Relative Clauses

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English PowerPoint -
Relative Clauses
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Contents-
-The use of relative clauses -Defining relative
clauses about people -Defining clauses about
things -Defining clauses with where, when and
why/that -What -Infinitives and participles
instead of relative clauses -Non-defining
clauses -Which referring to a whole
sentence -Relative clauses as a
connective -Exercise -Answer
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1 The use of relative clauses
E.g. I know the boy who is wearing a leather
jacket. The novel which you lent me is very
interesting.
Definition
In the above examples, who is wearing a leather
jacket and which you lent me are relative
clauses. These clauses tell us which person or
thing we mean. They are introduced by such
relative pronouns as who, whom, which, that, etc.
Relative clauses are of two kinds defining and
non-defining.
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2 Defining relative clauses about people
These clauses begin with who, whom, whose or
that. The information they contain is necessary
for us to identify who is being talked about.
I) Who, whom and that We use who or that as
the subject of the clause. E.g. The old couple
who/that live next door seldom have visitors.
Compare The old couple seldom have visitors.
The old couple/They live next door.
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We use whom or that as the object of the word in
the clause. E.g. The boy whom/that we met just
now is Hung Hungs brother. Compare The boy is
Hung Hungs brother. We met the boy/him
just now. Note In the above examples, who or
that can be replaced by who. E.g. The boy who we
met just now is Hung Hungs brother.
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Note As the object of the word in the clause,
whom, who or that can be omitted. E.g. The boy
we met just now is Hung Hungs brother. We can
also use whom as the object of a preposition,
especially in formal English. The girl about
whom I told you is here now. CompareThe girl is
here now. I told you about the
girl/her. The girl (who/that) I told you about
is here now.
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In informal spoken English, we normally put the
preposition at the end of the relative clause
and begin the clause with who/that, or leave out
the relative pronoun. II) Whose We use whose in
relative clauses to talk about possession. Ive
got a friend whose brother is a famous fashion
designer. CompareIve got a friend.
My friends/His brother is a famous fashion
designer.
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3 Defining clauses about things I )
Defining clauses about things begin with which or
that. Did you see the book which/that was on
this table this morning? CompareDid you see the
book? The book/lt was on this
table this morning. In the above example,
which/that is the subject of the clause. Which or
that can also be the object of the verb in the
clause. In this case which/that can be omitted.
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Is this the book (which/that) you bought last
week? CompareIs this the book?
You bought the book/it last week. Which can
also be the object of a preposition. This is not
the book for which Im looking. CompareThis is
not the book. Im looking for the
book /it.
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In informal spoken English, we normally put the
preposition at the end of the clause and begin
the clause with which/ that or leave out the
relative pronoun. This is not the book
(which/that) Im looking for. II) Defining
clauses about things can also begin with
whose, but we usually use of which or a phrase
with instead.
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When I met him he was reading a book the name
of which Ive forgotten. CompareWhen I met him
he was reading a book. Ive
forgotten the name of the book. Can you see the
building with large windows over there? Its
said to have been built in the 18th century.
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4 Defining clauses with where, when and
why/that We can use where in relative clauses to
talk about places. The hotel where we stayed was
very far from the airport. CompareThe hotel at
which we stayed was very far from
the airport. The hotel we stayed
at was very far from the airport. We can
use when in relative clauses after the time, the
day, the year etc. to talk about when something
happened.
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Do you remember the day when we first
met? NoteWe can use that instead of when or
leave out the relative pronoun. Do you
remember the day (that) we first met? After the
word reason, we can use why or that in relative
clauses. We can also leave out why and that. Is
there a reason (why/that) you dont like her?
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5 What We can use what to stand for the thing(s)
that. Do you believe what he said? Compare Do
you believe everything (that) he said?
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• 6 Infinitives and participles instead of relative
  clauses
• After first, second, next, last, only and
  sometimes after a superlative (tallest, most
  difficult) etc. a to-infinitive is more usual
  than a relative clause.
• Who was the last person to leave the classroom
  yesterday?
• It was the most important thing to do.
• We can use a present participle when the verb in
  the clause expresses a continuous or repeated
  action.
• People living in tropical countries usually have
  dark complexions.

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7 Non-defining clauses Non-defining relative
clauses do not try to identify which person or
thing we mean. We already know which person or
thing is meant. We use these clauses to give
extra information. My father, who works in a
bank, may be able to help you with these
forms. Non-defining clauses are separated by
commas from the rest of the sentence in written
English, often one at the beginning of the clause
and the other at the end.
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In non-defining clauses we use who, whom for
people and which for things, but no that. These
relative pronouns cannot be omitted. Im
grateful to Paul, who helped us when we moved
house. It was not easy to break up with Paul,
whom she had known for years. When we went to
Beijing, we visited the Great Wall, which was
magnificent. I gave her my telephone number,
which she wrote down on her notebook. The blue
diamond, which was displayed in a special case,
was said to be worth over a million dollars.
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In conversation, we often use who instead of
whom. It was not easy to break up with Paul,
who she had known for years. In formal style, we
use the preposition whom/which to introduce a
non-defining clause. In informal style, we often
put the preposition at the end of the clause and
we use who instead of whom. Paul, with whom we
were travelling, acted as our guide. Paul, who
we were travelling with, acted as our
guide. His new car, in which we were
travelling, broke down on the way. His new car,
which we were travelling in, broke down on the
way.
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We can also use whose, where and when in
non-defining clauses. Paul, whose sister is my
classmate, is leaving for Australia
tomorrow. We took a no. 75K bus to Bride Pool
Waterfalls, where we had a barbecue. That
September, when we met, was one of the wettest
on record.
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8 Which referring to a whole sentence We can use
which to stand for a whole sentence, not just a
noun that goes before it. Susan failed the
test, which surprised us all. Compare Susan
failed the test. This/The fact that she
failed the test surprised us all.
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9 Relative clauses as connectives Sometimes a
relative clause does not describe a person or
thing. It just helps to make the story go on
further. I met Tom, who told me that Ann had
returned to Hong Kong. Compare I met Tom, and
he told me that Ann had returned to Hong Kong.
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EXERSISE Complete these sentences with
who,whom,which,that or whose. 1.Mui Wo,________is
also known as Silvermine Bay,is named after two
former silver mines in a nearby valley. 2.A
nurse is a woman _______job is to look after sick
people. 3.I ve lost her address,_________I
wrote down on a piece of paper. 4.He passed the
H.K.C.E.E. with 7 As,____was more than he
expected. 5.Belinda s cat,_______she chose from
the R.S.P.C.A.,has run away.
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Join each pair of sentences with a relative
pronoun (who,whom/which,that whose,etc.)Add
commas where necessary. 1.Mr and Mrs Smith seemed
to enjoy the food. We had dinner with them at a
Chinese restaurant last night.
_____________________________________________ 2.
The car did not stop. It knocked down the
boy. __________________________________________
___
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3.There is someone here. He wants to speak to
you. _____________________________________________
__ 4.This letter has just arrived . It was
sent by surface mail. ____________________________
___________________ 5.The lift plunged ten floors
to the ground. There were seventeen workers in
the lift. _____________________________________
__________
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• Answer
• Which

2. Whose
3. Which
4. Which
5. Which
1.Mr and Mrs Lee,with whom we dined at a Chinese
restaurant last night,seemed to enjoy the food.
2.The car which knocked down the boy did not stop.
3.There is someone here who wants to speak to you.
4.The letter which was spent by surface mail has
just arrived.
5.The lift in which seventeen workers plunged ten
floors to the ground .