As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional

information  – the girl is talking to Tom. Use “the girl” only in the first part of the sentence, in the

second part replace it with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun “who”). So

the final sentence is:

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Relative Pronouns

relative pronoun

use Example

who subject or object pronoun for people I told you about the woman who lives next door.

which subject or object pronoun for animals and things

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?

which referring to a whole sentence He couldn’t read which surprised me.

whose possession for people animals and things Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?

whom object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)

I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.

that subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)

I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun?

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Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used

for subject and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:

If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject

pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is

an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then

called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table

Relative Adverbs

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the

sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.

→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb

meaning use Example

when in/on which refers to a time expression the day when we met him

where in/at which refers to a place the place where we met him

why for which refers to a reason the reason why we met him

Defining Relative Clauses

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Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses)

give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not

put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody

whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause

without the relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.)

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive

relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining

relative clauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask

somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this

situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

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How to Shorten Relative Clauses?

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This

makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

Exercise on Relative Clauses (Contact clauses)

Relative Pronouns (who / which / whose)

Choose the correct relative pronoun (who, which, whose).

1. This is the bank was robbed yesterday.

2. A boy sister is in my class was in the bank at that time.

3. The man robbed the bank had two pistols.

4. He wore a mask made him look like Mickey Mouse.

5. He came with a friend waited outside in the car.

6. The woman gave him the money was young.

7. The bag contained the money was yellow.

8. The people were in the bank were very frightened.

9. A man mobile was ringing did not know what to do.

10. A woman daughter was crying tried to calm her.

11. The car the bank robbers escaped in was orange.

12. The robber mask was obviously too big didn't drive.

13. The man drove the car was nervous.

14. He didn't wait at the traffic lights were red.

15. A police officer car was parked at the next corner stopped and arrested them.

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses

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