Relative Clauses

RELATIVE CLAUSES
This is the High School. This is the High School where I study.
I study there.
The student got an A. The student who/that got an A is my brother.

He is my brother.
Michael is 17. Michael, whose bicycle was stolen yesterday, is 17.
His bicycle was stolen
yesterday.
The digital magazine is The digital magazine (which/that) you recommended to me is
quite interesting. quite
You recommended it interesting.
to me.
The pandemic started The pandemic started in the year 2020, when I was living in Berlin.
in the year 2020. I was
living in Berlin then.
La oración de relativo va justo detrás de su antecedente: HIGH SCHOOL, THE

STUDENT,MICHAEL, THE DIGITAL
MAGAZINE, THE YEAR 2020
Al unir dos oraciones en una de relativo tendremos que eliminar algo de la segunda oración:
THERE, HE, HIS, IT, THEN.
Es importante saber la función que realiza el relativo en la oración, pues de ello dependerá si
se puede omitir o no. (Sólo en las oraciones de relativo DEFINING se puede omitir) Cuando el
relativo va delante del verbo hace función de sujeto. Cuando ya hay un sujeto en la oración de
relativo no puede hacer función de sujeto. En ese caso será objeto. Detrás de “whose” va un
sustantivo. )
DEFINING/NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (Especificativas/Explicativas)
My sister who is 25 years old is a nurse => Defining

My sister, who is 25 years old, is a nurse => Non-defining
The woman who lives next door is a nurse.

Susan, who lives next door, is a nurse.
DEFINING
1 El antecedente no está definido. La oración de relativo es fundamental para comprender la

oración.Nos identifica al antecedente. La información que añade es esencial para la
comprensión de la oración.
-The man who came with him was his uncle

-The house that fell down was very old.
The man--> no sabemos qué hombre es.

A company--> no sabemos qué compañía es.
The man who/that lives next door is very friendly.

He works for a company which/that makes computers.
La oración de relativo nos dice qué hombre es y qué tipo de compañía.
2. No va entre comas.
3 Cuando el pronombre relativo “who” “which” or “that” es el objeto de la oración
subordinada, éste puede omitirse
- The woman (who/that) I saw yesterday is 45. The woman I saw yesterday is 45.
-The girl(who/that) he knows is my sister.
-The car (which/that) they bought was very expensive.
El relativo que indica posesión 'whose', no se omite nunca.

-That's the man whose dog bit me.
-That's the man whose dog I found.
4 Se puede poner THAT.

The house which/that….
The man who/that
5. En general se intenta evitar el uso de oraciones de relativo preposicionales. Un modo de

hacerlo es poner la preposición al final de la oración cuyo relativo se ha omitido (contact
clause).
The girl the ugly man was talking to is Jim´s daughter
The girl to whom the ugly man was talking is Jim’s daughter
-Those are the people we had lunch with.

Those are the people with whom we had lunch. (more formal)
-That's the house I was born in.

That’s the house in which I was born. (more formal)
-The book I was talking about is very interesting.

The book about which I was talking about is very interesting. (more formal)
-The girl you came with is my friend.

The girl with whom you came is my friend. (more formal)
NON-DEFINING
1. El antecedente ya está definido. El relativo añade información extra.
Peter's brother, who…--> se sabe qué persona es.

The house in the corner, which….--> se sabe qué casa es
Donald Trump, who….
My friend Kerry, who…
Todo lo que se añade es una información extra, adicional, porque ya se sabe de quién o de qué
estamos hablando.
Peter's brother, who is 25, goes surfing every day.

The house in the corner, which was painted in white, has been sold.
-Peter Brown, who works in the same office as me, has just got married.
My friend Kerry, who lives in Scotland, got married 3 years ago.
2. Va entre comas.
3. No se puede quitar el relativo. Cuando es objeto, el pronombre relativo no se puede omitir.

-I saw my parents’ car, which they bought last week.
-The house in the corner, which I had just seen, has Victorian windows.
4.No se puede poner THAT.
The house in the corner, which was painted in white, has been sold.
5. Cuando el estilo es informal, la preposición (al igual que en las defining) va al final.
-I mentioned the exam, which she didn't want to talk about.
Exercises:
1.. Decide whether the relative pronoun is necessary or not.
1. This is the ring that I found yesterday.

2. Do you know the man that is speaking with Anne?
3. I still have the book that you gave me.
4. Is this the woman that lost her purse?
5. Is this the key that we were looking for?
6. This is the picture that Jane painted.
7. Do you know the man who is speaking on the phone?
8. We ate the sweets which my mother had bought.
9. Is this the boy who plays the piano?
10. This is the house that was broken into.
2.- Complete the sentences with relative clauses. Use who or which.
1. A Dutch is a person (live in the Netherlands)

2. A giant is someone (be very tall)
3. An alarm clock is a clock (wake you up in the morning)
4. A ladybird is a red beetle (have black spots on its back)
5. A waitress is a woman (serve food and drinks in a restaurant)
6. Catherine and Sue are two girls (like dancing)
7. My mobile phone is something (be very important to me)
8. Antony is a friend of mine (live in Boston)
9. West Side Story is a musical (be very famous)
10. An airport is a place (planes land)
3. Combine the sentences using a relative clause without a relative pronoun.
1. I watched a film last night. The film was interesting.

The film (that/which) I watched last night was interesting.
2. Carly helps a man. The man is my teacher.
The man Carly helps is my teacher.
3. We ate chicken at the restaurant. It was delicious.
The chicken
4. The boy is very nice. I know him from school.
The boy
5. The shoes are too big. My grandma bought them for me.
The shoes
6. We bought a car last week. The car is blue.
The car
7. The girl is a singer. We met her at the party.
The girl
8. The bananas are on the table. George bought them.
The bananas
9. We watched a film last night. It was really scary.
The film
10. I have to learn new words. They are very difficult.
The new words
4. Defining clauses. Complete the following sentences with a relative when necessary:
1. That's the man ________ spoke to me on the bus last night.

2. That's the man ________ I spoke to on the bus last night.
3. She's the girl ________ handbag was stolen.
4. She's the girl ________ car I bought.
5. That's the town ________ I grew up in.
6. That's the town ________ I grew up.
7. That's the book ________ has interested me most.
8. That's the book ________ I lent you.
9.The book ________ I was reading was a detective story.
11. The man ________ you spoke to in the street is my English teacher.
12. There's the lady _________ purse has been stolen.
13. Where is there a shop ________ sells postcards?
15. The people _________ are looking at that house are my parents.
15. I don't like the house _________ he lives in.
16. I don't like the house _________ he lives.
2. Make non-defining relative clauses
1. Mary Black is coming to stay with me. She was in my class at school.
2. That man over there is an artist. I don't remember his name
3. I'm going to stay with Peter. I met him at school.
4. His case was too heavy for him. It weighed 50 kilos.
6. John is one of my closest friends. I have known John for eight years
7. The population of London is now falling. London was once the largest city in the world
8. John Adams has become managing director. His grandfather founded the firm.
9. Tom's father goes swimming every day. Tom's father is 78.
10. We decided not to swim in the sea. It looked rather dirty
11. Next week-end I'm going to Glasgow. My sister lives in Glasgow.
12. . Opposite our house there is a nice park. There are some beautiful trees in the park
PEvAU
Join the following sentences using a relative. Make changes if necessary
Lindsay is the eldest child. She has to look after the other children..
He was reading a book. Its characters were zombies.
Domestic violence is a global problem. It must receive more attention from the community.
Some Europeans have to cross borders. Their jobs are outside their native countries.
The Sex Discrimination Act made sexist language illegal. It was passed in 1975.
Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime. His works are worth millions.
Nikki sells cinema tickets. She is against the ban.
I could not move my car. It had no petrol.
A dog was sent into space in 1957. Its name was Laika.
Jane Halifax is the president of the committee. She does not support the proposal.
Johnny Depp is starring in Finding Neverland. His portrait of Captain Sparrow is superb.
Clark Kent worked for a newspaper. The newspaper was called ̳The Daily Planet‘.
John has given up smoking. He was a heavy smoker.
He received an e-mail. Its content was spam.
John Bloom died recently. His novel ―The French Affair was made into a beautiful film.
He used a sexist word. Its meaning was pejorative for women.
Citizens have to pay taxes. Local Governments fix them.
Martin ́s mother is Spanish. She speaks both Spanish and English fluently
I‘ll come back another day. You won‘t be so busy then

Aikido is an ancient sport. It requires strength and agility.

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RELATIVE CLAUSES

The student got an A. The student who/that got an A is my brother.

La oración de relativo va justo detrás de su antecedente: HIGH SCHOOL, THE

DEFINING/NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (Especificativas/Explicativas)

My sister who is 25 years old is a nurse => Defining

The woman who lives next door is a nurse.

1 El antecedente no está definido. La oración de relativo es fundamental para comprender la

-The man who came with him was his uncle

The man--> no sabemos qué hombre es.

The man who/that lives next door is very friendly.

La oración de relativo nos dice qué hombre es y qué tipo de compañía.

El relativo que indica posesión 'whose', no se omite nunca.

4 Se puede poner THAT.

5. En general se intenta evitar el uso de oraciones de relativo preposicionales. Un modo de

-Those are the people we had lunch with.

-That's the house I was born in.

-The book I was talking about is very interesting.

-The girl you came with is my friend.

1. El antecedente ya está definido. El relativo añade información extra.

Peter's brother, who…--> se sabe qué persona es.

Peter's brother, who is 25, goes surfing every day.

3. No se puede quitar el relativo. Cuando es objeto, el pronombre relativo no se puede omitir.

4.No se puede poner THAT.

-I mentioned the exam, which she didn't want to talk about.

1.. Decide whether the relative pronoun is necessary or not.

1. This is the ring that I found yesterday.

1. A Dutch is a person (live in the Netherlands)

3. Combine the sentences using a relative clause without a relative pronoun.

1. I watched a film last night. The film was interesting.

1. That's the man ________ spoke to me on the bus last night.

2. Make non-defining relative clauses

2. That man over there is an artist. I don't remember his name

3. I'm going to stay with Peter. I met him at school.

4. His case was too heavy for him. It weighed 50 kilos.

11. Next week-end I'm going to Glasgow. My sister lives in Glasgow.

He was reading a book. Its characters were zombies.

Nikki sells cinema tickets. She is against the ban.

I could not move my car. It had no petrol.

John has given up smoking. He was a heavy smoker.

He received an e-mail. Its content was spam.

He used a sexist word. Its meaning was pejorative for women.

Citizens have to pay taxes. Local Governments fix them.

I‘ll come back another day. You won‘t be so busy then

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