Transcript Relative clauses

D.O.
We are waiting for Apu.
Same thing in different sentences.
Apu is from India.
Subj
.
We are waiting for Apu, who is from India.
Apu is from India.
Subj
The two sentences can be linked into one.
We use a relative pronoun to substitute the
common item and join the two sentences in one.
We are waiting for Apu , who is fromIndia.
This is the main clause.
This is the subordinate clause.
We are waiting for Apu, who is from India.
Main /independent
clause
Subordinate/Depen
dent clause
If we remove the
subordinate clause from
the sentence, its
meaning is still
complete.
Its meaning is
incomplete if we
remove the main
clause.
LINKING WORDS
RELATIVE
PRONOUNS
WHO / THAT
WHICH / THAT
WHOSE
PREPOSITION
+ WHOM
or
+WHICH
(Formal)
LINKING WORDS
RELATIVE ADVERBS
WHEN / THAT
WHERE
WHY / THAT
Two types of relative clauses:
Non-Defining
 Extra information
about a noun in a
sentence
The new Woody Allen
film, which I saw last
week, is very good.
 Use commas
 Always use a relative
pronoun:
who/whom ,which
whose, where, when
Defining
 Essential information
about a noun in a
sentence
You’re the man (that) I
saw last week.
 No commas
 Can omit pronoun if it is
not the SUBJECT of the
relative clause
 That (informal) can
replace which / who/
when / why but not
where, whose or whom
Which sentence is
true?
1.Pubs in the UK, which
banned smoking, are now
very popular.
2. Pubs in the UK which
banned smoking are now
very popular.
Which is true?
1.
Milk, which contains
chemicals, is dangerous.
2. Milk which contains
chemicals is dangerous.
Defining relative clauses
= No commas
A defining relative clause identifies which
person or thing we mean exactly.
It cannot be left out of the sentence or the
meaning of the sentence is incomplete:
It’s the book that I read yesterday.
* It’s the book. (this sentence is
incomplete)
Defining relative clauses
= No commas
 You can omit the pronoun if it is the
OBJECT of the relative clause (if there is
a SUBJECT between the relative
pronoun and the verb )
It’s the book that I read yesterday (omit)
It’s the book I read yesterday.
The girl who lives next door is French.
 We can never omit WHOSE and WHERE
Non-defining relative
clauses = with commas
This kind of clause gives additional
information about a person or thing.
The sentence still makes sense without
the non-defining relative clause:
My neighbour, who studies
engineering, is very noisy.
My neighbour is very noisy.
Formal / Informal
Non-Defining relative clauses (with
commas) are more common in written
English because they are quite formal.
In spoken English we would probably use
two sentences.
Compare:
Elvis Presley, who has sold over one billion albums, died of
prescription drug abuse. [written]
with
Elvis has sold over a billion albums. He died of an
overdose. [spoken]
Verb + preposition
 When the verb is followed by a preposition in
the relative clause we can use two structures:
The woman is a lawyer. I spoke to a woman
 Formal: Preposition + rel.pronoun
The woman to whom* I spoke is a lawyer.
(*We can’t omit the relative pronoun after a preposition)
Or
 Informal: Preposition after the verb
The woman (who) I spoke to is a lawyer.
Exercise
Make these sentences more formal:
1. The house Shakespeare lived in is in
Stratford upon Avon.
2. No one knows who Guy Fawkes
revealed the plot to.
3. The village we went to do our research
to was without water or electricity.
4. The people we worked with were
cooperative and informative.
Relative Adverbs
Time: when or
in/on/at + which or that
 That was the year when/that I got my
degree. (The year in which...)
 11 September 2001 was the day
when/that people’s attitude towards
terrorism changed. (The day on which...)
 The adverb (when) can be omitted.
11 September 2001 was the day people’s
attitude towards terrorism changed.
Relative Adverbs
Place: where or
in/on/at + which or that
 That’s the factory where they make
chemicals. (The factory in which...)
 That’s the spot where the battle took
place. (The spot on which...)
 The adverb (where) cannot generally
be omitted.
Relative Adverbs:
Reason: why (for which)
 I will explain the reasons why the
accident occurred = I will explain the
reason for which the accident
occurred
 The adverb (why) can be omitted.
I will explain the reasons the accident
occurred
Relative pronouns
Possessive: whose
 It takes the place of his, her, their or a noun
in possessive case ‘s.
 Andy Warhol was a pop artist whose paintings
are famous worldwide.(His paintings are
famous…)
 Charlie, whose sister lives in London,
is travelling to England this summer. (Charlie’s
sister lives in London).