ENGLISH II

Relative clauses

Relative Clauses

Hay dos tipos diferentes de oraciones de relativo:

1. "defining" or identifying clause (especificativas) que nos dicen de qué

o de quién estamos hablando.
2. "non-defining" or non-essential clause (explicativas), que nos dan
más información sobre la persona o cosa de quién estamos hablando. Bien
podría ir esta información entre paréntesis.

Example:

The house is for sale. It is next to ours.

The house which is next to ours is for sale. (Defining. Nos dice de qué casa
estamos
hablando)

Dany is only six. He can speak three languages

Dany, who is only six, can speak three languages. (Non-defining nos da más
información sobre la persona de quién estamos hablando)

Atención: es muy importante diferenciar estos dos tipos de oraciones pues

afecta:

a. la elección del pronombre usado para introducir la oración.

b. la puntuación – debes usar comas en las explicativas.

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

Proporcionan información esencial para definir o identificar a la persona o cosa

de la que estamos hablando.

Example:
The book which was on the shelf is very interesting.
En esta frase entendemos que hay muchos libros, pero está claro que solo
hablamos del que estaba en el aparador.

Puntuación
IMPORTANTE: No se usan comas en estas oraciones especificativas.

Relative pronouns
Los siguientes pronombres se usan en estas oraciones de relativo:

Person Thing Place Time Reason

Subject
who/that which/that
Object
who/whom/that/ø which/that/ø where when why
Possessive
whose whose
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Notas:

1. El pronombre de relativo sustituye a un nombre. Este nombre aparece

antes en la frase

The man who/that gave me the was the librarian.

book

Noun, relative pronoun verb + rest of verb + rest of main

subject of referring to 'the relative clause
main clause man', subject of clause
'gave'

2. Who, whom y which se pueden reemplazar por that. Más común en ingles
hablado.

3. El pronombre de relativo se puede omitir (ø) cuando es el objeto de la

oración:

The machine that I have to use in my job costs a lot of money

OR The machine I have to use in my job costs a lot of money.

AMBAS son correctas pero la segunda es más común en inglés hablado.

The machine that/ø I have to use costs a lot of

money.

Noun, subject relative verb + rest of verb + rest of

of main clause pronoun, relative clause main clause.
referring to
'the machine,
object of 'use'

Se distingue fácilmente si un pronombre de relativo es objeto porque va seguido de

otro sujeto y su verbo.

4. Whose se usa para cosas y personas.

Examples:
The man whose car was stolen.
A tree whose leaves have fallen.

5. Whom es muy formal solo usado en Inglés escrito. Usamos who/that, u

omitimos el pronombre:

The doctor whom/who/that/ø I was hoping to see wasn't on duty.

6. That normalmente sigue a palabras como something, anything,

everything, nothing, all, y a los superlativos.

Examples:
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Relative clauses

 There's something that you should know.

 It was the best film that I've ever seen.

Examples:

 I have a friend who ran in the New York Marathon.

 He took me to see the old house that he was rebuilding.
 The strawberries that were in the fridge were delicious.
 She said something (that) I couldn’t hear clearly
 Has anyone seen the book I was reading?
 Is there anything that I can do to help?.
 He is probably the best tennis player (that) I’ve played against.

NON- DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

La información no es esencial. Nos dice algo más sobre algo o alguien, pero no
ayuda a identificarlos.
Compara:

1. My friend who was at school with me is coming today. (This tells us which
friend we are talking about).

2. Jane Brown, who was in my class at school, is coming to stay with me. (This
gives us some extra information about Jane Brown)

3. Helen's mother, who lives in Manchester, has 6 grandchildren. (We know who
Helen's mother is, and she only has one. The important information is the number
of grandchildren, but the fact that she lives in Manchester might be followed with
the words "by the way" - it is additional information).

Puntuación

Estas oraciones siempre se separan del resto de la frase por comas. Las
comas tienen una función similar a un paréntesis:
My friend William has just written a book of poems. (He went to the same school as
me) > My friend William, who went to the same school as me, has just written
a book of poems..

Relative pronouns in non-defining clauses

Person Thing Place

Subject who which

Object who/whom which where

Possessive whose

IMPORTANTE:

1. En non-defining clauses, no se debe usar ‘that’ en lugar de who, whom or

which.
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Relative clauses

2. No se debe omitir el pronombre de relativo en ningún caso:

He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope.
He gave me the letter, which I read immediately

3. La preposición puede ir al final de la oración, ej. Stratford-on-Avon, which

you have all heard about.

Aunque en inglés escrito también se puede poner delante del pronombre: e.g.
Stratford-on-Avon, about which many people have written is Shakespeare’s
birthplace.

4. El pronombre which al principio de la frase de relativo, puede hacer

referencia a toda la información contenida en la parte anterior de la oración, y no
sólo a una palabra.

a. My sister did really well in her exams, which was a big surprise. (= the fact
that she did well in her exams was a big surprise).

b. The book won’t be published until next year, which is disappointing.. (= the
fact that the book won’t be published is disappointing).

Examples:

a. My mother, who died last year, came from the North of England.
b. Steve Smith, who we met at Christmas, is going to be the new boss.
c. Lunar Park, where there is a sports pavilion, is an enormous place.
d. We stopped at the museum, which we’d never been into.
e. She’s studying maths, which many people hate.
f. I’ve just met Susan, whose husband works in London.

LAS PREPOSICIONES EN LA ORACIÓN DE RELATIVO

Cuando hay preposiciones pueden darse los siguientes casos:

1. La preposición se coloca al final de la oración de relativo:

Is that the man (who) you arrived with?

Do you know the girl (that) John is talking to?

2. En ingles formal o escrito, la preposición se puede colocar antes del

pronombre de relativo, y no se puede omitir el pronombre:

The person with whom he is negotiating is the Chairman of a large company.

Pero esto es bastante inusual en inglés hablado.

Examples:

 Your essay is one of those which I’ll go through tomorrow

 He was very fond of the toy that he had been given at Christmas.
 The people who I work with are all very friendly
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Relative clauses

REPHRASING V

En las oraciones de relativo, los ejercicios de transformación resultan muy

sencillos, pues el tipo de ejercicio que has venido realizando desde que estudias
este tema. Habitualmente, nos dan dos frases para unirlas en una sola, por medio
de un pronombre de relativo. La única dificultad puede residir en distinguir si son
defining o non-defining, por el uso de las comas y de los pronombres. Vamos a
ver algunos ejemplos:
(en verde el antecedente de la oración de relativo)
(en rojo el pronombre de relativo y a qué o quién sustituye)

1. I bought a house. It was advertised in the local paper.

I bought a house which was advertised in the local paper.

(no ponemos comas pues explicamos de qué casa estamos hablando)

2. Mary works in our office. Her husband is a plastic surgeon.

Mary, whose husband is a plastic surgeon, works in our office.

(ponemos comas pues la información es adicional)

3. Venice is a wonderful place. We spent our last holiday there.

Venice, where we spent our last holiday, is a wonderful place.

(ponemos comas pues la información es adicional)

4. He showed us how to create a computer-based game. It was very

interesting.

He showed us how to create a computer-based game, which was very

interesting.
(aquí el antecedente es toda la frase anterior, por eso ponemos coma y usamos which)

5. I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It is an
amazing book.
I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which is
an amazing book.
(ponemos comas pues la información es adicional)

6. That's the boy. I told you about him last night.

That's the boy (ø) I told you about last night.

(omitimos el pronombre pues es el objeto de la frase y es defining)

Put it into practice!

1. They've sold the house. I wanted to buy it.

They’ve sold the house …

2. Helen has just arrived. She had a car accident.

Helen, …
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3. They've sold the grocery. I used to go shopping there.

They’ve sold the grocery …

4. My sister has won a DVD player. Her children love watching films.
My sister, …

5. There's the lady. Her dog was killed.

There’s the lady …

6. I have a friend. He's a wonderful skater.

I have a friend …

7. The boy broke the window. He ran away.

They boy …

8. Scrabble is a very enjoyable game. I play Scrabble every weekend.

Scrabble …

9. He received the parcel. He was waiting for it.

He received the parcel …

10. We went to the National Gallery in London. It was fascinating.

We went to the National Gallery in London …

11. I remember those days. We were so happy then

I remember those days …

Check your answers

1. They've sold the house I wanted to buy.

2. Helen, who had a car accident, has just arrived.

3. They've sold the grocery where I used to go shopping.

4. My sister, whose children love watching films, has won a DVD player.

5. There's the lady whose dog was killed.

6. I have a friend who is a wonderful skater.

7. The boy who ran away broke the window.

8. Scrabble, which I play every weekend, is a very enjoyable game.

9. He received the parcel he was waiting for.

10. We went to the National Gallery in London, which was fascinating.

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Relative clauses

11. I remember those days when we were so happy.