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RELATIVE CLAUSES
1. DEFINITION
Relative clauses are SUBORDINATE clauses that FUNCTION as an ADJECTIVE within the sentence. Compare:
I like the yellow t-shirt.
art. adjective noun
S V O
I like the t-shirt that’s on the shop window.
art. noun relative clause = adjective
S V O
2. INTRODUCTORY WORDS
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
|who / whom |que / quien (persona) |The boy who is speaking is my brother. |
|that |que (pers., cosa, animal) |The book that you need is on the second shelf. |
|which |que (cosa, animal) |The book which you need is on the second shelf. |
|whose |cuyo / cuyos |The man whose car was stolen lives next to me. |
RELATIVE ADVERBS
|when |en (el) que |Remember the day when we met? |
|where |en (el) que |This is the house where Joe was born. |
|why |por la que |Tell me the reason why you did it. |
3. TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSE
Compare:
a) The passengers who had visas had no trouble at the frontier. (DEFINING)
b) The passengers, who had visas, had no trouble at the frontier. (NON-DEFINING)
DEFINING
The relative clause gives essential information to IDENTIFY, define or classify the noun. So, only the passengers with visas had no trouble; the others had.
Defining relative clauses can be introduced by any type of introductory word and there are certain circumstances in which we can omit the pronouns THAT, WHICH, WHO.
A – PRONOUN AS SUBJECT OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSE.
When THAT, WHICH, WHO function as subject of the subordinate clause they cannot be omitted. Remember that subjects are essential in English.
Ex: I need someone who can speak English.
noun S V O
S V O
Other examples:
This is the horse which won the race.
Take the magazines that are on the table.
B – PRONOUN AS OBJECT OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSE.
When THAT, WHICH, WHO function as object of the subordinate clause they can be omitted.
Ex: I don’t like the things (that) you say to me.
art noun DO S V IO
S V O
Other examples:
This is the horse (which) I am training.
You can take the magazines (that) I was reading.
C – PRONOUN + PREPOSITION.
The relative clause may be introduced by a preposition + THAT, WHICH, WHO. In this case we have three possibilities:
← PREPOSITION + PRONOUN
The man from whom I bought this ring has disappeared.
The box in which he puts his things is not safe.
← PRONOUN + PREPOSITION AT THE END
The man who I bought this ring from has disappeared.
The box which he puts his things in is not safe.
← OMIT THE PRONOUN
The man I bought this ring from has disappeared.
The box he puts his things in is not safe.
NON-DEFINING
The relative clause gives extra information about the noun, it’s a comment. Therefore, all the passengers had visas and so, they had no trouble at the frontier.
Non-defining relative clauses introduced by any type of introductory word except for THAT, which is never used. Pronouns can never be omitted.
Non-defining relative clauses can be easily identified because they are separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
The relative pronouns WHO, WHICH, can function as subject / object of the relative clause:
Patrick, who lives next door , is a famous journalist.
S V CCL
Patrick, whom/who I saw yesterday , is a famous journalist.
IO S V CCT
Non-defining relative clauses can also be introduced by preposition. It may appear at the beginning or at the end of the relative clause.
My car, for which I paid so much, is broken.
My car, which I paid so much for, is broken.
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