Relatice Clauses

Relatice Clauses

1. What is a relative clause?

   • (See a list of all the exercises about relative clauses here). We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information about something.
   • Defining relative clauses
     • The relative pronoun is the subject: First, let's consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause. We can use 'who', 'which' or 'that'. We use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. We can use 'that' for people or things. The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the relative pronoun.
       • I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer well. She has a son who / that is a doctor. We bought a house which / that is 200 years old. I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.
     • The relative pronoun is the object:
       • Next, let's talk about when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. In this case we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, the clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence.
         • (Clause after the object) She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought. We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended. John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with. The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.
           • (Clause after the subject) The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen. The university (which / that) she likes is famous. The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Mexico. The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.
       • Non-defining relative clauses
         • We don't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses, so we need to use 'which' if the pronoun refers to a thing, and 'who' if it refers to a person. We can't drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
         • Prepositions and relative clauses
           • If the verb in the relative clause needs a preposition, we put it at the end of the clause
             • *Listen to
               • The music is good. Julie listens to the music. → The music (which / that) Julie listens to is good.
               • work with
                 • My brother met a woman. I used to work with the woman. → My brother met a woman (who / that) I used to work with.
                 • go to
                   • The country is very hot. He went to the country. → The country (which / that) he went to is very hot.
                   • come from
                     • I visited the city. John comes from the city. → I visited the city (that / which) John comes from.
                     • apply for
                       • The job is well paid. She applied for the job. → The job (which / that) she applied for is well paid.