RELATIVE CLAUSES
• RELATIVE? In relation to what?
• What types of relative clauses are there?
• How are they built into the sentence?
• What problems can students have?
Where do relative clauses
appear
AFTER
in the sentence?
THE OBJECT
AFTER
THE SUBJECT
• Mike tried to help a child who was lost.
• Rome, which is the capital of Italy, lies
on the Tiber.
• I was to translate the whole text, which
was impossible.
AFTER
A CLAUSE
Defining / Non-defining
Which is correct?
• His wife, who is standing there, is
very pretty.
• His wife who is
standing there
is very pretty.
Defining
• The woman who lives in apartment
No. 34 has been arrested.
• The document (Ø /that/which) I need has
'IMPORTANT' written at the top.
• That's the boy (Ø, that, who, whom)
I invited to the party.
Non-defining
• Frank Zappa, who was one of the most
creative artists in rock 'n roll, came from
California.
• Peter brought his favorite antique book,
which he had found at a flee market, to
show his friends.
• The singer, whose most recent
recording has had much success,
is signing autographs.
Co-ordinate relative
• His daughter has decided to take
a gap year, which is something more and more
young people do these days.
• Police have been investigating
a drug ring , the result of which was
a series of arrests.
(NEVER WHAT!)
Relative clauses with quantifiers
It is preferable to use that (not which) after the
following words: all, any(thing), every(thing), few,
little, many, much, no(thing), none, some(thing),
and after superlatives.
• It was everything (that) he had ever
wanted.
• There were only a few that really
interested him.
• Is the blue whale the biggest animal that
has ever lived?
After numbers and words like many, most,
neither, and some, we use of before whom
and which in non-defining relative clauses.
• These immigrants are registering their
children, many of whom were born in the
U.S.
• Mr. Bittner cut down 25 acres of sweet
cherry trees, some of which were 30 years
old.
Relative adverbs:
WHEN, WHERE, WHY
• I'd like to know the reason (why/for which)
he decided not to come.
• February is the month (when/in which)
many of my colleagues take skiing holidays.
BUT
• She had always wanted to go to a country
where/in which she could use her Spanish.
(not optional)
Relative clauses with prepositions
(defining)
• The banker to whom I gave my check was
quite friendly. – formal
• The woman who/Ø I talked to was very
pleasant indeed. – less formal
• The lecture to which all faculty had been
invited was excellent.- formal
• I didn’t like the book which/Ø you are so
enthusiastic about. – less formal
Relative clauses with prepositions
(non-defining)
• The bank manager, to whom he
addressed his complaints, was very
unhelpful. – formal
• The local branch manager, who I talked to
about my problems, was very helpful.
– very informal
Possessive relative clauses
• He's the man whose car was stolen last
week.
• They were sure to visit the town
whose location (OR the location of which)
was little known.
• Olympia, whose name is taken from the
Greek, is the capitol of Washington State.
Non-finite/reduced relative clauses
(defining)
• The woman sitting next to Marian is her
sister.
• Each cell will continue to divide to form a
human composed of millions of cells.
• There’s food to be served
and drinks to be poured.
Non-finite/reduced relative clauses
(non-defining)
• Some of the clients’ money, believed
to total £6 million, has found its way
into unquoted companies.
• A certified teacher, holding a
master's degree in education, should
complete a state specified
educational course of study.
Infinitive clauses - passive or active?
• There are all those apples to peel.
• There are all those apples to be peeled.
With other constructions, especially where quantifiers
occur, the passive is less common:
• We’ve got a lot of cooking to do.
(less likely: to be done)
• I have an essay to write for tomorrow
morning.(much less likely: to be written)
Reduced relative clauses
(verbless)
• Let’s discuss issues relevant to the topic
on the agenda.
[which are]
• He has met many Canadian
doctors critical of their own
health-care system.
[who are]
PROBLEMS?
• PUNCTUATION
• CHOICE OF RELATIVE PRONOUN
• WHEN/WHERE/WHY (or prep+which)
• PREPOSITIONS
• POSSESSIVE RELATIVE (whose/N+of which)
• CO-ORDINATE RELATIVE (WHICH!)
• REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES