Relative clauses

ENGLESKI JEZIK II
What are they?

 Relative clauses describe or provide the information about something or someone already
specified/known/defined by us.

e.g.
 I like working with students who appreciate what I do. (who – referring to students).
 Her husband died, which was the beginning of her depression. (which – referring to “Her
husband died”)

Similar to adjectives in function – I like working with appreciative students.

 “Relative clauses (also known as adjective clauses or adjectival clauses) are dependent
clauses that provide descriptive information about a noun or noun phrase” (Herring 2016:
954)
What do they do?

 Relative clauses also enable us to combine clauses without repeating things.

 e.g. I tried to help a child who was crying her eyes out.
 Instead of
 I tried to help a child. The child was crying her eyes out.

 We also use relative clauses in order to identify things/people from other similar
things/people
 Mancunians aren’t people who live in Manchester, they’re people who were born
there.
Position in a sentence

 Relative clauses usually follow whatever they qualify, placing them immediately
after the main clause.
 e.g. The bus came at last, which was an enormous relief.
 I like working with students who appreciate what I do.

 Sometimes, they are embedded in the main clause (when they qualify the subject).
 e.g. People who know several foreign languages make better language teachers.
Relative pronouns

 Relative pronouns introduce the relative clause

 The list of relative pronouns:
 that which who what whom whose where when why

 Some of them can be used for other purposes

 Who, whose and which can introduce questions, as well as what, where, when,
why.
 That can refer to specific things (e.g. that man; give me that)
(Non)defining relative clauses

 Relative clauses are generally split into two categories: defining (also known as
restrictive) and non-defining relative clauses (non-restrictive).

 Their belonging to one of the former categories depends on the importance of the
information provided by the clause, whether it is essential (defining) or non-
essential (non-defining).
Defining (restrictive) relative clauses

 Restrictive relative clauses identify a particular noun, giving us information about

it that we need to know in order to understand the speaker’s meaning. No
punctuation is necessary (Herring 2016: 956).

 “I saw the guy who delivers my mail in town yesterday.”

 “I’ll always remember the river where we learned to swim.”
 “Yesterday was the day when I met my husband.”
 “I sat on the chair that has a wobbly leg.”
 “Do you know the reason why the sky is blue?”
 “She’s the person whose daughter goes to Harvard.”
Definite article ”the”

 Article ”the” is introduced when the information is qualified by the relative clause
(in front of the argument that the relative clause qualifies).
 e.g. Do you know the person who just left the room?
 ”the” signals that the clause which follows specifies the thing or the person that
we are referring to
Non-defining (non-restrictive) relative
clauses
 They express additional (not essential) information about the noun that has been
identified already, and because such clauses are not integral, they are separated
from the rest of the sentence by commas.
 “Paris, where I spent six months studying, is the most beautiful city in the
world.”
 “The woman down the street, whose children are the same age as ours, invited
us over for dinner next week.”
 “I love casual Fridays, when we get to wear jeans to work.”
 “Samantha, whom I’ve asked to be my bridesmaid, is getting married next
year.”
Relative pronoun as a subject/object

 Three relative pronouns appear as a subject in the relative clause: who, which, that
 Since a relative clause contains the verb phrase, it also necessitates a subject,
which is sometimes played by the relative pronoun.
 If the relative pronoun plays the role of a subject, it can’t be left out.
 e.g. I tried to help a child who (that) was crying. – ”who” is the subject

 Along with whom, the three relative pronouns who, which and that can take on the
role of an object.
 e.g. Phil, whom I have known for a long time, was a stand-up lad.
 Phil was the person (whom/who/that) you would go to in case of a trouble.
Possessive whose

 Whose
 It stands in the place of the possessive form (e.g. his, our, Phil’s).
 It is combined with the word or words which follow the relative pronoun and
become the subject of the relative clause
 e.g. Relative clauses may create problems for learners whose first language is not
closely related to English.
Leaving out a relative pronoun

 It is possible to leave out a relative pronoun in defining clauses when the verb in
the relative clause already has the subject. For instance:
 I tried to help a child (that) I found in the street. S - “I”
 Paris is a city (that) we always go back to. S - “we”

 The rule is also interpreted as being possible in cases where the relative pronoun
is the object of the relative clause
 (“that” plays the role of the object in the example above “I found that in the
street”)
Choosing the relative pronoun

 Questions to consider:
 Does the relative pronoun refer to a person or a thing?
 Is the relationship possessive?
 Does it stand for a place, time or the reason for something?

 Examples:
 Bill was considering the murder weapon which he would use for Phill.
 Bill was considering the best location where to carry out his plan.
 Bill started to contemplate the possible reasons why he would kill Phill.
who which that

 When the subject in the relative clause is a person – WHO

 I’d like to give these blankets to people who (that) really need them.

 When the subject in the relative clause is a thing – WHICH

 Are you going to throw out the food which (that) has gone off?

 ”That” can be used in defining clauses to replace any relative pronoun besides the
possessive ”whose”. In non-defining clauses, ”that” is not used.
 Was it the day that (when) I saw you for the first time?
whom

 Used instead of ”who” when the relative pronoun is not the subject of the relative
clause.
 Used mostly in formal context – not so much in spoken English.
 Is that the person whom/who you invited?
 He is the one whom/who I advise.
where when why

 Question words are used as relative pronouns when denoting time, place or
reasons – also referred to as relative adverbs
 Is this the room where the murder happened?
 I remember a day when we all went out for a picnic.
 I want to know the reason why you came here.

 ”What” is also used as a relative pronoun replacing the phrase ”the thing(s) that”.
 Give him what he wants.
 Nominal relative clause
 When the relative clause becomes the object of a sentence
Bibliography

 Herring, P. (2016). The Farlex Grammar Book: Complete English Grammar

Rules. Farlex International.
 Parrott, M. (2000). Grammar for English language teachers: with exercises and a
key. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.