RELATIVE CLAUSES

• RELATIVE? In relation to what?

• What types of relative clauses are there?

• How are they built into the sentence?

• What problems can students have?

Where do relative clauses appearin the sentence?

• Mike tried to help a child who was lost.• Rome, which is the capital of Italy, lies

on the Tiber.• I was to translate the whole text, which

was impossible.

AFTER THE OBJECTAFTER

THE SUBJECT

AFTER A CLAUSE

Defining / Non-defining

Which is correct?• His wife, who is standing there, is

very pretty.• His wife who is

standing thereis very pretty.

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Defining

• The woman who lives in apartment No. 34 has been arrested.

• The document (Ø /that/which) I need has 'IMPORTANT' written at the top.

• That's the boy (Ø, that, who, whom) I invited to the party.

Non-defining

• Frank Zappa, who was one of the most creative artists in rock 'n roll, came from California.

• Peter brought his favorite antique book, which he had found at a flee market, to show his friends.

• The singer, whose most recent recording has had much success,is signing autographs.

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Co-ordinate relative • His daughter has decided to take

a gap year, which is something more and more

young people do these days.

• Police have been investigating

a drug ring , the result of which was

a series of arrests. (NEVER WHAT!)

Relative clauses with quantifiersIt is preferable to use that (not which) after the following words: all, any(thing), every(thing), few, little, many, much, no(thing), none, some(thing), and after superlatives. • It was everything (that) he had ever

wanted.• There were only a few that really

interested him.• Is the blue whale the biggest animal that

has ever lived?

After numbers and words like many, most, neither, and some, we use of before whom and which in non-defining relative clauses.

• These immigrants are registering their children, many of whom were born in the U.S.

• Mr. Bittner cut down 25 acres of sweet cherry trees, some of which were 30 years old.

Relative adverbs:WHEN, WHERE, WHY

• I'd like to know the reason (why/for which) he decided not to come.

• February is the month (when/in which) many of my colleagues take skiing holidays.

• She had always wanted to go to a country where/in which she could use her Spanish. (not optional)

BUT

Relative clauses with prepositions (defining)

• The banker to whom I gave my check was quite friendly. – formal

• The woman who/Ø I talked to was very pleasant indeed. – less formal

• The lecture to which all faculty had been invited was excellent.- formal

• I didn’t like the book which/Ø you are so enthusiastic about. – less formal

Relative clauses with prepositions (non-defining)

• The bank manager, to whom he addressed his complaints, was very unhelpful. – formal

• The local branch manager, who I talked to about my problems, was very helpful. – very informal

Possessive relative clauses

• He's the man whose car was stolen last week.

• They were sure to visit the town whose location (OR the location of which) was little known.

• Olympia, whose name is taken from the Greek, is the capitol of Washington State.

Non-finite/reduced relative clauses(defining)

• The woman sitting next to Marian is her sister.

• Each cell will continue to divide to form a human composed of millions of cells.

• There’s food to be served and drinks to be poured.

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Non-finite/reduced relative clauses(non-defining)

• Some of the clients’ money, believed to total £6 million, has found its way into unquoted companies.

• A certified teacher, holding a master's degree in education, should complete a state specified educational course of study.

• There are all those apples to peel.• There are all those apples to be peeled.

With other constructions, especially where quantifiers occur, the passive is less common:

• We’ve got a lot of cooking to do.(less likely: to be done)

• I have an essay to write for tomorrow morning.(much less likely: to be written)

Infinitive clauses - passive or active?

Reduced relative clauses(verbless)

• Let’s discuss issues relevant to the topic on the agenda. [which are]

• He has met many Canadian doctors critical of their own health-care system. [who are]

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PROBLEMS?• PUNCTUATION

• CHOICE OF RELATIVE PRONOUN

• WHEN/WHERE/WHY (or prep+which)

• PREPOSITIONS

• POSSESSIVE RELATIVE (whose/N+of which)

• CO-ORDINATE RELATIVE (WHICH!)

• REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

Prepared by

Agata Lewandowska