RELATIVE CLAUSES (TEORÍA)

1. DEFINING (Especificativas)

Características:

a. Si el antecedente es una persona-----------»Who / That

She is the girl who comes from Germany.

antecedente that

b. Si el antecedente es animal o cosa-----------»Which / That

This is the computer which doesn't work.
antecedente that

c. El relativo se puede omitir en varias ocasiones:

c.1. Cuando no es el sujeto de la oración de relativo:
This is the book (which / that) Peter bought yesterday.
s
c.2. En las oraciones de relativo con preposición.
This is the knife with which I cut the bread -----»This is the knife I cut the bread with.

d. Oraciones de relativo con Whose (Cuyo, a, os, as). Nunca se omite.

This is the girl whose father is a famous actor.

e. Oraciones de relativo con Where.

Nunca se omite y se utiliza cuando el antecedente es un lugar.

This is the place where I was born

f. Oraciones de relativo con When.

Nunca se omite y se utiliza cuando el antecedente es una expresión temporal.

This is the day when I was born.

2. NON-DEFINING (Explicativas)

Características:

a. Van entre comas.

b. Si el antecedente es una persona-----------»Who

c. Si el antecedente es un animal o una cosa----------- »Which

Nunca pondremos That, y nunca lo omitiremos.

Mary, who lives in London, is studying engineering

d. También hay oraciones de relativo non-defining con Whose, Where y When.

 RELATIVE CLAUSES (EJERCICIOS)

1. Join each pair of sentences to get relative clauses:

- Steve is always taking photographs. He wants to become a professional photographer one day.

- Sue’s father is Japanese. He visits Japan every year.

- Her car was a gift from her parents. It was stolen.

- Nicole introduced me to the man. She had been talking to him.

- Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. I’m writing a report about it.

- The letter has just been delivered. I have been waiting for it.

- Steve lives in Fulton Street. My favourite restaurant is also there.

- I’m looking forward to June. I’ll be finished with school then.

- Mark is one of my best friends. His parents are my parents’ best friends too.

2. Join each pair of sentences with a defining or non-defining relative clause. Omit the pronoun where
possible.

1. I didn’t know the girl. I talked to her at the bus stop.

2. She hasn’t given me back my book. She borrowed it from me last month.

3. Have you seen John’s mobile phone? He left it here on Saturday.

4. Last week I bought a book. It was written 300 years ago.

5. This is the magazine. I found an article about how young gorillas learn in it.

6. I like people. Well, only if they are friendly and honest.