RELATIVE CLAUSES
My sister who is 25 years old is a nurse => Defining
My sister, who is 25 years old, is a nurse => Non-defining
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Sujeto Objeto
Persona who/ that (whom/ that) *whom: lengua escrita, formal.
Cosa which/ that (which/ that)
Posesivo whose whose
1. Si suprimimos la oración de relativo la oración principal pierde sentido:
-The man who came with him was his uncle
-The house that fell down was very old.
2. Cuando el pronombre relativo es el objeto de la oración subordinada, éste puede omitirse (es lo que se
llama en inglés 'contact clause'.
-The girl (whom/that) he knows is my sister.
-The car (which/that) they bought was very expensive.
3. El relativo que indica posesión 'whose', no se omite nunca.
-That's the man whose dog bit me.
-That's the man whose dog I kicked.
4. En general se intenta evitar el uso de oraciones de relativo preposicionales. Un modo de hacerlo es
poner la preposición al final de la oración cuyo relativo se ha omitido (contact clause).
-Those are the people we had lunch with.
-That's the house I was born in.
5. Otra forma es el uso de WHERE o WHEN con valor de relativos de lugar y tiempo respectivamente.
-That's (the house) where I was born.
-Do you know when your train leaves?
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Sujeto Objeto
Persona who whom
Cosa which which
Posesivo whose whose
1) Va entre comas.
2) No se puede poner 'that'.
3) Proporcionan información adicional.
-Peter Brown, who works in the same office as me, has just got married.
4) Cuando es objeto, el pronombre relativo no se puede omitir.
-I saw the car, which they bought last week.
5) Cuando el estilo es informal, la preposición (al igual que en las defining) va al final.
-I mentioned the exam, which she didn't want to talk about.
__________________________________________________________________________________
NON-DEFINING DEFINING
1. Va entre comas. 1. No va entre comas.
2. No se puede quitar el relativo. 2. Se puede quitar el relativo cuando es objeto.
3. No se puede poner THAT. 3. Se puede poner THAT.
4. El antecedente ya está definido. El relativo 4. El antecedente no está definido. El relativo es
añade información extra. fundamental para comprender la oración.
Peter's brother--> se sabe qué persona es. The man--> no sabemos qué hombre es.
The house in the corner--> se sabe qué casa es A company--> no sabemos qué compañía es.
Todo lo que se añade es una información extra, La información que añade es esencial para la comprensión
adicional, porque ya se sabe de quién o de qué de la oración.
estamos hablando.
Peter's brother, who is 25, goes surfing every day. The man who/that lives next door is very friendly.
The house in the corner, which was painted in white, has He works for a company which/that makes computers.
been sold. La oración de relativo nos dice qué hombre es y qué tipo de compañía.
1. Defining clauses. Complete the following sentences with a relative when necessary:
1. That's the man ________ spoke to me on the bus last night.
2. That's the man ________ I spoke to on the bus last night.
3. She's the girl ________ handbag was stolen.
4. She's the girl ________ car I bought.
5. That's the town ________ I grew up in.
6. That's the town ________ I grew up.
7. That's the book ________ has interested me most.
8. That's the book ________ I lent you.
9. The office ________ I work was built by people ________ wanted to save money, so they didn't install the
lift ________ was obviously needed. Or perhaps lifts weren't invented ________ they built it. Anyway, a man
________ I was talking to yesterday, the man ________ office is above mine, says he has counted the
stairs ________ he has to climb every day, and it comes to over 600!
10. The book ________ I was reading was a detective story.
11. The man ________ you spoke to in the street is my English teacher.
12. I'd like to see the trees ________ you picked these apples from.
13. There's the lady _________ purse has been stolen.
14. Where is there a shop ________ sells postcards?
15. The people _________ are looking at that house are my parents.
16. I don't like the house _________ he lives in.
17. I don't like the house _________ he lives.
18. Paul was the person _________ made this.
2. Make non-defining clauses
1. Mary Black is coming to stay with me. She was in my class at school.
2. Helen Sullivan is coming to stay with me. I met her at school.
3. I'm going to stay with Jane. She was at school with me.
4. I'm going to stay with Peter. I met him at school.
5. His case was too heavy for him. It weighed 50 kilos.
6. He couldn't carry his case. It was too heavy for him.
7. Thousands of people came to the concert. Most of them were under 18.
8. After the game the police arrested 30 'hooligans'. All of them were Chelsea supporters.
9. In the tomb they found hundreds of old coins. Some of them were very valuable.
10. John Adams has become managing director. His grandfather founded the firm.
11. Tom's father goes swimming every day. Tom's father is 78.
12. She told me her address. I wrote her address down on a piece of paper.
13. She showed me a photograph of her son. Her son is a policeman.
14. We decided not to swim in the sea. The sea looked rather dirty.
15. The new stadium will be opened next month. The stadium holds 90.000 people.
16. John is one of my closest friends. I have known John for eight years.
17. That man over there is an artist. I don't remember his name.
18. Opposite our house there is a nice park. There are some beautiful trees in the park.
19. The storm caused a lot of damage. Nobody had been expecting the storm.
20. The postman was late this morning. The postman is nearly always on time.
21. We often go to visit our friends in Bristol. Bristol is only 30 miles away.
22. Mr. Edwards has gone into hospital for some tests. His health hasn't been good.
23. Jack looks much nicer without his beard. His beard made him look much older.
24. I went to see the doctor. The doctor told me to rest for a few days.
25. Thank you for your letter. I was very happy to get your letter.
26. A friend of mine helped me to get a job. His father is the manager of a company.
27. Next week-end I'm going to Glasgow. My sister lives in Glasgow.
28. The population of London is now falling. London was once the largest city in the world.
29. I looked up at the moon. The moon was very bright that evening.
30. We spent a pleasant day by the lake. We had a picnic by the lake.
C.
More relative sentences:
1. The princess has just had her ninth baby. She has been married for ten years.
2. The author has just returned. He has been to Paris.
3. The chief of police takes care of the public safety. His work is very important.
4. The pub was very noisy. I was phoning from this pub.
5. The London train is late. It should arrive at 2.30.
6. Budapest is a beautiful city. Budapest is on the Danube.
7. Bernard Shaw was a very clever writer. He had a long beard.
8. I was sitting on a chair. It suddenly broke.
9. The King deserves his popularity. His life has been devoted to his country.
10. The B.B.C. spends millions of pounds every year. It is world-famous.
11. Oxford University has many different colleges. It is one of the oldest in the world.
12. This subject is an important part of our course. I was speaking about it yesterday.
13. He is a famous scientist. Many books have been written about him.
14. I was given this address by a man. I met this man on a train.
15. Nicholas II was the last czar of Russia. You were referring to him.
16. Swimming makes people strong. Swimming is a good sport.
17. They were waiting for a man. The man didn't come.
18. The roads were crowded with refugees. Many of them were wounded.
19. Air is made up of many gases. We breathe it.
20. One should try to give up smoking. It is a bad habit.
Translate:
No creían lo que yo dije.// Enséñame lo que tienes en la mano.
Ese es el albergue donde estuvimos el verano pasado.
La persona que ví ayer por la tarde era el cuñado de Peter.
C.
