RELATIVE SENTENCES

ORACIONES DE RELATIVO

• We use relative sentences to give information about something or someone. For example, when we want to tell one person apart from others.

• - Who is Laura?- Laura is the girl who is wearing purple.

PEOPLE

For PEOPLE we use "Who" or "That“

- Who is Laura?- Laura is the girl who is wearing purple.

- Who is Karen?- Karen is the girl that is wearing pink.

THINGS , PLACES, TIME.• For THINGS we use "that" or "which":

- This is the book that Karen has read.

• We can also use relative pronouns for PLACES:

- That is the house where Laura lives.

• And for TIME:

- 2010 was the year when the volcano in Iceland erupted.

Referring to We use Example

People WhoThat

She’s the girl that is wearing purpleShe’s the girl who is wearing purple

Things, ideas WhichThat

The book which she bought is in French.The book that she bought is in French.

Possession (=cuyo) Whose This is the girl whose father is Japanese.

Time WhenThat

2008 was the year when Obama won the elections.2008 was the year that Obama won the elections.

Place Where This is the place where Lisa was born.

“The thing(s) that” What This is what I found in the cellar.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND PREPOSITIONS.When the verb is followed by a preposition, the most usual is to place the preposition at the end of the sentence.

•These documents belong to Patrick, the lawyer. → Patrick is the lawyer (that) these documents belong to.•Mary and Jack were talking about this painting → This is the painting (that) Mary and Jack were talking about.

However, in a formal context, you can use the pronoun whom OR the pronoun which. If you use these pronouns the preposition goes before the pronoun:•These documents belong to Mr. Stevenson, the lawyer. → Mr. Stevenson is the lawyer to whom these documents belong.

•Mrs. Stevenson and Mr. Cromley were talking about this painting → •This is the painting about which Mrs. Stevenson and Mr. Cromley were talking.

Defining and non-defining clauses.

•A defining clause selects an element among a group of elements.•For example, it helpes us to identify a person in a group (it defines who that person is)

Laura is the girl who is wearing purple.(not the girl who is wearing pink, or yellow)

• On the other hand, a non-defining adds extra information. We don’t need that information to tell an element apart.

• (in this case, for example, it explains what Laura likes, but we don’t need that information to know who she is).

Laura, who likes big cosmopolitan cities, is living in London. 

THAT CANNOT BE USED in non-defining clauses.

WHEN CAN WE OMMIT A RELATIVE PRONOUN?

• Relative clauses have TWO verbs. • One is the verb of the main clause

and the other is the verb of the subordinate clause (describing the noun).

Laura is the girl [who is living in London].

• YOU CAN OMMIT the pronoun when it is the DIRECT OBJECT of the verb of the subordinate clause.

Kevin loves Laura→Laura is the girl who Kevin loves→ Laura is the girl Kevin loves (The subject is Kevin, not Laura)

• YOU CANNOT OMMIT the pronoun if is the subject:

- Laura is the girl who lives in London.