RELATIVE CLAUSES.

When it comes to relative clauses, three things must me borne in mind: The antecedent
(personal or non-personal), the function the relative pronoun fulfils within the relative
clause (subject, object or prepositional object) and whether the relative clause is
defining or non defining.

TABLE for DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES.

Antecedent Function of Function of the Function of Function of the relative

the relative relative the relative pronoun: OBJECT OF
pronoun: pronoun: pronoun: A PREPOSITION
SUBJECT DIRECT POSSESSIVE
OBJECT

Personal antecedents THAT or THAT, WHO, WHOSE PREP + WHOM

and WHO WHOM, (……) WHO…. PREP
anthropomorphised THAT…. PREP
(humanised) (…….)….. PREP.
animals
“The boy “The boy The boy whose -The boy with whom
that/who that/who/whom father was a she danced.
gave me the /(…….) lawyer -The boy who she
keys” I saw yesterday. danced with.
-The boy that she
danced with
-The boy (…) she
danced with.

Non personal: THAT or THAT, WHOSE/OF PREP + WHICH

Non- WHICH WHICH or WHICH WHICH… PREP
anthropomorphised (…….) THAT….. PREP
animals, objects, “The illness The house (……...)……. PREP
abstract concepts etc. that/which The house whose garden
caused us so that/which/(…) was so nice- -The hammer with
much pain” they had bought. the house the which I hit the nail.
garden of - The hammer which I
which was so hit the nail with.
nice - The hammer that I hit
the nail with.
- The hammer (…) I hit
the nail with.

The TABLE for NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES. Would be the same

with the exception that neither “THAT” or “(…)” are possible.

Note: “(…)”–absence of relative pronoun- is only possible when the pronoun plays
the role of direct object. “That” can never be preceded by a preposition.
1) Fill in the relative pronoun and put commas where necessary. Write (D) for
defining (ND) for non-defining and whether the relative pronoun can be omitted or
not.

1) The food…….. I like best of all is spaghetti.

2) Fred ……… mother lives in Edinburgh has gone to Scotland.
3) The building……. was next to the school fell down.
4) Jane ………brother is also a doctor works at the hospital.
5) The restaurant………… we celebrated my birthday has closed.
6) Mrs Jones is the woman ……………. is in charge of the company.
7) The book ……….. I’m reading is about China.
8) The actor…………I most admire is Robert de Niro
9) This vase…………… he bought at a jumble sale is antique.
10) Sharon…………… works at the Café Rousse spilt coffee on a customer.

2)Use relatives to combine the following sentences.

1) I spoke to a gentleman. He was very polite.

2) This is the knife. He cut the bread with it.

3) That is the hotel. We used to stay at it every summer.

4) Mrs. Andrews is the woman. I’ve received a letter from her.

5) This is the island. We spent our holiday on it.

RELATIVE ADVERBS.

Time: when/that/(…)
Place: where/in which/(…) in
Reason: why/(…)

3)Use relatives to combine the following sentences.

1) I will never forget the day. I first saw the Alps from a plane that day.

2) The house is a Victorian one. She lives in that house.

3) That is the reason. She left her job for that reason.

4) It was at that very moment. I realised at that moment I was rich.

5) It is in those countries. In the countries with higher levels of malnutrition you

also find a higher incidence of disease.
6) That was the reason. Because of that reason I couldn’t disclose what happened.

EXERCISE 4)

EXERCISE 5)

SCROLL DOWN FOR SOLUTIONS.

SOLUTIONS.
EXERCISE 1)

(…)= omission of relative pronoun

1) that/which/(…)
2) whose
3) that/which
4) ,whose…,
5) Where/in which
6) Who/that
7) That/which/(…)
8) That/who/(…)
9) ,Which…,
10) ,who…,

EXERCISE 2)

1) The gentleman that/who/(…) I spoke with is very polite/The gentleman with

whom I spoke was very polite.
2) This is the knife that/which/(…) he cut the bread with/This is the knife with
which he cut the bread.
3) That is the hotel where he used to stay every summer/That is the stay that/which
he used to stay in.
4) Mrs Andrews is the woman who/that/(…) I received a letter from./Mrs. Andrews
is the woman from whom I received a letter.
5) This is the island on which we spent our holidays./This is the island that/which I
spent our holidays on.

EXERCISE 3)

1) I will never forget the day when/that I first saw the Alps from a plane.
2) The house where she lives is a Victorian one./The house in which she
lives…/The house that/which/(…) she lives in is…
3) That is the reason why/(…) she left her job.
4) It was at that very moment that/when I realised I was rich.
5) It is in the countries with higher levels of malnutrition that/where you find a
higher incidence of disease.
6) That is the reason why/(…) I could not disclose what happened.

EXERCISE 4)

2. , who…,
3. ,which…,
4. whose
5. ,which…,
6. that/who
7. that/which
8. , which…,
9. whose
10. , which…,
11. , who…,
12. that/who
13. where
14. , which…,
15. , which…,
16. who/that
17. , which…,
18. , which…,

EXERCISE 5)

2. Who/that/(…)
3. That/which/(…)
4. that/who/(…)
5. that/who
6. which/that
7. which/that
8. that/who
9. that/which
10. where
11. that/which
12. who/that
13. which/that/(…)
14. who/that/(…)
15. that/which/(…)
16. who/that