23

G R A M MA R

Relative clauses 1
Relative clauses
Relative clauses are short phrases beginning with words like who, that and which
(called ‘relative pronouns’) that define or describe people and things. There are two
types:

• Defining relative clauses identify exactly which person or thing we mean. The
information is necessary for the sentence to make sense.
The doctor who treated me told me not to worry.
In this example there is more than one doctor and we only know which one by the
relative clause.

• Non-defining relative clauses give extra information. The information is not necessary
for the sentence to make sense. To show this in writing we use commas.
Pablo Picasso, who died in 1973, was a painter and sculptor.

Relative pronouns

• Which, that
Which refers to things and that refers to people and things. That is more common,
especially in speech.
The bus which goes to Cairo leaves from here.
The woman that we spoke to gave us directions.
The road that we took led to an ancient temple.
In non-defining clauses, we use which, not that.
The bus, which broke down twice, arrived four hours late.

• Who, that and whom

Who and that refer to people.
The people who live next door make a lot o f noise.
The people that live next door make a lot o f noise.
In formal speech and writing we can use whom instead of who where who is the
object of the sentence (see below). However, this is becoming less common and in
modern English speakers rarely use whom - instead they use who or that.
It was the same boy whom I met yesterday.
(T is the subject, ‘whom’ is the object)
It was the same boy that/who I met yesterday.
We use whom after a preposition in formal speech or writing.
No one knows by whom the victim was shot.
(after the preposition ‘by’, but very rare in modern English)
No one knows who the victim was shot by.
(normal usage in speech and writing)

100
 GRAMMAR 23 RELATIVE CLAUSES 1

• Whose
Whose shows that something belongs to someone.
The girl whose case had been stolen went to the police station.

Leaving out the relative pronoun

• The relative pronoun can sometimes be left out, but this depends on whether the
relative clause refers to the subject or object of the sentence.
A relative clause that refers to the subject of the sentence:
The doctor who treated me told me not to worry.
The doctor (subject) treated me (object).
A relative clause that refers to the object of the sentence:
The doctor that/who/whom I spoke to told me not to worry.
I (subject) spoke to the doctor (object).

• We can leave out the relative pronoun in a defining relative clause that refers to the
object.
The doctor I spoke to told me not to worry.

• We can also leave out the relative pronoun after a superlative.

That was the best meal (that) I ’ve ever eaten!

• We cannot leave out the relative pronoun in a defining relative clause that refers to the
subject.
The doctor who treated me told me not to worry.

• In a non-defining relative clause we must keep the relative pronoun.

Pablo Picasso, who died in 1973, was a painter and sculptor.

1 01
INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE PRACTICE

1 Underline the correct word in each sentence.

1 An old man, who/which was carrying a suitcase, knocked at the door.
2 The winner, which/whose bike was an unusual design, won a medal.
3 The girl who/which spoke to me turned out to be in my class.
4 The museum, which/whose was in a beautiful building, was closed.
5 A policewoman that/which we asked told us how to get there.
6 The boy whose/whom house I was staying at was an old friend.
7 The last person which/whose pen I borrowed didn’t get it back.

2 Complete each sentence with who, whose or that.

1 The friend ...w.b.P.S?...... house I stayed in is coming to stay with us.
2 The guidebook........ ...........we bought explained everything.
3 The couple.............. ....house I bought both worked in my office.
4 I’d like you to tell me ................... you were talking to.
5 The g irl................... ruler I had borrowed wanted it back.
6 I can’t rem em ber..... ............. I lent my bike to.
7 Do you know ........... ........Catherine works for?

3 Decide whether the clause in italics is defining or non-defining. Write D or N

next to each sentence.
1 The girl who was waiting was becoming impatient. .......£ ........ .
2 The room, which was enormous, was filled with lines of chairs..........................
3 The students, who were late, waited in the playground. .................. .
4 The food which was left was eaten the following day. ...................
5 A tall girl, who was wearing a hat, came into the room. .................. .
6 The dog, which was lying on the sofa, had long pointed ears. .................. .
7 The train which leaves at 8.00 doesn’t stop at Bath. .................. .

4 Underline any relative pronouns that can be left out in these sentences.
1 The book that John was reading was a bit frightening.
2 The travel agency which sold me the ticket was near my office.
3 In the end, our holiday was the best that we had ever had.
4 The dentist who I go to isn’t very expensive.
5 The film which we saw last week was much better than this one.
6 The people who were leaving couldn’t find their coats.
7 The garden, which wasn’t very large, was full of flowers.

102
 GRAMMAR 23 RELATIVE CLAUSES 1

5 Rewrite each formal sentence as an informal one, ending with the word given.
These are the boys with whom I went on holiday.
T f t .e s .e . . a r.t. . t h e . b a y s . . ! . v y . e . ^ t .g m *. y ................................................................................. ................with.
This is the letter for which I’ve been waiting.
..................for.
That is the shop from which Sue bought her bike.
............... from.
That is the hotel at which I stayed.
.................... at.
Tim is someone to whom I hardly ever write.
.................... to.
Do you know by whom this book was written?
.................. by?
Ravenna was the most interesting town in which we stayed.
.................... in.
United were the best team against which we played.
............against.

6 Add a relative pronoun to each sentence.

1 Friday was the last time I saw Jim.
...........................................................
2 The island we visited was extremely beautiful.

3 The girl I met was a friend of Philips.

4 The meal we ate wasn’t very tasty.

5 Gina was the first person I asked.

6 The book I read didn’t explain the problem.

7 The teacher we usually have was away ill.

8 The friends I met last night send you their love.

103
 24
G R A MMA R

Relative clauses 2
Combining sentences

• We can combine these sentences using relative clauses.

1 A bus goes to Cairo. It leaves from here.
The bus that goes to Cairo leaves from here.
2 A woman teaches us music. She also plays in an orchestra.
The woman who teaches us music also plays in an orchestra.
3 We took a road. It led to an ancient temple.
The road (that) we took led to an ancient temple.
4 We spoke to a woman. She gave us directions.
The woman (that) we spoke to gave us directions.

• Note that articles often change (e.g. from alan to the) when sentences are combined.
A girl’s case was stolen. She went to the police station.
The girl whose case was stolen went to the police station.
A doctor treated me. She told me not to worry.
The doctor who treated me told me not to worry.
I spoke to a doctor. She told me not to worry.
The doctor I spoke to told me not to worry.

• Note this common error: The bus that goes to Cairo it leaves from here.
When we combine sentences we do not repeat the subject by adding another
pronoun ( The bus ... it).

Relative clauses with an -ing form

The relative clause often has a continuous verb form:
Can all the students who are leaving tomorrow give back their books?
I sent a card to the girl who was living across the street.
In this case we can leave out both the relative pronoun and the verb be.
Can all the students leaving tomorrow give back their books?
I sent a card to the girl living across the street.

W hat as a relative pronoun

We can use the relative pronoun what to mean the thing(s) that.
We didn’t understand what she said. (= the things that she said)
What I want now is a cup o f tea. (= the thing that I want)

104
 GRAMMAR 24 RELATIVE CLAUSES 2

1 Underline the correct word in each sentence.

1 The train which/who goes to Brighton leaves from here.
2 That/W hat I like best is an afternoon at the beach.
3 I didn’t know who/which to ask about my timetable.
4 The people which/whose luggage was lost had to wait a long time.
5 Where’s the ruler whose!that I left on this desk?
6 The shop what/that I went to didn’t have any milk.
7 Do you know whom!whose bag this is?
8 Everyone who/which was there will remember the day forever.
9 The second bus, which/whose was full, didn’t stop either.
10 Jim was helped by someone who/whom told him the answer.

2 Some sentences have a word which should not be there. Write the word in the
space. If the sentence is correct, put a tick (/).
1 The man whose his car had been damaged was very angry. .....hfS........
2 That was the longest film I’ve ever seen. ...................
3 The train which it goes to London leaves from here. ...................
4 The policewoman who she stopped me asked me my name. ...................
5 The Eiffel Tower, which it was finished in 1889, is made of iron.........................
6 Everyone that Elena spoke to advised her to try again. ...................
7 The children that they live next door are my friends. ...................

3 Rewrite each pair of sentences as one sentence, and include the word in bold.
Begin as shown, and make any necessary changes.
1 We want to visit a museum. It opens at 12.00.
that
T h e......WC.M l .&>. V.Ukt At .Iwk.GGb.........................................................
2 A boy’s bike was taken. He visited the police station,
whose
T h e ..............................................................................................................................
3 A friend met me at the airport. He carried my suitcase,
who
T h e..............................................................................................................................
4 Tom cooked a meal. It was delicious,
that
T h e..............................................................................................................................
5 A friend is staying with me. She comes from Paris,
who
T h e ..............................................................................................................................

105
INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE PRACTICE

6 I found a man’s wallet. He gave me a reward,

whose
T h e .......................................................................................................................
7 I go to a shop in the centre. It is cheaper,
that
T h e...................................................... .................................................................
8 I went to a girl’s party. She phoned me.
whose
T h e.......................................................................................................................
9 I know someone. This person likes you.
who
I ............................................................................................................................
10 We saw a film last week. It was more interesting,
that
W e........................................................................................................................

4 Put one word in each space, or tick (/) the space if the sentence is correct.
1 We sent a present to the children.....................living next door.
2 Mike doesn’t really know ..................... he wants.
3 I started talking to some boys..................... sitting by the side of the road.
4 I asked M ary..................... she was thinking, but she wouldn’t tell me.
5 There were lots of people at the p arty ..................... we went to.
6 I don’t really know ..................... you’re talking about.
7 We saw two rabbits..................... playing in the garden.
8 Is this the bike..................... your parents bought you for your birthday?
9 The police officer..................... stopped me wanted to see my identity card.
10 ......... we need now is a map and a compass.

A map and a compass would be very useful now.’