RelativeClauses

We use relativeclausestogiveadditionalinformationaboutsomethingwithoutstartinganothersentence. Bycombiningsentenceswith a relativeclause, yourtextbecomes more fluent and you can avoidrepeatingcertainwords.

HowtoFormRelativeClauses

Imagine, a girlistalkingto Tom. Youwanttoknowwhosheis and ask a friendwhether he knowsher. Youcouldsay:

A girlistalkingto Tom. Do youknowthegirl?

Thatsoundsrathercomplicated, doesn'tit? Itwould be easierwith a relativeclause: youputbothpieces of informationintoonesentence. Startwiththemostimportantthing – youwanttoknowwhothegirlis.

Do youknowthegirl …

As yourfriendcannotknowwhichgirlyou are talkingabout, youneedtoput in theadditionalinformation – thegirlistalkingto Tom. Use „thegirl“ only in thefirstpart of thesentence, in thesecondpartreplaceitwiththerelativepronoun (forpeople, use therelativepronoun „who“). So the final sentenceis:

Do youknowthegirlwhoistalkingto Tom?

RelativePronouns

relativepronoun

use example

who subjectorobjectpronounforpeople I toldyouaboutthewomanwholivesnextdoor.

which subjectorobjectpronounforanimals and things

Do youseethecatwhichislyingontheroof?

which referringto a wholesentence He couldn’treadwhichsurprised me.

whose possessionforpeopleanimals and things Do youknowtheboywhosemotheris a nurse?

whom

objectpronounforpeople, especially in non-definingrelativeclauses (in definingrelativeclauseswecolloquiallypreferwho)

I wasinvitedbytheprofessorwhom I met at theconference.

that

subjectorobjectpronounforpeople, animals and things in definingrelativeclauses (whoorwhich are alsopossible)

I don’tlikethetablethat stands in thekitchen.

SubjectPronounorObjectPronoun?

Subject and objectpronounscannot be distinguishedbytheirforms - who, which, that are usedforsubject and objectpronouns. You can, however, distinguishthem as follows:

Iftherelativepronounisfollowedby a verb, therelativepronounis a subjectpronoun. Subjectpronounsmustalways be used.

theapplewhichislyingonthetable

Iftherelativepronounisnotfollowedby a verb (butby a nounorpronoun), therelativepronounisanobjectpronoun. Objectpronouns can be dropped in definingrelativeclauses, which are thencalledContactClauses.

theapple(which)George lay onthetable

RelativeAdverbs

A relativeadverb can be usedinstead of a relativepronoun plus preposition. Thisoftenmakesthesentenceeasiertounderstand.

Thisisthe shop in which I boughtmybike. → Thisisthe shop where I boughtmybike.

relativeadverb meaning use example

when in/onwhich refersto a time expression thedaywhenwemethim

where in/at which refersto a place the place wherewemethim

why forwhich refersto a reason thereasonwhywemethim

DefiningRelativeClauses

Definingrelativeclauses (alsocalledidentifyingrelativeclausesorrestrictiverelativeclauses) givedetailedinformationdefining a general termorexpression. Definingrelativeclauses are notput in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a roomwithfivegirls. Onegirlistalkingto Tom and youasksomebodywhether he knowsthisgirl. Heretherelativeclause defines which of thefivegirlsyou mean.

Do youknowthegirlwhoistalkingto Tom?

Definingrelativeclauses are oftenused in definitions.

A seamanissomeonewhoworkson a ship.

Objectpronouns in definingrelativeclauses can be dropped. (Sentenceswith a relativeclausewithouttherelativepronoun are calledContactClauses.)

Theboy(who/whom)wemetyesterdayisverynice.

Non-DefiningRelativeClauses

Non-definingrelativeclauses (alsocallednon-identifyingrelativeclausesornon-restrictiverelativeclauses) giveadditionalinformationonsomething, but do not define it. Non-definingrelativeclauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a roomwithonlyonegirl. Thetwo are talkingtoeachother and youasksomebodywhether he knowsthisgirl. Heretherelativeclauseis non-definingbecause in thissituationitisobviouswhichgirlyou mean.

Do youknowthegirl, whoistalkingto Tom?

Note: In non-definingrelativeclauses, who/whichmaynot be replacedwiththat.

Objectpronouns in non-definingrelativeclausesmust be used.

Jim, who/whomwemetyesterday, isverynice.

HowtoShortenRelativeClauses?

Relativeclauseswithwho, which, that as subjectpronoun can be replacedwith a participle. Thismakesthesentenceshorter and easiertounderstand.

I toldyouaboutthewomanwholivesnextdoor. – I toldyouaboutthewomanlivingnextdoor.

Do youseethecatwhichislyingontheroof? – Do youseethecatlyingontheroof?