RELATIVE CLAUSES.

When it comes to relative clauses, three things must me borne in mind: The antecedent (personal or non-personal), the function the relative pronoun fulfils within the relative clause (subject, object or prepositional object) and whether the relative clause is defining or non defining.

TABLE for DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES.

Antecedent Function of the relative pronoun: SUBJECT

Function of the relative pronoun: DIRECT OBJECT

Function of the relative pronoun: POSSESSIVE

Function of the relative pronoun: OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

Personal antecedents and anthropomorphised(humanised) animals

THAT or WHO

“The boy that/who gave me the keys”

THAT, WHO, WHOM, (……)

“The boy that/who/whom/(…….) I saw yesterday.

WHOSE

The boy whose father was a lawyer

PREP + WHOMWHO…. PREPTHAT…. PREP(…….)….. PREP.

-The boy with whom she danced.-The boy who she danced with.-The boy that she danced with-The boy (…) she danced with.

Non personal:Non-anthropomorphised animals, objects, abstract concepts etc.

THAT or WHICH

“The illness that/which caused us so much pain”

THAT, WHICH or(…….)

The house that/which/(…) they had bought.

WHOSE/OF WHICH

The house whose garden was so nice- the house the garden of which was so nice

PREP + WHICHWHICH… PREPTHAT….. PREP(……...)……. PREP

-The hammer with which I hit the nail.- The hammer which I hit the nail with.- The hammer that I hit the nail with.- The hammer (…) I hit the nail with.

The TABLE for NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES. Would be the same with the exception that neither “THAT” or “(…)” are possible.

Note: “(…)”–absence of relative pronoun- is only possible when the pronoun plays the role of direct object. “That” can never be preceded by a preposition.

1) Fill in the relative pronoun and put commas where necessary. Write (D) for defining (ND) for non-defining and whether the relative pronoun can be omitted or not.

1) The food…….. I like best of all is spaghetti.2) Fred ……… mother lives in Edinburgh has gone to Scotland.3) The building……. was next to the school fell down.4) Jane ………brother is also a doctor works at the hospital.5) The restaurant………… we celebrated my birthday has closed.6) Mrs Jones is the woman ……………. is in charge of the company.7) The book ……….. I’m reading is about China.8) The actor…………I most admire is Robert de Niro9) This vase…………… he bought at a jumble sale is antique.10) Sharon…………… works at the Café Rousse spilt coffee on a customer.

2)Use relatives to combine the following sentences.

1) I spoke to a gentleman. He was very polite.

2) This is the knife. He cut the bread with it.

3) That is the hotel. We used to stay at it every summer.

4) Mrs. Andrews is the woman. I’ve received a letter from her.

5) This is the island. We spent our holiday on it.

RELATIVE ADVERBS.

Time: when/that/(…)Place: where/in which/(…) inReason: why/(…)

3)Use relatives to combine the following sentences.

1) I will never forget the day. I first saw the Alps from a plane that day.

2) The house is a Victorian one. She lives in that house.

3) That is the reason. She left her job for that reason.

4) It was at that very moment. I realised at that moment I was rich.

5) It is in those countries. In the countries with higher levels of malnutrition you also find a higher incidence of disease.

6) That was the reason. Because of that reason I couldn’t disclose what happened.

EXERCISE 4)

EXERCISE 5)

SCROLL DOWN FOR SOLUTIONS.

SOLUTIONS.

EXERCISE 1)

(…)= omission of relative pronoun

1) that/which/(…)2) whose3) that/which4) ,whose…,5) Where/in which6) Who/that7) That/which/(…)8) That/who/(…)9) ,Which…,10) ,who…,

EXERCISE 2)

1) The gentleman that/who/(…) I spoke with is very polite/The gentleman with whom I spoke was very polite.

2) This is the knife that/which/(…) he cut the bread with/This is the knife with which he cut the bread.

3) That is the hotel where he used to stay every summer/That is the stay that/which he used to stay in.

4) Mrs Andrews is the woman who/that/(…) I received a letter from./Mrs. Andrews is the woman from whom I received a letter.

5) This is the island on which we spent our holidays./This is the island that/which I spent our holidays on.

EXERCISE 3)

1) I will never forget the day when/that I first saw the Alps from a plane.2) The house where she lives is a Victorian one./The house in which she

lives…/The house that/which/(…) she lives in is…3) That is the reason why/(…) she left her job.4) It was at that very moment that/when I realised I was rich.5) It is in the countries with higher levels of malnutrition that/where you find a

higher incidence of disease.6) That is the reason why/(…) I could not disclose what happened.

EXERCISE 4)

2. , who…,3. ,which…,4. whose5. ,which…,6. that/who7. that/which8. , which…,9. whose10. , which…,

11. , who…,12. that/who13. where14. , which…,15. , which…,16. who/that17. , which…,18. , which…,

EXERCISE 5)

2. Who/that/(…)3. That/which/(…)4. that/who/(…)5. that/who6. which/that7. which/that8. that/who9. that/which10. where11. that/which12. who/that13. which/that/(…)14. who/that/(…)15. that/which/(…)16. who/that