Relative Clauses

3º ESO E

IES Isaac Peral

Relative Clause

Which boy are you

The boy is my brother. talking about?

Oh I see! The boy who is

He is wearing a cap.
wearing a cap is your brother.
Relative Clause

• The boy who is wearing a cap is my Are you

talking
brother. about me?

What does it refer to?

The relative pronouns (which, who, whom or that) refer to the
noun (or noun phrase) before it.
Defining relative clauses (I)

• We use defining relative clauses to give essential

information about someone or something – information
that we need in order to understand what or who is
being referred to. A defining relative clause usually
comes immediately after the noun it describes.
• We usually use a relative pronoun (e.g. who, that,
which, whose and whom) to introduce a defining
relative clause (In the examples, the relative clause is
in bold, and the person or thing being referred to
is underlined.):
Defining relative clauses (II)

• They’re the people who want to buy our

house.
• Here are some cells which have been
affected.
• [talking about an actress]
• She’s now playing a woman whose son was
killed in the First World War.
Non-defining relative clauses (II)

• We use non-defining relative clauses to give

extra information about the person or thing. It
is not necessary information. We don’t need it
to understand who or what is being referred
to.
• We always use a relative pronoun (who, which,
whose or whom) to introduce a non-defining
relative clause (In the examples, the relative
clause is in bold, and the person or thing being
referred to is underlined.)
Non-defining relative clauses (II)
The use of ‘that’

• Spoken English:
• In defining relative clauses we often
use that instead of who, whom or which. This
is very common in informal speaking:
• They’re the people that want to buy our
house.
• Here are some cells that have been affected.
The use of ‘that’ (II)
The relative pronouns

• Who People (subject)

• Whom  People (object)
• Whose People (possessive)
• Which  Object
• When  Time
• Where Place
Subject or object relative pronouns

• The relative pronoun can define the subject or the

object of the verb:
• They’re the people who/that bought our house. (The
people bought our house. The people is the subject.)
• They’re the people who/that she met at Jon’s
party. (She met the people. The people is the object.)
Subject or object (II)

• Here are some cells which/that show

abnormality. (Some cells show
abnormality. Some cells is the subject.)
• Here are some cells which/that the
researcher has identified. (The researcher
has identified some cells. Some cells is the
object.)
No relative pronoun

• We often leave out the relative pronoun when

it is the object of the verb:
• They’re the people she met at Jon’s party.
• Here are some cells the researcher has
identified.
Relative Clause

• Which relative pronoun should we use?

1. The girl
who/that studies French doesn’t
speak Cantonese.

2. Do you know the manwhom/that I talked to?

3. It’s a book which/that will interest children

of all ages.
 Relative Clause

The students are smart.

They are learning relative clause.

The students who are learning relative clause are smart.

‘who’ is used instead of ‘they’

Relative Clause

• Try to connect the sentences by using

relative clause.
e.g. The girls annoyed me. They talked too
much.

The girls who talked too much annoyed me.

 Relative Clause

1. The man told me to come back today. He left

yesterday.
The man who left yesterday told me to come back today.

1. The cute boy is the owner’s son. He works in the

shop.
The cute boy who works in the shop is the owner’s son.

1. The ladder began to slip. I was standing on it.

The ladder which I was standing on began to slip. /

The ladder on which I was standing began to slip. (more
formal)
Relative Clause

• Remember! The pronoun refers to the same

thing as the relative pronoun does should be
omitted.

e.g. The girl is my sister. You saw her yesterday.

A: The girl whom you saw her yesterday is my

sister.

B: The girl whom you saw yesterday is my sister.

Exercise

• The watch is mine. You saw the watch in the

drawer.
The watch which (that) you saw in the drawer is mine.

• The girl is my cousin. Ben talked to the girl.

The girl whom (that) Ben talked to is my cousin.

The park is beautiful. The park is next to our
school.
The park which (that) is next to our school is
beautiful.

The dictionary is useful. I bought the

dictionary yesterday.

The dictionary which (that) I bought yesterday is

useful.
The problem is difficult to solve. We are facing
the problem.
The problem which (that) we are facing is difficult to
solve.