RELATIVE CLAUSES

STRUCTURE

People who work hard have got a successful life

[Principal (relative clause) clause]

In many of the cases, the relative pronoun works as the subject of the relative clause. In these cases we CAN’T omit the relative pronoun!

She is the girl who went to the cinema

In other cases, the pronoun works as the object of the relative clause, then we CAN omit the relative pronoun!

She is the girl who you want to meet

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES

• DEFINING

It was my mum who called

• NON-DEFINING

Barcelona, where I studied, is a very

popular city.

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

• Essential information• The sentence won’t be complete without them• Examples:

- This is the new car that I’ve just bought.- United States is the country where guns are allowed.- She is the woman whose handbag I found there!

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES

• DEFINING

It was my mum who called

• NON-DEFINING

Barcelona, where I studied, is a very

popular city.

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

• Extra information• The principal sentence keeps the meaning if we omit

them.• They go between commas• Examples:- My teacher, who studied with my father, is not going

to come today.- Sabadell, where I was born, is a city near Barcelona.- She, who is Canadian, works as a lawyer.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Who (can be substituted by THAT in DC)

Which (can be substituted by THAT in DC)

Where (no omission, no substitution by THAT)

When (can be susbtituted by THAT in DC)

Whose (no omission, no substitution by THAT)

Why (no omission, no substitution by THAT)

Whom (in formal structures)

FORMAL AND INFORMAL STRUCTURE

• If the verb in the relative clause is followed by a preposition ON, TO, FOR, WITH, then…

there are 2 ways to form a relative clause:

FORMAL

• The woman to whom I talked was very nice.

• She is the woman for whom they have been looking.

- The preposition becomes before the relative pronoun.

- We use the relative pronoun WHOM instead of WHO

INFORMAL

• The woman (WHO) I talked to was very nice.

• She is a very nice woman (WHO) you can trust in

• The preposition comes after the verb.