Lecture 14 Relative clause

1. Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses

2. Choice of relative words

3. Clauses introduced by “preposition + relative pronoun”

What is a relative clause?

• He is a man who means what he says.

• He was left on a desolate island, where he stayed for as long as three months.

• He refused to return the money to his aunt which she had saved for repairing the house.

Relative clause:

• a clause that is introduced by a relative word • A subordinate clause refers to the noun of the main

clause• A clausal modifier identifying it or adding extra

information• Attributive clause

• The man who is smoking a cigar is a film director.

• Last night, I saw a very good film, which was about the visitors from another planet.

• Harry was clever, diligent and willing to help others, for which he was often praised by the teacher.

1. Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses

• A restrictive Relative clauses: • gives essential information about the meaning

of the antecedent• forms an integral part of the noun phrase.• is closely attached to the head. • is not separated from the head by a break in

intonation, or by a comma in writing.

• A non-restrictive relative clause:

• does not restrict the referential meaning of the antecedent

• Offers additional information which is not needed to identify the antecedent.

• is not closely attached to the head.

• is separated from the head by a clear break in intonation, or by a comma in writing.

• The book which you are reading is written by a contemporary American novelist.

• She was awarded a gold medal, which the whole family considered a great honour.

• Any man who smokes cigarettes is risking his health.• His speech, which bored everyone, went on and on. • This position is open to anyone, whether old or young,

who can read and write.

• Compare:

• He has two sisters who are working in the city.

• He has two sisters, who are working in the city.

• He will wear no clothes which will distinguish him from his fellow men.

• He will wear no clothes, which will distinguish him from his fellow men.

• Exercises:• 1. You sent me a present. Thank you very much

for it.• Thank you very much for the present you sent me.• 2. She said that the men were thieves. This turned

out to be true.• She said that the men were thieves, which turned

out to be true.• 3. Some people can not distinguish between

colors. They are said to be color-blinded.• Some people who can not distinguish between

colors are said to be color-blinded.

2. Choice of relative word

• “relative words” : relative pronouns and relative adverbs• The choice of relative pronouns • 1. concerned with the referential meaning of the

antecedent which may refer to people or inanimate things. • 2. concerned with the syntactic function of the relative

pronoun, such as subject, object or subject complement, adverbial

• 3. related to the nature of the clause which may be restrictive or non-restrictive.

• 4. in connection with the register or style

1. Choice of relative pronouns in restrictive clauses

• relative pronouns functioning as subject, object, complement and prepositional complementation.

• general rule:

• Who, whom, or that for personal reference

• which or that for non-personal reference

• Whose for both

• The man ___ you saw just now is our manager.• Who was the woman ___ you were talking with?• People ___ came from Wales are often quite musical. • Is there anything ___ I can do for you?• This is the only bus ___ there is to that park.• I’d say you were the most beautiful girl __ ever lived.• It is always the mouth ___ talks too much ____ arouses

troubles.• Chances favor the minds ___ are prepared.• He talked of the men and the books __ interested him.• He is not the man ___ he was before.• This is the building ___ windows were all painted green.

• (He) Who knows most says least.• Who works not shall not eat.• Who eats must pay.• Whom the God love die young.• Who marries a beauty marries trouble.• Marriage is like a beleaguered fortress: those who

are without want to get in, and those who are within want to get out.

• All that live must die.• All that glitters is not gold.

2. Choice of relative pronouns in non-restrictive clauses

• General rule:

• Who, whom, whose for personal reference

• Which, as for non-personal reference

• She was very patient to the children, ___ her husband seldom was.

• My brother, ___ you met yesterday, is a member of NBA all-star team.

• Bruce Wellis, ___ came on holiday with us, is now in New York.

• ___ might be expected, John was admitted to the university.

• ___ a poet points out, life is but a dream.• He got up early, __ was usual with him.• She married him, __ was unexpected.

Relative adverbs

• The place where• The time when• The reason why• He will always remember the day ___ they first met.• He will never forget the place ___ they departed.• I don’t know the reason ___ he didn’t come to the

meeting.• I shall never forget the day ( when) we first met.

The reason ( why) he came so early is his own affair.

• Sometimes, the relative where can be replaced by an appropriate preposition at the end position,

• The factory he worked in has been reorganized.

• The factory where he worked has been …• The factory in which he worked has …

• That is the place where he stayed last night.• That is the place at which he stayed/which he

stayed at/that he stayed at/he stayed at/where he stayed/that he stayed/he stayed last night.

• That is the age ___ people live in peace and happiness.

• This also applies to the collocation of “the way in which”

• The way (in which) you answered the questions was admirable.

• ?This is the way how he behaves.

• Relative clauses introduced by “preposition + relative pronoun”

• Which, whom or whose

• They tried to think of a plan by which they could fulfill their task ahead of time.

• I will now introduce the candidate in support of whom I wish to speak.

• The material of which the apparatus is made is a good non-conductor of heat.

• Sound is a tool by means of which people communicate with each other.

• Jane spent four years in college, during which she studied medicine.

• I called her by the wrong name, for which I apologize.

• I can’t remember the age at which he won the prize.

Exercises:

• The picture, ____ he paid $ 1,000, was once owned by a duke.

• The Tower of London, ___ I know nothing, seems a very dull subject.

• He is telling a story of Lei Feng, ___ every one of us is proud.

• The pilot lost contact with the military base,

___ the plane crashed in the desert.

• Double relative clauses and embedded relative clauses

• A double relative clause refers to a postmodifier composed of two relative clauses that share one and the same antecedent.

• You’ll easily find us; just look for a house whose windows need washing and whose fence needs repairing.

• To live remains an art which everyone must learn, and which no one can teach.

• Embedded relative clauses • An embedded relative clause is a clause that

functions both as the postmodifier of a noun phrase in the main clause and as the object of another inserted clause, that is to say, the relative clause is embedded in another clause, eg:

• She has an adopted child who (she says) was an orphan.

• He met a lady who (he was sure) was his new teacher.

• You could expect to marry a man who makes a lot of money but does not love you or who loves you but does not make a lot of money but not a man who both loves you and makes a lot of money.

• This is the man who drove the car which his wife bought from the car dealer who was arrested by the police that accused him for drunk driving.

•Thank you!

The riddle of that for fun

• I said that that that that that man wrote should have been underlined.

• The party, _____ I was the guest of honour, was extremely enjoyable.

• A. by which B. for which C. to which D. at which• We can assign the task to _____ is capable and

trustworthy. • A. whomever B. who C. whom D. whoever • ___ is often the case with a new idea, much preliminary

activity and optimistic discussion produced no concrete proposals.

• A. That B. It C. This D. As• The physicist has made a discovery, _____ of great

importance to the progress of science and technology

• A. I think which is B. that I think is• C. which I think is D. which I think it is

• They overcame all the difficulties and completed the project two months ahead of time, _____ is something we had not expected.

• A. which B. it C. that D. what• He is quite worn out from years of hard work. He is not

the man _____ he was twenty years ago.• A. which B. that C. who D. whom• Firms that use computers have found that the number of

staff _____ is needed for quality control can be substantially reduced.

• A. whose B. as C. what D. that• We've just installed two air-conditioners in our apartment,

_____ should make great differences in our life next summer.

• A. which B. what C. that D. they