RELATIVE CLAUSES

RELATIVE CLAUSES INTRODUCTION

Defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun (sometimes omitted), a verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas are not used to separate defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence. Commas or parentheses are used to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns appear at the start of the defining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the sentence.

	Person	Thing	Place	Time	Reason
Subject	who/that	which/that
Object	who/whom/that	which/that	where	when	why

“That” es el pronombre relativo más utilizado en el inglés hablado, ya que se puede utilizar tanto con personas como con cosas. Se utiliza para sustituir “which”, “who” o “whom” en cláusulas que definen el sustantivo.

Ejemplos:

That

This is the book that won the Pulitzer prize last year.(Este es el libro que ganó el Permio Pulizer el año pasado.)

This is the restaurant that received the excellent reviews in the newspaper.

Which” sólo se puede utilizar con las cosas.

Ejemplos:

My new job, which I only started last week, is already very stressful.(Mi nuevo trabajo, que acabo de empezar la semana pasada, ya es muy estresante.)

The house which we lived in when we were children burnt down last week.(La casa en la que vivíamos cuando éramos niños se quemó la semana pasada.)

Who

Solo se puede utilizar “who” con personas.

Ejemplos:

My sister, who just moved in with me, is looking for a job.(Mi hermana, que se acaba de mudar conmigo, está buscando trabajo.)

I never met someone who didn’t like music.(Nunca he conocido a alguien que no le guste la música.)

When and where

Estos adverbios relativos a veces se utilizan en lugar de un pronombre relativo para hacer la frase más fácil de entender. Estos adverbios se refieren a expresiones de tiempo, lugares o motivos.

Ejemplos:

The university where I teach is an excellent school.(La universidad donde enseño es una escuela excelente.)

Can you tell me when is the best time to call?(¿Puedes decirme cuando es la mejor hora para llamar?)

Exercise 1 - Defining relative clauses

Choose the correct answer.

1. A hotel is a place   whichwhere people stay when they're on holiday.
2. What's the name of the woman   whowhose lives in that house?
3. What do you call someone   whichthat writes computer programs?
4. A waiter is a person   thatwhose job is to serve customers in a restaurant.
5. Overalls are clothes   wherewhich people wear to protect their clothes when they are working.
6. Is that the shop   wherethat you bought your new laptop?
7. He's the man   whowhose son plays football for Manchester Utd.
8. Hal didn't get the job   thatwhere he applied for.