Relative Clauses

Unit 4: Bad Weather

Universidad de Santiago de Chile
English Practice
Intermediate 1
A famous singer who you like a lot.
o . Is a famous singer who I like a lot.

A thing that you often lose.
o . Is a thing that I often lose.

A place where you would like to go.
o ..is a place where I would like to go.

Relative Clauses
We use relative clauses to give additional information about
something without starting another sentence. By combining
sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent
and you can avoid repeating certain words.

Imagine a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and
ask a friend whether he knows her. You could say:
A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl? (2 sentences)

Use the girl only in the first part of the sentence, in the second
part replace it with the relative pronoun. So the final sentence is:
Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom? (1 sentence)


Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They give
essential information. Without them, the
meaning of the sentence is incomplete.

They caught the man who/that spied for China.

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES They add
extra information to the sentence. Without
them the meaning of the sentence stays the
same.
That document, which was found in his car, didnt
prove his identity. (between commas)
Rule Example
Who/that refer to people They caught the man who / that
spied for China.
Which/that refer to objects I lost the map which / that she
gave me.
Whose refers to possession She complained to the man whose
dog bit her
When refers to a moment in time Christmas Day is a day when
people are happy.
Where refers to a particular place We visited the house where our
father was born.
In non-defining sentences, the
word that cannot replace who or
which.
- Mata Hari, who was a famous
female spy, was born in Holland.
- Buckingham Palace, which is in
London, is a favorite tourist site.
Relative Pronouns
The relative pronouns that, who and which can be omitted if they are
followed by a name or pronoun (they are not the subject of the sentence)

These are all the clues (that) they left behind.
John is the man (who) we saw yesterday at the restaurant.
Ive bought the CD (which) Laura recommended to me.

WHOSE indicates possession and means cuyo/a/os/as. It never acts as
the subject and cannot be omitted.

She complained to the man whose dog bit her.

WHEN (cuando, en que) makes reference to time. The pronoun that
can be used instead of when or you can simply omit it.

Do you remember the day (when / that) we met?

WHERE (donde, en el que) indicates place.
We visited the house where our father was born.
Rules