RELATIVE

CLAUSES
BACHILLERATO
Definition

A relative clause is a part of a sentence beginning with

a relative pronoun (although this pronoun can be
omitted in certain cases). For example:
 The school where I taught is called Alboraya English
Centre.
 The man who went into the baker's bought a loaf of bread.
 My sister, who lives near London, is coming to visit me
soon.
The relative pronoun must be just after the antecedent
( what it refers to).
 CHARACTERISTICS
 They add information about an object, person,
place.... That name is the antecedent of the
relative clause
 They are introduced by a relative pronoun or
adverb which is the connector between the main
and the subordinate clause.
 The relative clause always follows its antecedent.

I spoke to someone who told me you were here

 TYPES OF RELATIVE
CLAUSES

 There are two types of relative clauses:

 Defining

 The information is essential to explain the antecedent.

 The man who/that is going to marry Mary is called Bruce

 Non-defining

 They give extra information, not necessary for understanding

the sentence. The add more information to the antecedent
(which is perfectly clear).
 They appear between commas.

 Bruce, who is going to marry Mary, is a car salesman

 DEFINING RELATIVE
CLAUSES

 They give essential information about the

antecedent. Without it, the sentence would be
incomplete.
 The man who came into the classroom is the
new English teacher
 DEFINING RELATIVE
CLAUSES
 WHO, WHICH and THAT can be used as: ..
 SUBJECT of the relative clause:
 Mary is the girl who works in the office (The girl works in
the office)
 COMPLEMENT of the relative clause:
 Mary is the girl who we met yesterday (We met the girl
yesterday)
 When the relative pronoun is used as a
complement of the Relative Clause, it can be
ommitted. WHOSE is never ommitted.
 Mary is the girl (who) we met yesterday
 NON-DEFINING RELATIVE
CLAUSES
 They add extra information about the antecedent.
 Always found between commas.
 Mary, who lives in Benidorm, is from Argentina
 The following relative pronouns/adverbs are used:
 Who
 Which
 When
 Where
 Whose
 The Relative Pronoun CANNOT be ommitted even if it works as
a complement of the sentence.
  Madonna, who is a famous artist, is from USA 
 THAT cannot be used instead of who, which or when
 My first car, which / that I bought in 1983, was a Renault
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
 WE ARE GOING TO CHOOSE THE RELATIVE PRONOUN
ACCORDING TO THE ANTECEDENT :

WHICH THAT
WHO
WHEN

WHERE WHOM WHOSE

 Pronombres y adverbios
relativos
• It is used when the antecedent is a
person.
Who • It can be ommitted if it is not a subject.
• I spoke to the man who was next to
me

• It is used when the antecedent is a

thing or an animal.

Which • It can be ommitted if it is not the

subject.
• The car which is in front of the house
is John’s
• It is used when the antecedent is a person,
animal, thing or time.
• It can be used instead of who, which or when.

That • It can be ommitted if it is not a subject.

• CANNOT be used in Non-defining relative
clauses.
• That is the man that I met at the bar yesterday
 RELATIVE ADVERBS

• It is used to refer to TIME (Wen the

antecedent is a TIME ADVERBIAL)
When • It can be substituted by THAT
• 2008 is the year when she got
divorced

• It IS Used to refer to A PLACE (When

the antecedent is a PLACE Adverbial).
Where • It cannot be substituted by THAT.
• That’s the hotel where they stayed
during their holidays
 Pronombres y adverbios
relativos

• Used to talk about possessions.

• CANNOT be ommitted.
Whose •
•
CANNOT be substituted by THAT
That’s the family whose son is studying at
university

• It Is used after PREPOSITIONS.

• It can be ommitted and the preposition follows

Whom the verb

• Those are the boys to whom she spoke in
the park
• Those are the boys she spoke to in the park
Trickier relative pronouns

Some relative pronouns often seem to confuse people, but

they're easy to use too.

WHICH
This can be used to refer to the whole part of the sentence
that went before. Usually a pronoun refers to a noun, but
this refers to more. For example:
 I've broken my leg, which means I can't walk.
 I've still got some money left, which is surprising.
WHAT

This can be literally translated to mean 'the

thing that' or 'that which'. It is not used
anywhere near as often as 'which' or 'that'
and is not used in the same way. For
example:

 A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

 I didn't know what he was going to do next.
Non-defining relative clauses
(Explicativas)
These are the ones that give extra information. They
are always written between commas. If you leave
out the relative clause between the commas it still
makes sense. For example:
 Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on the
Mediterranean coast.
(We all know Valencia, so this is extra information not
needed for understanding.)
 My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every year.
(I've only got one set of parents.)
 I used to live in London, where I was born and went to
school.
Defining relative clauses
(Especificativas)
These are the ones that give you the information you
need to understand the sentence. There are no
commas. If you take the relative clause away, the
sentence doesn't make sense. For example:

 The team that wins will receive a cup and 1,000 €.

(What team?)
 The man who lives next door is always making a noise.
(What man?)
 Has he told you what he's going to do?
(Has he told me what?)
Subject and object pronouns
The use of who/which/that may depend on whether the
pronoun is the subject or the object of the sentence.
For example:
 The man who spoke to me told me the story of his life.
(He spoke to me, so 'who' is the subject and 'me' is the
object.)
 The man that I spoke to told me the story of his life.
(I spoke to him, so 'I' is the subject and 'that' is the object.)
When the pronoun is the object it can be left out (in
defining clauses):
 The man I spoke to told me the story of his life.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
1. She showed me a photograph of her son. Her son is a policeman.
She showed me a photograph of her son, who is a policeman.
2. We decided not to swim in the sea. The sea looked rather dirty.
We decided not to swim in the sea, which looked rather dirty.
3. We spent a pleasant day by the lake. We had a picnic by the lake.
We spent a pleasant day by the lake, where we had a picnic.
4. The new stadium will be opened next month. The stadium holds
90.000 people.
The new stadium, which holds 90.000 people, will be opened next
month.
5. I recently went back to the town. I was born there.
I recently went back to the town where I was born.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
6. The bed was soft. I slept in it.
The bed I slept in was soft.
7. I didn't get the job. I applied for it.
I didn't get the job I applied for.
8. The man has been married twice before. I met him yesterday.
The man (who/that) I met yesterday has been married twice
before.
9. The museum was shut when we got there. We wanted to visit it.
The museum (which/that) we wanted to visit was shut when we got
there.
10. The man has now been released. The police arrested him.
The man (who/that) the police arrested has now been released.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
11. John is one of my closest friends. I have known John for eight years.
John, who I have known John for eight years, is one of my closest
friends.
12. That man over there is an artist. I don't remember his name.
That man over there, whose name I don't remember, is an artist.
13. The storm caused a lot of damage. Nobody had been expecting the
storm.
The storm, which nobody had been expecting, caused a lot of
damage.
14. The postman was late this morning. The postman is nearly always on
time.
The postman, who is nearly always on time, was late this morning.
15. We often go to visit our friends in Bristol. Bristol is only 30 miles away.
We often go to visit our friends in Bristol which is only 30 miles away.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
16. Mr Edwards has gone into hospital for some tests. His health hasn't
been good recently.
Mr Edwards, whose health hasn't been good recently, has gone into
hospital for some tests.
17. Jack looks much nicer without his beard. His beard made him look
much older.
Jack looks much nicer without his beard, which made him look much
older.
18. I went to see the doctor. The doctor told me to rest for a few days.
I went to see the doctor, who told me to rest for a few days.
19. A waiter served us. He was very impolite.
The waiter who served us was very impolite.
20. The population of London is now falling. London was once the largest
city in the world.
The population of London, which was once the largest city in the
world, is now falling.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
21. I am looking after some children. They are terribly spoilt.
I am looking after some children, who are terribly spoilt.
22. Romeo and Juliet were two lovers. Their parents hated each other.
Romeo and Juliet were two lovers whose parents hated each
other.
23. There wasn't any directory in the telephone box. I was phoning
from this box.
There wasn't any directory in the telephone box where I was
phoning from.
24. This is Mrs Jones. Her son won the championship last year.
This is Mrs Jones, whose son won the championship last year.
25. The man was sitting at the desk. I had come specially to see him.
The man (who) I had come specially to see was sitting at the desk.
 Turn these sentences into one
using a relative pronoun:
26. His girlfriend turned out to be an enemy spy. He trusted her
absolutely.
His girlfriend, whom he trusted absolutely, turned out to be an
enemy spy.
27. The firm is sending me to New York. I work for this firm.
The firm (which) I work for is sending me to New York.
28. I was given my address by a man. I met this man on a train.
I was given my address by the man (who) I met on a train.
29. A man answered the phone. He said Tom was out.
The man who answered the phone said Tom was out.
30. The bar was so noisy that I couldn't hear the person at the other
end of the line. I was telephoning from this bar.
The bar (which) I was telephoning from was so noisy that I couldn't
hear the person at the other end of the line.