SENTENCE STRUCTURE 2 Defining relative clauses Look at this sentence: The family who live next door moved

here from Ireland. There is a main clause: The familymoved here from Ireland and there is a relative clause:who live next door. The main clause does not make proper sense without relative clause. The relative clause tells us which family we are talking about. It ia a defining relative clause. The relative clause may come in the middle or at the end of a sentence. It follows the word that it defines. - Subjective relative pronouns: Are you the person who telephoned here an hour ago? The relative pronoun who functions as the subject of the verb telephoned. Can you pick the knife that/which has just fallen off the table? The relative pronoun that/which functions as the subject of the verb has fallen off. That is used more often than which. Which is more formal or scientific. - Object relative pronouns: Thats the woman who/that I met at Tonys house. Who or that functions as the object of the verb met. Is this book that/which you were reding last night? That or which functions as the object of the verb were reding. In defining relative clauses, the object relative pronoun (who/that/which) is often omitted: Thats the woman I met at Tonys house. Is this the book you were reding last night? - Relative pronouns: object of a preposition: This is the beach (that/which) I was telling you about. That or which functions as the object of the preposition about. It can be omitted. - Possessive relative pronoun: They are the workers whose jobs are being cut. Whose is a possessive relative pronoun. It refers to the workers. It is the workers jobs that are being cut. Whose jobs functions as the subject of the verb are being cut. I couldnt find the man whose case Id taken by mistake. Whose refers to the man. It was his case Id taken. Whose case functions as the object of the verb had taken. Summary: relative pronouns in defining relative clauses: Subject Object Possessive For people who/that no pronoun/who/that whose For things that/which no pronoun/that/whichPRACTICE 1. Underline the ten defining relative clauses in the dialogue. Then circle the relative pronoun in each one and indicate whether it is a subject (S) or object (O) pronoun. Holt and Watkins, private detectives, are discussing a murder: W: So, who was the one who killed Mr. Makepeace? (S) H: Cant you guess? W: Well, I think it was probably the woman who was staying in the room next door to him. H: No, Watkins, of course it wasnt. She only wanted the money he owed her. She wont get that now that hes dead. W: Oh, yes, I hadnt thought about that. So was it Mr. Grant, the man who always shared their table in the evenings? H: No, Watkins. Its true that he loved Mrs. Makepeace but he knew that she didnt love him. And he probably believed that she could never fall in love with a man who had murdered her husband.

W: I suppose thats true. So who was it then? The son? Do you think that he wanted to have the money that would be due to him from his fathers life insurance policy? H: Well, no, because he knew that the insurance policy would be invalid if his father died suspiciously. And apart from that, I think that in a way he loved his father. The one he hates is Mr. Bottomley, the man his mother is in love with. W: So who did kill Mr. Makepeace? H: Well, I feel quite sure now that it was Mrs. Makepeace. W: Mrs. Makepeace! H: Yes. She had never loved the man she had married. What she loved was all the money he had. Then Mr. Bottomley came along. He had money too and she loved him. But she had to get Mr. Makepeace out of the way. 2. Join the two sentences together, making the second sentence a defining relatice clause. Use the relative pronoun that is most commonly used or no pronoun at all where this is possible. 1. Shes the one. I told you about her. 2. I dont like the people. They are staying with the Browns. . 3. I like books. They make you think about things. 4. Im looking for the person. Ive just hit their car. .. 5. Most of the books are still popular today. I read them as a child. . Non-defining relative clauses Look at the difference between these two sentences: 1. The boy who lives next door is having a pary tonight. The underlined clause is a defining relative clause. It tells us which boy is being talked about. 2. Darren, who lives next door, is having a party tonight. The underlined clause is a non-defining relative clause> It does not tell us which boy we are talking about; we already know that from the name. It gives us extra information about Darren. A non-defining relative clause in the middle of a sentence has a comma before and after it. A nondefining relative clause at the end of a sentence has a comma before it and a full stop at the end. - Subject relative pronouns: This is my friend Jane, who has just returned from Italy. The relative pronoun who refers to Jane and it functions as the subject of the verb has..returned in the relative clause. Mikes car, which is only six months old, broke down last night. The relative pronoun which refers to the car and it functions as the subject of the verb is in the relative clause. - Object relative pronoiuns: The woman next door, who/whom I met for the first time last wek, is moving next month. Who or whom refer to the woman next door and function as the object of the verb met in the relative clause. Whom is more formal and is generaly used in formal written English. Who is more common in spoken English. Unlike the object relative pronoun in defining relative clauses, the object relative pronoun in nondefining relative clauses cannot be omitted. The book about The First World War, which I finished last week, was really interesting.

Which refers to that book and functions as the object of the verb finished in the relative clause. We cannot omit it. - Relative pronouns:object of a preposition: a) Majorie, who/whom we have all depended on so much, has just announced her retirement. b) Marjorie, on whom we have all depended so much, has just announced her retirement. Who or whom in sentence a) and whom in sentence b) refer to Marjorie and function as the object of the preposition on. a) The new pedestrian crossings, which there has been much discussion about, are going to be in use soon. b) The new pedestrian crossings, about which there has been much discussion, are going to be in use soon. Which refers to the crossings and functions as the object of the preposition about. - Possesive relative pronoun: Amanda Lovelace, whose husband died last year, has now lost her job. Whose refers to Amanda. It is her husband who died. Whose husband functions as the subject of the verb died. Summary: Subject Object For people WHO WHO/WHOM for things WHICH WHICH PRACTICE 1. Use the sentences below to make non-defining relative clauses. Insert an appropriate clause into each of the sentences. Her books are read all over the world. It was very crowded. We love to walk round them. It is very powerful. He is staying in a nursing home. I like her very much. He is staying in his holiday home at the moment. Her parents believed it. She came over to apologize to us. I always attend her lectures. 1. This new drug could have bad side effects. 2. Her father is said to be dying of cancer. 3. The Prime Minister said that he was very saddened by the news of the air crash. . 4. The story she gave was that she had not realized how late it was. 5. Agatha Christie was a very prolific writer. 6. The sub-tropical gardens are open all year round. 7. The manager of the restaurant said that she was very sorry about the undercooked fish. .. 8. Our Professor of Psychology has written some very interesting books. . for possession WHOSE WHOSE

9. We packed a picnic and walked down to the beach. . 10. Next Saturday, Im going to visit my Aunty Sheila. .... Relative clauses of time, place and reason In relative clauses of time, place and reason, it is possible to use when, where and why in place of relative pronouns. - Time: 1990 was (the year) when we moved here. - Place: Thats (the place) where we satyed for our honeymoon. - Reason: Its central location is (the reason) why we chose this flat. Note: Relative clauses with when, where and why are usually defining but can be non-defining. Relative clauses starting with where are more often non-defining than relative clauses starting with when and why. The village of Baydon, where I lived as a child, has now bwcome part of the town. PRACTICE 1. Rewrite each pair of sentences as one sentence, using a relative clause with when, where or why. 1. The early morning is the time. I work best then. 2. His mid-teens were the time. He first became interested in politics then. 3. His dishonesty is the reason. Thats why I left him. 4. Edinburgh is the city. Id most like to live there. 5. The outdoor swimming pool has now been closed down. We often went there as children. 6. This is a picture of the place. Were going there for our holidays. 7. His refusal to tell her the truth is the reason. Thats why she is so angry with him. 8. This is the place. I fell off my bike here. 9. The people I work with are the reason. Thats why I stay in this job. 10. That terrible night in December changed my life forever. I found out then what had been going on. Co-ordinating relative clauses In a co-ordinating relative clause, which refers back to a whole sentence: He has decided to see the doctor about it, which is a good idea. Which refers back to him seeing the doctor about it. - Co-ordinating relative clauses are always non-defining.

PRACTICE 1. Write sentences with a co-ordinating relative clause. Use the sentences given below to make the relative clauses and combine them with the statements. a) It will be an interesting experience for him. b) Thats just what she needs after all her problems. c) He should have done that a long time ago. d) It is very worrying. e) It will be a great help to him. f) It was a complete surprise. g) It is a terrible accusation to make. h) That will give him more time to spend with his girlfriend. i) Thats why I dont go out very much. j) Its a great shame. 1. Shes going to have to sell the business. 2. The weathers very cold at this time of year. 3. hes decided to go and teach abroad. 4. They say hes been stealing money from the company. 5. Shes going to have a month off work. 6. hes going to give up his evening job. 7. The editor has finally agreed to print an applogy. 8. She suddenly appeared on the doorstep last night. 9. A few people have been attacked in this area recently. 10. Hes going to have an electric wheelchair soon.