Relative Clauses

A relative clause (( משפט זיקה is part of a sentence which gives us more information about the subject or object of a sentence. Relative clauses are made up of relative pronouns.

Relative pronouns replace nouns To relate to something, to identify or describe

Relative pronouns There are 5 relative pronouns in the English language: Who Which Whose That Whom

Relative pronouns Relative pronouns make up relative clauses. They describe NOUNS. Example: The stranger who called me yesterday was nice. relative pronoun relative clause “who called me yesterday was nice” describes “stranger”

Relative pronouns Who – is only used for people. Which – is only used for things or animals.

relative pronouns as subjects and objects

“Who” as a subject The stranger who called me was nice. relative pronoun subject of sentence “who” describes the subject of the sentence – “stranger”

“Who” as an object I saw the woman who lives down the street. relative pronoun object of sentence “who” describes the object of the sentence – “woman”

Practice Does “who” describe a subject or an object in the following sentences?

Examples I know the girl who is standing there. Michael Jackson, who was a famous singer, died of a drug overdose. The students who passed the test were proud of themselves. They caught the lady who killed her husband. OBJECT SUBJECT OBJECT

“Which” as a subject The house which he built is large. relative pronoun subject “which” refers to the subject of the sentence – “house”

“Which” as an object Do you see the cat which is lying on the floor? relative pronoun object “which” refers to the object of the sentence – “cat”

Practice Does “which” define a subject or an object in the following sentences?

Examples I tried on a shoe which was too small. She bought a dress which fit her well. The movie turned out to be a hit, which came as a surprise to everyone. The first book, which was published in 1953, was a success. OBJECT SUBJECT

“Whose”

Whose “Whose” is a relative pronoun that is used to describe possession ( שייכות ). It is used for showing possession of animals, people and things.

Whose – animals My neighbor is a lady whose cats are crazy. My neighbor is a lady. Her cats are crazy. The relative pronoun“whose” describes ownership of the lady – the cats are hers. The relative clause describes the possession (the cats) – they are crazy!

Whose - things O. Henry was an author whose life was very sad. O. Henry is an author. His life is very sad. The relative pronoun “whose” describes the life of O.Henry….they were sad.

Whose - people Danny is a boy whose mother is a nurse. Danny is a boy. His mother is a nurse. The relative pronoun “whose” describes the fact that we are talking about his mother. The relative clause describes his mother – she is a nurse.

Now you try….combine the sentences using “whose” I like a television program about a funny guy. His dog always stares at him. I like a television program about a funny guy whose dog always stares at him.