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UNIT RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND DEFINING RELATIVE C L A U S E S

LOS PRONOMBRES RELATIVOS Y LAS ORACIONES DE RELATIVO
ESPECIFICATIVAS
-

A Son oraciones subordinadas que nos permiten aadir ms informacin sobre

las personas o cosas de las que estamos hablando sin tener que repetir el
nombre.

RELATIVE CLAUSES T h a t is the house. T h e house was built on the m a i n road.

T h a t is the house which was built on the m a i n road. (which

LAS O R A C I O N E S sustituye a the house)

The woman who lives across the road is a dentist. (who sustituye a

DE RELATIVO
woman)

B Hay un tipo de oraciones de relativo que aportan informacin esencial sobre

su antecedente y sin ellas el sentido quedara incompleto. Por eso van unidas
a la oracin principal sin coma entre ellas. Son las que llamamos
especificativas o defining.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND DEFINING RELATIVE T h e computer which we bought is very expensive. (si no
CLAUSES - especificamos de qu ordenador hablamos, no queda claro el sentido)
LOS PRONOMBRES RELATIVOS Y LAS ORACIONES
T h e m a n who is coming w i l l bring us the present.
DE RELATIVO ESPECIFICATIVAS
C Las oraciones de relativo van justo despus del nombre al que se refieren, es
decir, de su antecedente y van introducidas por un pronombre o un adverbio
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES -
relativo (mira la pgina 124 para los adverbios). Los pronombres ms
LAS ORACIONES DE RELATIVO EXPLICATIVAS
frecuentes son:
who (quien) para personas
whom (quien / a quien) para personas
RELATIVE ADVERBS -
which (que) para cosas
LOS ADVERBIOS RELATIVOS
that (que) para personas y cosas. Puede sustituir a who y which en este
tipo de oraciones de relativo.

/) Despus de preposiciones empleamos whom para personas y which para

C H E C K Y O U R S E L F page 728 cosas, pero es ms frecuente colocar la preposicin al final de la oracin de
relativo, sobre todo en ingls hablado.
T h i s is the boy about whom you were asking me.
T h i s is the boy who) you were asking me about.

I like the car about which you were talking.

I like the car (which) you were talking about.

Nota: Slo whom y which pueden aparecer despus de una preposicin,

nunca that.
 / // pronombre relativo nunca se puede omitir si es el sujeto de la oracin de EXERCISE 2
relativo.
P l ,11 ni Ihe b l a n k s w i t h who, which or that. T h e r e may be m o r e t h a n o n e c o r r e c t
T h e m a n who visited us yesterday is an actor.
I .iir.ucr.
T h e house that was so od was rebuilt.
i I hat m a n is the writer ...wtf?.Q./.f/lftt... w r o t e a best-selling n o v e l .
Pero si no es el sujeto, sise puede omitir. Esta construccin recibe el nombre
de (ontact o reduced clauses. | i. I lere is the C D y o u thought y o u had lost.

T h e m a n (whom / that) I met at the party told me the truth. i A professor is s o m e o n e t e a c h e s in a university.
(el sujeto de la oracin de relativo es I, por tanto el relativo se puede omitir) i I h e only present I didn't like w a s the gold belt.
T h e house (which / that) we bought is very comfortable.
i. A meteorologist is s o m e o n e k n o w s about the w e a t h e r .
She is the nicest person that) I know.
i. This is the book I w r o t e to y o u about.
T h i s is the highest building (that) our company owns.
Anybody w a n t s to j o i n the d r a m a society must sign up n o w .
Fjate en que si el pronombre relativo va seguido del verbo, no se puede omitir
pero si despus del relativo va un sujeto y un verbo, casi seguro que s. U this is the shop is so e x p e n s i v e .

Nota 1: El relativo whose "cuyo", indica posesin, nunca es sujeto y no se 'i C i r o ' s w a s the best c l u b I have ever been to.
puede omitir.

I
in | he t o w e r b l e w d o w n in the storm w a s over 1 0 0 years o d .
T h e horse whose leg you broke had to be killed.
T h e children whose books you are using are m y pupils.
Whose games are these? EXERCISE 3

Nota 2: Hay otro relativo, what que significa "lo que", "las cosas que"y se usa l i l i in the b l a n k s w i t h who, whom, which or that. T h e r e m a y be m o r e t h a n o n e
cuando el antecedente se sobreentiende. f ( t answer.
H e is always asking what should be done.
I. T h e photo ..yff}!S!?./.$$L y o u are holding
I don't know what to do. was taken by my sister.
^WI^Wi'WW^ ' ' L L LLL '"WW!MiriMwiw
i 2. Thechairon he w a s sitting
collapsed.
EXERCISE 1 I. T h e test for y o u are studying
Underline the relative clauses. T h e n circle the nouns they describe. will be easy.

1. I didn't e n j o y the(fim)that w e s a w last night. I I he man for I a m knitting this

2. T h e c i l y that I live in s very m o d e r n . scarf is an nele of m i n e .

3. Is this the shirt that w a s missing from y o u r suitcase? The boy to I sent a note is smiling at m e .

4. T h e m a n w h o lives next door s 1 0 0 years o d . (5 I lere is the magazine y o u h a v e b e e n looking for.

5. W h e r e is the m a g a z i n e that J i m bought y e s t e r d a y ? 7. T h e director l e a n w o r k s for is very d e m a n d i n g .

(). T h e o d w o m a n w h o lived b e l o w us d i e d last night.
II I he person to )ll spoke yesterday w a s very rude.
7. This is t h e w o m a n w h o w.inls lo huy our car.
'i 11. p.iinting y o u are looking ,il is .m original ( Y v . a n n e .
<!. I h e i lerk w h o h e l p e d m e w . i s very p o l i t c .
lo 11. " |
r y o u are going oul w i l h is very atlrac tive.
'). W e haven'l I h a n k e d i h c girl w h o I O I I I K I O U I I al

10 llii'. Is iln restaura ni whi< h was re o m m o n d u d l< mu 1

 2
EXERCISE 4
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES -
( C o m b i n e the following sentences using the relative pronouns who, whom, which
LAS ORACIONES DE RELATIVO EXPLICATIVAS
or that. Make any necessary changes.

1. Jessica has got a coin c o l l e c t i o n . It contains m a n y rare c o i n s . / .ludia la siguiente frase:

Jessica has got a coin collection which / that contains many rare coins. T h e European Plice Forc, which began working in 1999, is called *
Europol.
2. T h i s is a great restaurant. I d o n ' t k n o w a better o n e .
Si (Hitramos la oracin de relativo, no habra ningn problema para entender la
h$e principal, The European Plice Forc is called Europol. La oracin de relativo
(ue, como ves, va entre comas es un dato aadido, una explicacin.
3. M a r y spent the m o n e y . It belonged to her sister.
11 .mtecedente de estas oraciones suele ser un nombre propio de persona, una cosa
ixontiene un posesivo como my, his, her, el artculo definido the o algn
4. T h e p e n s o n t h e desk. It is blue. ilrmostrativo como this, that, these, those.
M y house, which is quite comfortable, needs redecorating.
This book, which I bought last week, is not as interesting as I thought.
5. T h i s is t h e n e w president. W e all voted for h i m .
/ s caracterstico de las oraciones de relativo non-defining:
1 que vayan entre comas
6. I m e t a Finnish tourist. H e lives in H e l s i n k i .
2 que nunca lleven that como relativo
3 que nunca se omita el relativo, aunque no acte de sujeto

7. I k n o w t h e m a n . H e is going to marry m y f r i e n d . 4 que se utilicen casi exclusivamente en estilo escrito y formal. Son menos
frecuentes que las defning.

Analiza estos dos ejemplos:

8. J o h n bought a n e w D V D player. It w a s m a d e n K o r e a . Non-defining: M y nele, who is a doctor, lives i n Asturias, (si va entre comas
significa que mi to, que por cierto es mdico, vive en Asturias.)

Mining: M y nele who is a doctor lives i n Asturias, (si no hay comas

9. T h e palace stands outside t h e t o w n . It w a s built 2 0 0 years ago.
significa que mi to, de entre todos el que es mdico, vive en Asturias.
Es decir, detallamos cul es la persona a la que hacemos referencia para
evitar confusiones.)
10. T h e y visited t h e village. It is o n a hill.

11. T h i s is a very e x p e n s i v e ring. T h e y d o n ' t h a v e a m o r e e x p e n s i v e ring in the

EXERCISE S
shop.
I ' U I H luate t h e f o l l o w i n g s e n t e n c e s .

I M y n e w s h o p , w h i c h y o u s a w last w e e k , i s very successful.

12. T h e m a n left t o w n . W e w r o t e a n angry letter to this m a n .
.' M y mobile phone w i l h o u l w h i c h I r a n ' t manage is a l w a y s in m y briefease.

i M i k e is going l o llaly whi< h is his favourite country.

I I he presiden! w h o visilci I O I I I l o w n l.r.l w e e k is againsl u n e m p l o y m e n l .

i I I I I I I . I u.ivii m i ' ln'i l.u 11111111 >< i wliu h I w n i l e ( l o w n ni 111 v < It.iry
 RELATIVE CLAUS

EXERCISE 6 EXERCISE 7

) Fill n the blanks with the correct relative pronouns. fe I ill in the blanks with who, which, where, that, when or whose. There may be more
(han one correct answer.
1. T h e Eiffel T o w e r , V-/? w a s built by engineer C u s t a v e Eiffel, is visited by
millions of people e v e r y y e a r . I. W h a t is the address of the w o m a n .... P.5.... dog bit ours?
W

2. Dan Brown, w r o t e The Da Vinci 1. W e live in a city n e w restaurant^ o p e n e v e r y day.

Code, is a f a m o u s author. !. W h a t do y o u k n o w about that w o m a n son w o n the lottery?
3. H . C . Wells, w a s b o m in 1 8 6 6 , I. W h e r e are the children promised to w a s h our car?
w r o t e The War of the Worlds.
'">. Joe will never forget the day he first got his driving l i c e n c e .
4. Jill's favourite actor, for this play
w a s especially written, c a n ' t act tonight (>. T h e cat received the gold medal at the cat s h o w w a s very w e l l

because he has lost his v o i c e . trained.

5. T h e W h i t e H o u s e , in all A m e r i c a n 7. T h i s is the place I hurt myself last w e e k .

presidents live, is in W a s h i n g t o n , D C .
IS. T h a t is the book I o r d e r e d from the publishers.
6. T h e od mili, still w o r k s , is going
T h e bag Julia bought yesterday w a s not e x p e n s i v e .
to be pulled d o w n s o o n .
II). M y boss has a friend speaks M a n d a r n fluently.
7. W e invited the n e w neighbours to our party, turned out to be very

enjoyable.
EXERCISE 8
8. M y sister, fell d o w n the stairs last night, is still in hospital.
i ill in the blanks with the correct relative pronouns or adverbs. There may be more
9. Last w i n t e r w e s a w A u n t T i n a , brought us s o m e interesting books. than one correct answer.

10. O n Malta, is an island in the M e d i t e r r a n e a n , people speak English. 1. T o l e d o is the city t?. S.
r I was bom.

2. W h e r e is the s w e a t e r I put on my bed?

RELATIVE ADVERBS - i. Is this the m a n car you hit?

LOS ADVERBIOS RELATIVOS
4. T h e actress starred in that film n o w w a n t s to b e c o m e a singer.

5. T h e film in she starred w a s a d r a m a .

n otros relativos que no son pronombres sino adverbios.
(>. D o y o u r e m e m b e r the day w e met?
(donde) indica lugar.
T h e house where I was bom was sold last year. 7. T h e reason I didn't c o m e to the party w a s b e c a u s e I w a s n ' t invited.

When (cuando) indica tiempo. li. T h e building, w a s destroyed in the e a r t h q u a k e , w a s very o d .

I remember the time when he arrived after everybody else had left. '). T h a t is the city a n e w shopping centre is being built.
Why (por lo que) indica razn o motivo. 10. Dinosaurs, w e r e sin h e n o r m o u s creatures, died out about 6 > r

T h e reason why he is so sad is a mystery to us. million years ago.

 (i. T h e r e ' s the person w h o shouted at m e
EXERCISE 3
7. T h e person w h o sent this letter is obviously v e r y upset
! C o m b i n e the following sentences using appropriate relative pronouns or adverbs.
Make any necessary changes. There may be more than one correct answer. II. I w a n t to speak to s o m e o n e w h o k n o w s about dogs

1. T h e book is about a l a w y e r . H e is a c c u s e d of m u r d e r . '). T h e painting that y o u are looking at w a s painted by M o n e t

Jhebookis about a lawyer who s accused of murder. ID. T h e teenagers c l e a n e d the r o o m that they had painted the day before

2. T i m w i l l n e v e r forget the d a y . H e j o i n e d the a r m y that day.

EXERCISE 11

m Combine the following sentences using appropriate relative pronouns or adverbs.

!. W e h e a r d the song. It s h o c k e d m a n y people. I K e the words in brackets, make any necessary changes and pay attention to
punctuation.

4. This is the book. It w a s n ' t available in the library. 1. F r e d d i e M e r c u r y d i e d in 1 9 9 2 . H e w a s a f a m o u s singer. ( w h o )

Freddie Mercury, who was a famous singer,,d\edjnJ992.

5. This is the C D . T v e p l a y e d it h u n d r e d s of times. 2. T h i s is T o n y . Y o u ' l l be driving w i t h h i m n e x t w e e k . ( w h o m )

6. i h e t e a c h e r apologised. S h e had p u n i s h e d t w o pupils unfairly. i. T h i s is the h o u s e . J e a n lived in that house w h e n she w a s y o u n g . ( w h i c h )

7. I met a friend last w e e k . H e r daughter is a n astrologist. I. W e s a w the cottage. W o r d s w o r t h lived there. ( w h e r e )

!. T o m hired a decorator. T h e decorator s v e r y e x p e n s i v e . 5, John s my f r i e n d . H i s car w a s stolen f r o m the car park. ( w h o s e )

9. I lere is a postcard of the village. W e spent three d a y s there. (). H e w e n t to a c o n c e r t . H e d i d n ' t like the c o n c e r t at all. ( w h i c h )

10. leannette is going to marry a m a n . H i s brother is in my class.

/. I d o n ' t k n o w the m a n . H e h e l p e d m e this morning. ( w h o )

EXERCISE lO is Y o u c a n see m a n y snakes in the z o o . S o m e of t h e m are poisonous. ( w h i c h )

! Tick (he sentences where the relative pronoun can be omitted.

'i S h a k e s p e a r e is o n e of the b e s t - k n o w n writers in the w o r l d . H e is buried in

I I he family that w e c a n ' t stand is moving in n e x t door to us.
N t r a l o r d - u p o n - A v o n . (who)
2. I ler h u s b a n d bought her a ring w h i c h cost 5 , 0 0 0

i lili didn'l e n j o y Ihe film Ili.it she s.iw w i t h Trie

lo I his is Ihe p l a c e . Y o u have lo p< k m e up al this p l a c e , ( w h i c h )
I I In w< iin.iii W I K i y o u w<-ii talking lo is my m o l I K M

s I he n e w dress ih.ii I houuhl yesterday is lorn