Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
In this unit you are going to learn about relative pronouns and their use in complex
sentences.
Relative clauses give additional information about a person, place or thing mentioned in
a sentence. They are introduced by relative pronouns.
The relative pronouns are: - who - whom - whose - which - that
"When", "where" and "why" can be used when referring to times, places and reasons.
Relative pronouns can be the subjects or objects of verbs and the objects of prepositions.
They are invariable: the same relative pronouns refer to both singular and plural nouns.
"Who" and "whom" are used for people. "Which" refers to things.
"That" can often be used in place of "which" and "whom" and can sometimes be used in place
of "who". We'll look at rules about the use of "that"
after we have studied the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses.
"Whose" indicates possession or relationship.
One way to give additional information about a person or a thing mentioned in a sentence
is to use a relative clause. A defining relative clause is one which explains which person
or thing you are talking about. If you say "I saw a girl" it would not necessarily
be clear which girl you meant. In a case like this, you could make it clear by adding a
defining relative clause:I saw a girl who used to be at school with me.
Non-defining relative clauses give additional information which is not essential for the
identification of the person or thing you are talking about.
If you say "I saw Mary Smith" it is clear who you mean but you might want to add further
information in a non-defining relative clause: I saw Mary Smith, who used to be at school
with me. You may be wondering why you need to know
whether you are using a defining or non-defining relative clause. What difference does it make?
- There are differences in punctuation: a non-defining relative clause is normally set
off from the rest of the sentence with commas, unless it comes at the end of the sentence,
when it is preceded by a comma and followed by a full stop.
No punctuation is used to separate a defining relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
- There are differences in speech: we normally pause before and after a non-defining relative
clause but not when there is a defining relative clause.
- There are grammatical differences:"that" can replace "which", "who" or "whom" only
in defining relative clauses. In defining relative clauses the relative
pronoun can sometimes be omitted but in non-defining relative clauses the pronoun can never be
omitted. Defining relative clauses can be used after
pronouns but non-defining clauses are never used after pronouns.
Let's look now at how relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses.
When you are referring to a person or to people, you can use "who" or "that" as the subject
of the clause. "Who" is more common in writing, while "that" is often used in conversation.
Both of the following sentences are correct but the first would be used in more formal
discourse: The people who live next door come from Uruguay. The people that live next door
come from Uruguay. "Whom" can be used as the object of the clause.
In informal writing and in conversation it would be unusual to use "whom". "Who" or "that"
would normally be used. A man whom I know comes from Venezuela. is
correct but unusual, so say: A man who I know comes from Venezuela. A man that I know comes
from Venezuela. Directly after a preposition "whom" must be
used. It is not possible to use "who" or "that": Some friends to whom I gave a cat have just
sent me a photo of it. This sounds very formal and often we avoid
using "whom" by placing the preposition at the end of the clause: Some friends who /
that I gave a cat to have just sent me a photo of it.
When referring to a thing or things, "which" or "that" can always be used in defining clauses
- as subjects: She can't find the book which/that was on the table. ...
... and - as objects: She's lost the book that / which she bought yesterday.
Both "which" and "that" are correct; "that" is used more frequently in informal writing
and speaking. However, "that" cannot be placed directly
after a preposition. Only "which" can be used as the object of a preposition: This is the
house in which I spent my childhood. In conversation, we often place the preposition
at the end of the clause and in this case either "which" or "that" can be used: This
is the office that / which I work in. "Whose", used together with a singular or
plural noun, can refer to people or things. It can be the subject or the object of a verb:
I met the people whose mother used to work with mine.
I phoned the girl whose purse I had found. When "whose" is the object of a preposition,
the preposition can be placed either at the beginning of the clause, before "whose": I
wrote to the people in whose house I had stayed. ...
... or it can be placed at the end of the clause: I wrote to the people whose house
I had stayed in. In defining relative clauses, "when" can only
be used when the clause is preceded by the word "time" or by the name of a period of
time such as "day" or "year": Write and tell me the time when I should meet
you. It was a day when I was very busy. In defining relative clauses, "where" can
be used only if it is preceded by the word "place" or by the name of a kind of place
such as "city " or "building": This is the place where we were supposed to meet.
He has always lived in the town where he was born.
"Why" can only be used in defining relative clauses, and only after the word "reason":
That's the reason why I've asked to speak to him.
"Why" can be omitted with no change in meaning. Defining relative clauses can be used after
pronouns like: - no-one - someone - anyone - everyone and ...
... - nothing - something- anything - everything ...
... and are sometimes used after - some - many - much - several - all - those
I know someone who lived in San Francisco. I couldn't find anyone who had information.
You can help yourself to anything that you want. Those who are against hunting usually
have strong feelings on the subject. It is also possible to use defining relative
clauses after personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) but nowadays this is rarely
done. It sounds rather old fashioned. He who hesitates is lost.
Note that it is not possible to use "who" at the beginning of a sentence. You can only
use "who", even in a general sense, after a noun like "people" ...
... a pronoun like: everyone those all all those or, as we've just seen, after a personal
pronoun. Who wants to go on the class trip must sign
up by Friday. is a mistake. All those who want to go on the class trip must sign up
by Friday. is correct. Who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw
stones. is a mistake. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. is correct.
We have seen that in defining relative clauses, "that" can replace "who", "whom", "which"
as the subject or the object of a relative clause.
The exception is when the relative pronoun comes directly after a preposition when you
must use "whom" for people and "which" for things.
"That" is not used in non-defining relative clauses. Now we are going to look at cases
when the use of "that" is preferred. There are a number of words which (or that)
are normally followed by "that", and not by another relative pronoun: - all - any, anything
- every, everything - some, something - no, nothing - none -
little - few - much, not much - only Here are some examples: It's something that
I've always wanted to do. Nothing that we do seems to matter.
Is this all that there is to eat? There was not much that we could do.
After superlatives, if we use a relative pronoun, we normally use "that": It's the best book
that I've ever read. She's the best teacher that I've ever had.
However, in defining relative clauses, we can omit the relative pronoun if it is the
object of the clause: A man I know comes from Venezuela.
Some friends I gave a cat to have just sent me a photo of it. She's lost the book I gave
her yesterday. This is the office I work in. After superlatives, relative pronouns are
frequently omitted: It's the best film I've seen this year. She's one of the silliest
people I know. The relative pronoun cannot be omitted when
it is the subject of a clause.Here are some examples: The people who live next door come
from Uruguay. She can't find the book that was on the table.
The safer choice is always to use a relative pronoun because it is never a mistake to do
so but it sounds much more natural to omit the relative pronoun when it can be omitted
so you should try to do this.
A non-defining relative clause must be introduced by a relative pronoun. It cannot be omitted.
"That" cannot be used. When you are referring to a person or to people,
you use "who" as the subject of a non-defining relative clause: My brother, who was only
twelve at the time, won the poetry prize. When referring to people, "whom" or "who"
is used as the object of the relative clause: Jane, who / whom I haven't seen for a number
of years, is going to visit us this summer. When referring to things, "which" is used,
whether it is the subject or object of the clause:The company, which was founded in
, has just opened a new office in Chicago. The building, which the city council uses
for its meetings, is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
Prepositions can be placed at the end of a clause: The proposal, which I essentially
agree with, needs to be explained more clearly. Non-defining relative clauses are usually
used in formal written style, where the preposition is frequently placed before the relative pronoun:
The proposal, with which I essentially agree, needs to be explained more clearly.
"Whose" can be used in non-defining clauses as the subject: John, whose brother works
with me, is a champion skier. ... ... as the object: This is Jim, whose brother
you met last summer. ... ... or as the object of a preposition: Mary,
in whose car we came, thinks we should leave. Mary, whose car we came in, thinks we should
leave. "When" and "where" can be used in non-defining
clauses: We'll have lunch at one o'clock, when the conference ends.
We'll meet in Room , where coffee will be served.We met in London, where I was studying.
In general we understand that a relative clause refers to the noun that immediately precedes
the clause. In the sentence which follows, the clause
refers to the noun "luggage": The airline lost my luggage, which I had clearly labelled.
In some cases, however, the clause can refer to the entire sentence that it follows.
In the next sentence the clause refers not to the luggage but to the fact that it was
lost: The airline lost my luggage, which I found very annoying.
In sentences like this, you must use "which" and cannot use "that". You must use a comma
before the relative clause.
"What" can be used at the beginning of clauses but there is an important difference between
"what" and the relative pronouns "which" and "that".
"Which" and "that" refer to a preceding noun, while "what" replaces a noun and includes
the meaning of the noun. "What" can replace both singular or plural
nouns. Compare the sentences in each of the sets below:
The waiter brought us the food that we had ordered. The waiter brought us what we had
ordered. I'll show you the presents that I received.
I'll show you what I received. In other words, we can use "what" in place
of a noun but we cannot use "what" to refer to a noun: The waiter brought us the food
what we had ordered. is a mistake. Nor can we use "what" after a pronoun: Is
this all what there is to eat? is a mistake. We do not use "that" when no noun is referred
to: The waiter brought us that which we had ordered. is a mistake.
That is the end of the lesson. Now you can do the exercises on the grammar points presented
in this unit.