RELATIVE CLAUSES.

A relative clause tells us which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means:

The woman who lives next door has lived in the Caribbean. ( who lives next door tells us which woman)

RELATIVE PRONOUNS WHO.- It is the relative pronoun used when we are referring to people. We use it instead of he/she/they.

the woman she lives next door - has lived in the Caribbean. The woman who lives next door has lived in the Caribbean.

WHICH.- It is the relative pronoun used when we are referring to things.

where is the cheese it is in the fridge? Where is the cheese which is in the fridge?

THAT.- It is used in both cases, i.e., when referring to people and things. It is more usual.

the woman she lives next door - has lived in the Caribbean. The woman that lives next door has lived in the Caribbean. where is the cheese it is in the fridge? Where is the cheese that is in the fridge?

WHAT.- It is the relative pronoun that means the thing(s) that

What happened was my fault. (the thing that happened was my fault)

WHOSE.- It is the relative pronoun used instead of his/her/its. In other words, it is like a determiner. Remember: it is ALWAYS followed by a NOUN. We translated it into Spanish as cuyo/a

we saw some people their car had broken down. We saw some people whose car had broken down.

WHOM.- It is possible instead of who when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause. It is normally used in formal style. We also use it with prepositions.

The woman whom I wanted to see was away. (I wanted to see her) The man with whom she fell in love left her a few weeks later. (she fell in love with a man)

WHERE.- We use it to refer to places.

the hotel we stayed there- wasn't very clean. The hotel where we stayed wasn't very clean.

We say: the day / the year / the time... something happens, when something happens or that something happens.

Do you remember the day (that/when) we first met?

We also say: the reason something happens / the reason that / the reason why

The reason I'm phoning you is to invite you to a party. why I'm phoning you . that I'm phoning you...

.- Extra information about relative pronouns. We use WHICH meaning the fact that in sentences like:

Sheila couldn't come to the party. This was a pity. Sheila couldn't come to the party, which was a pity. + whom (people) + which (things)

We say: all of / most of / none of / some of / many of / both of / half of / each of...

Mary has three brothers. All of them are married. Mary has three brothers, all of whom are married. They asked me a lot of questions. I couldn't answer most of them. They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn't answer.

!!!!! Look: Do you know the woman who is talking to Tom? Do you know the woman talking to Tom? It is explained in the following way: when there is a continuous tense (normally present continuous) in the relative clause, you can rewrite it just using the -ing verbal form. It is a relative clause, too. It is also occurred with past participles in passive voice.

The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital. ( the boy who was injured in the accident was taken to the hospital)

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES. There are two types of relative clauses: Defining and Non-Defining Relative clauses. * Defining Relative Clauses: tells you which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means. They are necessary for the comprehension of the whole sentence. We can use who/that/which. And, at the same time, we can omit them when their role in the relative clause is that of pronoun. In other words, when the relative clause has its proper subject, we can omit the relative pronoun.

The woman who lives next door has lived in the Caribbean. This morning I met somebody (that/who/whom) I haven't met for ages.

* Non-Defining Relative Clauses: gives us extra information about the person or the thing. They are not necessary for the comprehension of the whole sentence. This is why they are written between commas. In these sentences, we CANNOT use that; we CANNOT omit the relative pronouns. NEVER!!!!

My brother Jim, who lives in London, is a doctor. We stayed in the Ritz Hotel, which Ann recommended to us.

* Now it is time to practice. Try to solve the following exercises about relative sentences.
1. Make one sentence from two. Use the appropriate relative pronoun. A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital. _____________________________________________________________ A man answered the phone. He told me you were away. ______________________________________________________________ A waitress served us. She was very impolite and impatient. _______________________________________________________________ A building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt. ________________________________________________________________

2. Put in WHAT or a THAT in the sentences as it corresponds. I gave her all the money __________________ I had. They give their children everything _____________________ they want. Tell me ____________________ you want and Ill try to get it for you. Why do you blame me for everything ____________________ goes wrong? I can lend you ten pounds. Its all _________________ Ive got in my wallet. I dont agree with _________________ youve just said.

3. Complete each sentence using WHO / WHOM/ WHOSE / WHERE A pacifist is a person ___________________ believes that all wars are wrong. An orphan is a child __________________ parents are deadThe place _________________ we spent our holidays was really beautiful. This school is only for children _____________ first language is not English. I dont know the name of the woman to ________________ I spoke on the phone.

4. Make one sentence using relative pronouns. Decide if the information is necessary or not, i.e. defining or non-defining relative clauses? Theres a woman living next door. She is a doctor. The woman ____________________________________________________________ Ive got a brother called Jim. He lives in London. Hes a fireman. My brother Jim _________________________________________________________ There was a strike at the car factory. It lasted ten days. It is now over. The strike at the car factory _______________________________________________ I was looking for a book this morning. Ive found it now. Ive found _____________________________________________________________

London was once the largest city in the world, but the population is now falling. The population of London _________________________________________________

How well have you done these exercises? Let's check!!

1. Make one sentence from two. Use the appropriate relative pronoun. The girl injured in the accident is now in hospital. The man who answered the phone told me you were away. The waitress who served us was very impolite and impatient. The building destroyed in the fire has now been rebuilt.

2. Put in WHAT or a THAT in the sentences as it corresponds. I gave her all the money THAT I had. They give their children everything THAT they want. Tell me WHAT you want and Ill try to get it for you. Why do you blame me for everything THAT goes wrong? I can lend you ten pounds. Its all THAT Ive got in my wallet. I dont agree with WHAT youve just said.

3. Complete each sentence using WHO / WHOM/ WHOSE / WHERE A pacifist is a person WHO believes that all wars are wrong. An orphan is a child WHOSE parents are deadThe place WHERE we spent our holidays was really beautiful. This school is only for children WHOSE first language is not English. I dont know the name of the woman to WHOM I spoke on the phone.

4. Make one sentence using relative pronouns. Decide if the information is necessary or not, i.e. defining or non-defining relative clauses? * The woman living next door is a doctor * My brother Jim, who lives in London, is a fireman * The strike at the car factory, which lasted ten days, is now over. * Ive found the book I was looking for this morning * The population of London, which was once the largest city in the world, is now falling.