GRAMMAR
LESSON 5 & 6
Relative clause gives us more information
about the person, animal or thing we talk
about.
RELATIVE CLAUSE
Relative pronouns
Subject
Object
Person
who/that
whom/that
Animal/thing
which/ that
which/that
Possession
whose
whose
Usage
1/ For Person :
 The one sees Dependent Arising. He sees the Dharma.
→ The one who/ that sees Dependent Arising sees the
Dharma.
 He saw beings. Some are easy to teach and hard to teach.
→ He saw beings who / that are easy to teach and hard to
teach.
 The Konandas were the Buddha’s old companions. The
Buddha was preaching Dharma to them
→ The Konandas whom/ that the Buddha was preaching
Dharma to were his old companions.
2/ Things :
• Some lotuses are born in the water. They are
unstained by it.
→ Some lotuses which/ that are born in the
water are unstained by it.
• The Dharma is profound. The Buddha has
realised it.
→ The Dharma which/ that the Buddha has
realised is profound.
3/ Possession :
• The lady has a beautiful smile. She is Princess
Yasodhara.
→ The lady whose smile is beautiful is
Princess Yasodhara.
• The bird is sitting in the tree. Its wings are
hurt.
→ The bird whose wings are hurt is sitting in
the tree.
4/ Use “that” in these cases : ( những trường
hợp dùng “that”)
• Superlative comparison ( so sánh nhất)
He’s the most intelligent one that I admire
a lot.
• After “only, the first, the last”
The Noble Eight-fold Path is the only way
that leads one to true happiness.
• After “ no one, nobody, nothing, anyone,
anything, anybody, someone, something,
somebody, all, some, any, little, none”
There is something mysterious here that I
have to explore.
• Mixed antecedent ( danh từ bao gồm cả người
lẫn vật):
She talked about the people and places that
she had visited.
Defining relative clause
• We use defining relative clause to give essential
information about the animal, person or thing we are
talking about. Without the information in a defining
relative clause, the sentence would not make sense.
We do not use comma in this type of clause.
E.g : He’s the man who asked the Buddha to accept
him in His order.
 In defining relative clause we can use “that” instead of
“who and which”.
E.g : This is a subject that (which) is hard to see.
There are those that (who) will understand the
Dharma.
 We can omit “whom, which, that” when they are the
objects :
E.g : They are the lotus plants which I like very much.
→ They are the lotus plants I like very much.
People whom he sees are of various kinds.
→ People he sees are of various kinds.
Non-defining relative clause
• We use non-defining relative clause to give extra information
about the person, animal or thing we are talking about. This
information is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Non-defining relative clauses are seperated from the main
sentence by commas.
E.g : Brahma Sahampati, who feared that the world
might be destroyed without hearing the
Dharma, approached and requested the
Buddha to preach the Dharma.
• We can not use “that” in non-defining relative clause.
E.g : The Middle Path, which leads to calm,
wisdom, enlightenment, Nibbana, has been
comprehended by Tathagata.
• We cannot omit relative pronoun in non-defining
relative clause.
E.g. : Angulimala, whom the Exalted One
preached the Dharma to, is a bloodthirsty robber.
COMPARE BETWEEN DEFINING
AND NON- DEFINING
RELATIVE CLAUSE
DEFINING
NON-DEFINING
•Give essential information •Give extra information
He’s the man who asked
the Buddha to accept him
in His order.
•Without comma
The Konnadas, who
admired the Buddha, asked
the Buddha to accept them
in His order.
•With comma
DEFINING
NON-DEFINING
•Can use that instead of who
and which.
This is a subject that (which)
is hard to see.
•Can not use “that”
The Middle Path, which
leads to calm, wisdom,
enlightenment, Nibbana, has
been comprehended by
Tathagata.
•Can omit “whom, which,
that” when they are the
objects
They are the lotus plants I
like very much
•Cannot omit relative
pronoun
The white lotus in this pond,
which I like very much, is
rising well out of the water.
Other relative pronouns
 What : to mention a thing
E.g : I don’t know what he said.
 Where : to mention a place
E.g : Deer Park is the place where the Buddha gave his
first discourse entitled “ The Turning of the Dharma
Wheel”.
 When : to mention a point of time.
E.g. : The full moon day of Vesak is the day when Prince
Siddhartha was born.
 Why : to mention a reason
E.g : That’s the reason why the prince decided to leave
the kingdom and renounce the world.
Practice
1. A bird ………….. has only one wing can
never experience the joy of soaring.
2. True religion, ………….. makes a person
light-hearted and joyful all the time, means
living the best and highest life, getting the
most of our life.
3. This is the sort of religion ………………the
Buddha taught.
4. The Buddha, …………….teaches his followers
to do good, is a great teacher.
5. The Buddha ………………teachings given to
men over 2500 years are still helpful to us today
was the wisest teacher the world has ever seen.
6. The Buddha is the greatest Father of human
beings …………………… I‘ve ever known.
7. Many of our brothers and sisters in the West
are taking refuge in the Great Master
……………….. has guided the East for so
many centuries.
8. The Sakyas, ………….lived on the foothills of
the Himalaya in modern Nepal, were a proud
clan of the Khattiyas.
9. They were ruled by a wise and powerful king
called Suddhodana, …………..founded his
capital at Kapilavatthu.
10. Queen Maya, ……………king Suddhodana got
married to, was a daughter of the Kolyas.
11. Lumbini Park is the place…………the
Queen gave birth to a prince.
12. The wise hermit Asita, …………….the
price invited to the palace on the naming
ceremony, said that two ways would open
before the prince.
13.The baby was named Siddhartha - “ the One
………….. wish is fulfilled”.
14.The day …………….the prince was born is
called the Full Moon Day of Vesak.
15. I don’t know ………….beings are still
attached to worldly pleasures although they
know it will bring them grief sooner or later.