RELATIVE CLAUSES

RELATIVE CLAUSES

1. They give information about a noun

2. Defining relative clauses

   • They add essential information
   • Relative pronouns
     • WHO / THAT
       • People
     • WHICH / THAT
       • Objects
     • WHERE
       • Places
       • CAN'T be omitted
     • WHOM
       • Object pronouns (people)
     • WHY / THAT
       • Reason
     • WHOSE
       • Possession
     • WHEN / THAT
       • Time
       • CAN be omitted
   • We can leave out WHO, WHICH, THAT and WHOSE when the clause is the object of the sentence
     • 'The man that I saw was very ruude' 'The man Isaw was very rude'
     • But we can't if it refers to the subject
       • 'That's the dog that attacked my children'

3. Non-defining relative clauses

   • They add non-essential information
     • We put it between commas because they are dispensable
   • Relative pronouns
     • WHICH
       • Objects
     • WHERE
       • Places
     • WHEN
       • Time
     • WHO
       • People
     • WHOSE
       • Possession
   • We can't leave out the relative pronoun in non-defining relative clauses
     • 'John, who is French, tought me how to cook'

4. Reduced relative clauses

   • We ommit the relative pronoun and the verb TO BE
     • ''That town, (that is) famous for its beaches, is empty in winter'

5. They go inmmediately after the word they describe

6. Formal

   • Preposition after the relative pronoun
     • 'The girl who I talked to is my sister'

7. Informal

   • Preposition before the relative pronoun
     • 'The girl to whom i talked was my sister'

8. Participle clauses

   • Formed with the present participle (verb ended in -ING)
     • We can also use the past participle, but it has a passive meaning
       • 'Invaded by the Romans, the Greeks spread their culture to their conquerors
     • 'Flying over Egypt, we saw the pyramids'
   • For making it negative, we put NOT before the verb
     • 'Not having attended school, my grandparents couldn't read'