Look at the following example:
Peter met a woman. She writes books.
Peter met a woman who writes books.
A defining relative clause gives relevant
information about somebody or something which is
called the antecedent.
A defining relative clause cant be omitted. If we do,
well lose important information.
Relatives clauses are subordinate clauses and they
come immediately after the antecedent.
To introduce a relative clause we use relative
pronouns or adverbs:
WHO: It is used to refer to people.
THAT: It can be used to refer to people and
things.
WHICH: It is used to refer to things.
WHOSE: It is used for both people and things to
mean possession.
We can also used whom instead of who as the
object, but this is very unusual now in English.
The boy whom Laura is talking to is very handsome
or The boy to whom Laura is talking is very handsome.
Some more examples:
The woman who is in the car is very angry.
This is the man that works with my uncle.
My brother has just found the cat which got lost
last week.
I know a man whose wife is an astronaut.
The boy (who) they are talking about had an
accident at the weekend.
The village where I was born is very small.
Ill never forget the day when I met my husband.
I dont know the reason why he didnt come.
2 Join the sentences by means of a relative clause.
Omit the relative when possible and match to the
pictures. The first one is done for you.
1. The man is reading the newspaper. Hes my friend.
The man who is reading the newspaper is my friend.
2. I know a woman. Her daughter is a lawyer.
... ...
3. The gun was in the rubbish bin. The detective was
looking for it.
... 12. I saw a man at the dentist. His teeth were very white.
4. The journalist is interviewing a man. Hes an actor.
... 13. The T-shirt was very expensive. She wanted to buy it.
5. They go to the beach. The beach is near Valencia.
...
6. That boy is my friend. Sues at the cinema with him.
...
WHERE: It is used to refer to a place/places.
WHEN: It is used to refer to time.
WHY: It is used after the reason.
WHEN CAN WE OMIT A RELATIVE PRONOUN?
Relative pronouns can be omitted when they function as the
object of the relative clause, never when they are the
subject.
The man who is sitting behind Tom is my cousin.
In this sentence who cant be omitted as it is the subject of
the relative clause.
The man (who) you met at the party works with me.
Here we can omit who as it is the object.
When we need to use a preposition with the relative
pronoun, it is common to put it at the end of the relative
clause and omit the relative.
The boy (who) Laura is talking to is really handsome.
1 Complete the following sentences with a suitable relative
pronoun or adverb. Omit it when possible.
1. The dog . is crossing the street is waving its tail.
2. The bus I take every morning is late today.
3. The pen .. she lent me was a present form her mum.
4. I have a friend ..main desire is to travel to the moon.
5. Id like to go back to the placewe first met.
6. Do you remember the date .your sister got married?
7. Any pupil doesnt bring the book to class will be
punished by the teacher.
8. This is the girl .. I look after at the weekend.
9. Do you know a man .. zodiac sign is Leo?
10. This is the armchair . I usually sit to watch TV.
11. At last I found the book . I had been looking for last
week.
12. The dress .my daughter bought last week was very nice.
7. They are in the canteen. They have lunch there.
...
8. Do you remember the day? We all dressed up.
...
9. The girl wants a book. It is on top of the shelf.
...
10. I dont know the boy. Tim is fighting with him.
11. This is the girl. Paul fell in love with her last week.
...
...
...
14. The book is mine. Tom is reading it.
...
 Look at the following example:
Peter met a woman. She writes books.
Peter met a woman who writes books.
A defining relative clause gives relevant
information about somebody or something which is
called the antecedent.
A defining relative clause cant be omitted. If we do,
well lose important information.
Relatives clauses are subordinate clauses and they
come immediately after the antecedent.
To introduce a relative clause we use relative
pronouns or adverbs:
WHO: It is used to refer to people.
THAT: It can be used to refer to people and
things.
WHICH: It is used to refer to things.
WHOSE: It is used for both people and things to
mean possession.
We can also used whom instead of who as the
object, but this is very unusual now in English.
The boy whom Laura is talking to is very handsome
or The boy to whom Laura is talking is very handsome.
Some more examples:
The woman who is in the car is very angry.
This is the man that works with my uncle.
My brother has just found the cat which got lost
last week.
I know a man whose wife is an astronaut.
The boy (who) they are talking about had an
accident at the weekend.
The village where I was born is very small.
Ill never forget the day when I met my husband.
I dont know the reason why he didnt come.
2 Join the sentences by means of a relative clause.
Omit the relative when possible and match to the
pictures. The first one is done for you.
1. The man is reading the newspaper. Hes my friend.
The man who is reading the newspaper is my friend.
2. I know a woman. Her daughter is a lawyer.
... ...
3. The gun was in the rubbish bin. The detective was
looking for it.
... 12. I saw a man at the dentist. His teeth were very white.
4. The journalist is interviewing a man. Hes an actor.
... 13. The T-shirt was very expensive. She wanted to buy it.
5. They go to the beach. The beach is near Valencia.
...
6. That boy is my friend. Sues at the cinema with him.
...
WHERE: It is used to refer to a place/places.
WHEN: It is used to refer to time.
WHY: It is used after the reason.
WHEN CAN WE OMIT A RELATIVE PRONOUN?
Relative pronouns can be omitted when they function as the
object of the relative clause, never when they are the
subject.
The man who is sitting behind Tom is my cousin.
In this sentence who cant be omitted as it is the subject of
the relative clause.
The man (who) you met at the party works with me.
Here we can omit who as it is the object.
When we need to use a preposition with the relative
pronoun, it is common to put it at the end of the relative
clause and omit the relative.
The boy (who) Laura is talking to is really handsome.
1 Complete the following sentences with a suitable relative
pronoun or adverb. Omit it when possible.
1. The dog . is crossing the street is waving its tail.
2. The bus I take every morning is late today.
3. The pen .. she lent me was a present form her mum.
4. I have a friend ..main desire is to travel to the moon.
5. Id like to go back to the placewe first met.
6. Do you remember the date .your sister got married?
7. Any pupil doesnt bring the book to class will be
punished by the teacher.
8. This is the girl .. I look after at the weekend.
9. Do you know a man .. zodiac sign is Leo?
10. This is the armchair . I usually sit to watch TV.
11. At last I found the book . I had been looking for last
week.
12. The dress .my daughter bought last week was very nice.
7. They are in the canteen. They have lunch there.
...
8. Do you remember the day? We all dressed up.
...
9. The girl wants a book. It is on top of the shelf.
...
10. I dont know the boy. Tim is fighting with him.
11. This is the girl. Paul fell in love with her last week.
...
...
...
14. The book is mine. Tom is reading it.
...