BASIC LEVEL 2
 Relative
clauses are subordinate clauses.
 Relative
clauses function as adjectives:
The blue jacket
The jacket which is blue
 But
the relative clause comes after the noun,
while adjectives usually come before the
noun.
They give important information about a noun or pronoun:
they define exactly who or what we are talking about:
The man who has brown hair is my brother.
Without the information of the relative clause “who has
brown hair” we can’t identify the man.
However, in the following sentence:
My brother, who has brown hair, is very young.
“Who has brown hair” doesn’t help us identify the man.
 We don’t put a comma between the noun and the defining
relative clause:
It’s a book which tells you how to relax.
 They are introduced by subordinators:
- Relative pronouns: who, which, that
- Relative adverbs: where, why, when

 WHO
- it is the subject in the relative
clause and makes reference to a person:
The boy who lives next door has gone into hospital.
 THAT:
1) It is the subject in the relative clause
and makes reference to a person:
The boy that lives next door has gone into hospital.
2) It is the subject in the relative clause
and makes reference to a thing:
I bought the coat that was in the shop window.
 WHICH:
1) It is the subject in the relative clause and makes
reference to a thing:
I bought the coat which was in the shop window.
2) WHICH … PREPOSITION: it can be:
- an adverbial of place and makes reference to a place:
The hotel which we stayed in was very comfortable.
- a prepositional complement:
This is the car which I paid $ 2,000 for.
3) PREPOSITION + WHICH: It’s formal. It can be:
- an adverbial of place and makes reference to a place:
The hotel in which we stayed was very comfortable.
- a prepositional complement:
An MP3 is something with which you listen to music.
 WHERE:
it is an adverbial of place and makes
reference to a place:
The hotel where we stayed was very comfortable.

WHEN: it is an adverbial of time and makes
reference to a time expression:
I’ll never forget the day when I first met him.

WHY: it is an adverbial of reason and it always
makes reference to the word “reason”:
The reason why Nick came was that he wanted to see Rita.
BASIC LEVEL 2
Created by:
Carmen Luisa Pérez Amaro