RELATIVE CLAUSES A clause is a part of a sentence. A relative clause tells us which person or thing the speaker means. There are two types: Defining and Non-defining

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They provide essential information which identifies the person, place, time or thing we are referring to. USE RELATIVE PRONOUN EXAMPLE PEOPLE WHO / THAT The boy who is eating a pizza is my cousin. THINGS WHICH / THAT The pizza which is in the fridge is delicious. TIME WHEN / THAT The day when I met him was wonderful. PLACE WHERE The park where we met was crowded. POSSESSION WHOSE + NOUN This is the girl whose brother is my boyfriend.

Complete the sentences. Use WHO or WHICH. An architect is someone ………… designs buildings. The woman ………. lives next door is a doctor. The book ……… I bought yesterday is really interesting. Where is the cheese …………. was in the fridge? She works for a company ……….. makes washing machines. I know a lot of people ………. don’t do their homework. A tenant is someone …….. pays rent to live in a house. The horse ………. won the race was number 9. A mistery is something ………. cannot be explained. Have you found the keys ……… you lost? THERE ARE ONLY TWO SENTENCES IN WHICH THE PRONOUN COULD BE OMITTED. WHICH ONES ARE THEY? CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY?

OMITTING RELATIVE PRONOUNS When the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, it is the subject of a relative clause and it cannot be omitted. Example: The woman who lives next door is a doctor. WHO = THE WOMAN. THE WOMAN = THE SUBJECT  It cannot be omitted ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the relative pronoun is followed by a pronoun or a noun, it’s the object of a relative clause and it is frequently omitted. Example: The woman who I wanted to see was away on holiday. WHO = THE WOMAN THE WOMAN = DIRECT OBJECT  It can be omitted. (Ø)

EXAMPLES: PEOPLE: WHO – THAT - Ø A) The boy who lives next door to me is really handsome. In this case the relative pronoun refers to ‘the boy’. If we analyse the relative clause, ‘who’ is the subject. It can’t be omitted. B) The boy who I’m going out with lives next door to me. In this example, the relative pronoun refers again to ‘the boy’ but it’s not the subject of the relative clause. So it can be omitted. You could say: The boy Ø I’m going out with lives next door to me.

EXAMPLES: THINGS, OBJECTS, ANIMALS: WHICH-THAT-Ø A) The flowers which are on the table are mine. In this case, the relative pronoun refers to ‘the flowers’. If we analyse the relative clause, ‘which’ is the subject. It can’t be omitted. B) The flowers which I put in the vase are beautiful. In this example, the relative pronoun refers again to ‘the flowers’ but it’s not the subject of the relative clause. So it can be omitted. You could say: The flowers I put in the vase are beautiful.

PREPOSITIONS WITH RELATIVE PRONOUNS A) Do you know the woman? Tom is talking to her. Do you know the woman (who/that) Tom is talking to? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B) These are the keys! You were looking for them. These are the keys (which / that ) you were looking for.  THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBILITES, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF LANGUAGE YOU NEED TO USE. (Formal, informal, spoken, written…)

PREPOSITIONS WITH RELATIVE PRONOUNS The woman with whom I went to the cinema was my mum. The woman who I went to the cinema with was my mum. The woman that I went to the cinema with was my mum. The woman I went to the cinema with was my mum. FORMAL INFORMAL ‘WHOM’ is possible instead of ‘WHO’ when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause or when used with a preposition. But it’s not very common in spoken English.

LET’S PLAY! Give me a definition for the following words: A PENSIONER A FRIDGE A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT A PERMANENT MARKER A SKYSCRAPER A CAFÉ A COWARD A LAPTOP A BLIND DATE LOVE A pensioner is a person / someone who… A fridge is an object / something which… A fast food restaurant is a place where…

RIDDLES! : This is something which belongs to you. However, others use it much more than you do. What is it? There are two donkeys that go together and I stay behind the second donkey. There’s a whole nation which stays behind me. Which word is it? (TIP: It’s a word which you can use to describe a crime) On my way to St. Ives I saw a man who had 7 wives, who had 7 sacks. Each sack had 7 cats, which had 7 kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, wives. How many were going to St. Ives?

RIDDLES! : SOLUTIONS: YOUR OWN NAME ASS-ASS-I-NATION ONLY ONE: ME!!!!!!

GAME WORK IN PAIRS. THINK OF AN OBJECT OR A PERSON AND WRITE A DEFINITION. YOUR CLASSMATES WILL TRY TO GUESS THE WORD. EXAMPLES GIVEN: It’s something which you can use to clean your teeth. This is a person who looks after you since you are born. * * * THIS IS AN OBJECT WHICH YOU CAN SEE… IT’S SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN USE TO… THIS IS A TOOL THAT WE USE TO… IT’S AN OBJECT THAT IS VERY …

Join the sentences using a relative pronoun. Peter has got a coin collection. It contains many rare coins. Mary spent the money. It belonged to her sister. The pen is on the desk. It is blue. This is the new president. We all voted for him. I met a Finnish tourist. He lives in Helsinki. I know a man. He is going to marry my friend. John bought a new CD player. It was made in China. They visited the village. It is on the hill. The man left town. We wrote an angry letter to this man. This is the boy. You were asking me about this boy.

NON DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They give us additional information about the person, place, time or thing we are talking about. They are usually used in written language. The information is not necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence. There are always commas before and after the relative clause. The relative pronoun cannot be ommited. ‘THAT’ cannot be used.

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES Extra information. Commas. ‘That’ cannot be used. USE RELATIVE PRONOUN EXAMPLE PEOPLE WHO My brother, who is a surgeon, lives in London. THINGS WHICH My car, which is parked over there, is very old. TIME WHEN Next Saturday, when I’m travelling to Dublin, is my birthday. PLACE WHERE Córdoba, where I was born, is a nice town. POSSESSION WHOSE + NOUN Carmen, whose brother is in your class, is my best friend.

Join each pair of sentences with a relative clause. (NON-DEFINING) Peter and Mary met in Paris. They went to France on their honeymoon. Tommy is getting married. His sister is in my class. We’ll celebrate our anniversary in the park. We used to go there when we started dating. The gig was a success. It took place in a small pub. I’ll introduce you to my friend. I met her in England. My brother speaks very good English. His girlfriend is Irish. My parents got married in Almodóvar castle. This castle is in Córdoba. Penélope Cruz is a really good actress. She is Spanish.

Join each pair of sentences with a relative clause. Freddie Mercury died in 1992. He was a famous singer. (WHO) This is Tony. You’ll be driving with him next week. (WHOM) This is the house. Jean lived in that house when she was young. (Ø) We saw the cottage. Wordswoth lived there. (WHERE) John is my friend. His car was stolen from the car park. (WHOSE) He went to a concert. He didn’t like the concert at all. (THAT) I don’t know the man. He helped me this morning. (WHO) Shakespeare is one of the best-known writers in the world. He is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon. (WHO)

Join each pair of sentences with a relative clause. Freddie Mercury died in 1992. He was a famous singer. (WHO) Freddie Mercury, who was a famous singer, died in 1992. This is Tony. You’ll be driving with him next week. (WHOM) This is Tony, with whom you’ll be driving next week. This is the house. Jean lived in that house when she was young. (Ø) This is the house Jean lived in when she was young. We saw the cottage. Wordswoth lived there. (WHERE) We saw the cottage where Wordsworth lived. John is my friend. His car was stolen from the car park. (WHOSE) John, whose car was stolen from the car park, is my friend. He went to a concert. He didn’t like the concert at all. (THAT) He went to a concert that he didn’t like at all. I don’t know the man. He helped me this morning. (WHO) I don’t know the man who helped me this morning. Shakespeare is one of the best-known writers in the world. He is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon. (WHO) Shakespeare, who is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon, is one of the best-known writers in the world.

CORRECT THE MISTAKES Toledo is the city that I was born. What’s the address of the woman who dog bit ours? This is the school where I’m studying there. You can have anything what you want. I’d like to meet Jane, that you will be working with. Here it is the hotel which it was recommended to us. Her house is in London which has three rooms. This is the book that its author is a journalist. Look at this car that I bought it yesterday. The woman to who you were talking is my mother.

CORRECT THE MISTAKES Toledo is the city where I was born. What’s the address of the woman whose dog bit ours? This is the school where I’m studying there. You can have anything that you want. I’d like to meet Jane, whom you will be working with. Here it is the hotel which it was recommended to us. Her house, which has three rooms, is in London. This is the book whose author is a journalist. Look at this car that I bought it yesterday. The woman to whom you were talking is my mother.