All Is Relative in 2021

RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND RELATIVE CLAUSES
The relative pronouns are:
SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSIVE ADVERBIAL ADVERBIAL

OF PLACE OF TIME
who (for people) who/whom whose

where when
which (for things) which whose
that (for both) that
We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. Relative clauses tell us more about

people and things:
Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

This is the house which Jack built.
Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.
There are two kinds of relative clause, defining and non-defining:
- The DEFINING relative clauses provide necessary information, cannot be left out and
are NOT separated by comma. They are used make clear which person or thing we
are talking about:
Marie Curie is the woman who discovered radium.

This is the house which Jack built.
In this kind of relative clause, we can use that instead of who or which:
Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

This is the house that Jack built.
We can leave out the pronoun if it is the object of the relative clause:
This is the house that Jack built. (that is the object of built)
Note:
The relative pronoun is the subject/object of the relative clause, so the subject/object of the
main clause is not repeated.
Marie Curie is the woman who she discovered radium.

- The NON-DEFINING relative clauses provide additional information, can be left out
and are ALWAYS separated by comma.
Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

We had fish and chips, which I always enjoy.
I met Rebecca in town yesterday, which was a nice surprise.
Note:
In this kind of relative clauses, THAT cannot be used,
Lord Thompson, that is 76, has just retired. WRONG!
and the relative pronoun cannot be left out!
We had fish and chips, I always enjoy. WRONG!
WHOSE AND WHOM
We use whose as the possessive form of who:
This is George, whose brother went to school with me.
We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition:
This is George, whom you met at our house last year.

This is George’s brother, with whom I went to school.
but nowadays we normally use who:
This is George, who you met at our house last year.

This is George’s brother, who I went to school with.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS WITH PREPOSITIONS
When who(m) or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning of

the clause:
I had an uncle in Germany, from who(m) I inherited a bit of money.

We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood.
or at the end of the clause:
I had an uncle in Germany, who(m) I inherited a bit of money from.

We bought a chainsaw, which we cut all the wood up with.
But when that has a preposition, the preposition always comes at the end:
I didn't know the uncle that I inherited the money from.

We can't find the chainsaw that we cut all the wood up with.
WHEN AND WHERE
We can use when with times and where with places to make it clear which time or

place we are talking about:
England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year when we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the tsunami happened.
Do you remember the place where we caught the train?

Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.
We can leave out when:
England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year we got married.

I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the tsunami happened.
We often use QUANTIFIERS and numbers with relative pronouns:
all of which/whom most of which/whom many of which/whom
lots of which/whom a few of which/whom none of which/whom
one of which/whom two of which/whom etc.
She has three brothers, two of whom are in the army.

I read three books last week, one of which I really enjoyed.
There were some good programmes on the radio, none of which I listened to.
EXERCISES
A. Decide whether the following clauses are defining or non-defining clauses. Insert
commas where necessary.
1. The car which was a rare sports coupe was built in 1966.
2. We invited the boy who Tom had met the week before the party.
3. Our friends who we met at university are coming to visit next week.
4. That is the building where they shot the film 'Vanilla Sky'.
5. Mr. Jackson whose son also goes to this school will be attending the party next weekend.
B. Connect the sentences with a relative pronoun.

1. The plane took John Baker to Africa. It was British.
2. Lagos University had 6,000 students. Its buildings lay outside the city.
3. The private houses were beautiful. They were built for science graduates.
4. English was used for teaching. It was common to all instructors.
5. I met a man yesterday. This is the man.
6. Here is a story. I want to tell you a story.
7. She fell in love with a man. She had never met him before.
8. Tobacco is a drug. I can’t do without it.
9. This is a sort of nonsense. I won’t put up with it.
10. You sent me a present. Thank you very much for it. (Thank you …)
11. He wanted to come at 2 a.m. This didn’t suit me at all.
12. He expected me to pay 72 p for 12 eggs. Four of the eggs were broken.
13. The firm is sending me to York. I work for this firm.
C. Make one sentence from each group of sentences, beginning as shown:

1. The hotel was full of guests. The hotel was miles from anywhere. The guests had
gone there to admire the scenery.
The hotel,...
2. I lent you a book. It was written by a friend of mine. She lives in France.
The book...
3. A woman's jewels were stolen. A police officer was staying in the same hotel. The
woman was interviewed by him.
The woman...
4. A goal was scored by a teenager. He had come on as substitute. This goal won the
match.
The goal...
5. I was sitting next to a boy in the exam. He told me the answers.
The boy...
6. My wallet contained over 100$. It was found in the street by a schoolboy. He returned
it.
My wallet,...
7. My friend Albert has decided to buy a motorbike. His car was stolen last week.
My friend Albert,...
8. Carol is a vegetarian. I cooked a meal for her last week. She enjoyed it.
Carol,...
9. I got on a train. I wanted to go to a station. The train didn't stop there.
The train I...
10. I read a book. You recommended a book to me. This was the book.
The book...
11. The ship hit an iceberg and sank. Warning messages had been sent to it. The ship
ignored these.
The ship,...
12. The postman realized I was on holiday. You had sent me a parcel. The postman left it
next door.
The postman,...
13. I used to own a dog. People came to the door. The dog never barked at them.
The dog...
14. I bought my car from a woman. She lives in a house. You can see the house over
there.
The woman...
15. We went to a beach on the first day of our holiday. It was covered in seaweed. This
smelled a lot.
The beach...
16. My neighbors never apologize. The children make a lot of noise.
My neighbors,..
17. I bought a new typewriter. It cost me a lot of money.
The new…
D. Paraphrase the sentences:
1. All of Mary's brothers are married.

Mary has three brothers,…
2. Most of the information we were given was useless.
We were given a lot of information,…
3. Jane has received neither of the letters I sent her.
I sent Jane two letters,…
4. None of the ten people who applied for the job was suitable.
Ten people applied for the job,…
5. Kate hardly ever uses one of their computers.
Kate has got two computers,…
6. Mike gave half of the $50.000 he won to his parents.
Mike won $50.000,…
7. Both of Julia's sisters are teachers.
Julia has two sisters,…
8. I went to a party – I knew only a few of the people there.
There were a lot of people at the party,…
9. The sides of the road we drove along were lined with trees.
We drove along the road, the…
10. The aim of the company's new business plan is to save money.
The company has a new business plan,…

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RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND RELATIVE CLAUSES

The relative pronouns are:

SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSIVE ADVERBIAL ADVERBIAL

who (for people) who/whom whose

that (for both) that

We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. Relative clauses tell us more about

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

There are two kinds of relative clause, defining and non-defining:

Marie Curie is the woman who discovered radium.

In this kind of relative clause, we can use that instead of who or which:

Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

We can leave out the pronoun if it is the object of the relative clause:

This is the house that Jack built. (that is the object of built)

Marie Curie is the woman who she discovered radium.

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

In this kind of relative clauses, THAT cannot be used,

Lord Thompson, that is 76, has just retired. WRONG!

and the relative pronoun cannot be left out!

We had fish and chips, I always enjoy. WRONG!

WHOSE AND WHOM

We use whose as the possessive form of who:

This is George, whose brother went to school with me.

We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition:

This is George, whom you met at our house last year.

but nowadays we normally use who:

This is George, who you met at our house last year.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS WITH PREPOSITIONS

When who(m) or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning of

I had an uncle in Germany, from who(m) I inherited a bit of money.

or at the end of the clause:

I had an uncle in Germany, who(m) I inherited a bit of money from.

But when that has a preposition, the preposition always comes at the end:

I didn't know the uncle that I inherited the money from.

We can use when with times and where with places to make it clear which time or

Do you remember the place where we caught the train?

England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year we got married.

We often use QUANTIFIERS and numbers with relative pronouns:

all of which/whom most of which/whom many of which/whom

lots of which/whom a few of which/whom none of which/whom

one of which/whom two of which/whom etc.

She has three brothers, two of whom are in the army.

B. Connect the sentences with a relative pronoun.

C. Make one sentence from each group of sentences, beginning as shown:

D. Paraphrase the sentences:

1. All of Mary's brothers are married.

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