1、Relative clauses,Guiding questions:relative clauses What is a relative clause? Types of relative clauses Relative pronouns :who whom whose which that Relative adverbs:where when why Prepositions in relative clauses,What is a relative clause?,Defining and non-defining relative clauses refer to preced

2、ing nouns and are introduced by the pronouns （who, whom, whose, which or that）or the adverbs(when ,where,why). Relative clauses usually come after the nouns or pronouns that they describe:,The man who answered the door was about forty years old. London, which is the capital of England, lies on the r

3、iver Thames.,Sentential relative clauses do not refer to preceding nouns but comment on what has been said before:,I didnt take any waterproof clothing with me, which was a mistake.,In relative clauses, we do not use personal pronouns to refer to the nouns described:,The woman who she answered the d

4、oor was about forty years old. London, which it is the capital of England, lies on the river Thames.,How many types of relative clauses are there?,Defining relative clause Non-defining relative clause The difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses Sentential relative clause,Types

5、of relative clauses,What is Defining relative clause?,A noun can be modified in different ways: by an adjective, a noun or a phrase: the best-selling book, a beautiful photo (adjective) the history book, an art photo (noun) the book with the most votes, a photo by Robert Capa(phrase),Another way of

6、modifying a noun is with a defining (also called a restrictive) relative clause:,the book I told you about last week a photo which was taken by Robert Capa,This type of relative clause identifies or classifies the noun that it refers to. An identifying clause defines who or what we are talking about

7、 and refers to a noun which is preceded by the definite article the:,This is the book I told you about last week. Remember? Do you know the guy who is talking to Will over there?,A classifying clause describes what kind of person(s) or thing(s) we are talking about. It refers to a singular uncountab

8、le or plural countable noun without an article or a singular countable noun preceded by the indefinite article a or an:,I wrote my essay on a photo which was taken by Robert Capa. Sometimes, I like listening to music that makes me sad. I dont know any people who speak Esperanto.,What is Non-defining

9、 relative clause?,A non-defining relative clause describes a preceding noun by adding extra information about it. The noun has a clear reference (it is clear who or what we are talking about) even without the clause:,The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, who was also a prolific engineer an

10、d inventor. The human heart, which has a mass of about 300 grams, pumps blood throughout the body.,A non-defining relative clause can also continue a story by saying what happened next:,I called my mother, who became very upset. (I called my mother, and she became very upset.),The non-defining relat

11、ive clause is separated from the rest of the sentence by commas (,). In speech, we make a short pause before and after the clause.,Whats the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses?,A defining relative clause identifies or classifies a noun:,Do you know the guy who is talking t

12、o Will over there? I wrote my essay on a photo which was taken by Robert Capa.,A non-defining relative clause adds extra information about a noun which already has a clear reference:,If we omit this type of clause, the sentence does not make sense or has a different meaning:,Do you know the guy? (wh

13、ich guy?) I wrote my essay on a photo. (what kind of photo?),If we leave out this type of clause, the sentence still makes sense:,The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.,The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, who was also a prolific engineer and inventor.,Sometimes, the use of comma

14、s marks a difference in meaning:,The athletes who failed the drug test were disqualified.(defining) The athletes, who failed the drug test, were disqualified.(non-defining),The defining relative clause tells us that only those athletes who failed the drug test were disqualified. The sentence implies

15、 that there were other athletes who did not fail the drug test and that they were not disqualified. The non-defining relative clause tells us that all the athletes (mentioned earlier in the context) failed the drug test and that all of them were disqualified.,What is Sentential relative clause?,A se

16、ntential (also called connective) relative clause does not refer to a preceding noun; it rather comments on the whole preceding clause or sentence:,The streets were empty, which was unusual for this time of day. (The fact that the streets were empty was unusual.),Then he goes on to say how much he a

17、ppreciates all the effort weve put into it. Which is strange because he never seemed to care much about what we do.,In conversation, a sentential relative clause may also be interjected by another speaker:,How can we choose a relative pronoun: who,whom,whose,which or that?, the type of clause (defin

18、ing or non-defining), the function of the pronoun in the clause (subject, object, possessive determiner or object of a preposition), the style (formal or informal). Pronouns used in defining relative clauses Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses,The relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, w

19、hich and that.,The choice of which pronoun we use in a relative clause depends on:,The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to pe

20、rsons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.The pronoun that is used in informal styles and in spoken language. In the defining relative clause, the pronoun can be omitted if it stands for the object of the clause. We use the phrase zero pronoun (-) to indicate such a case. Whom is us

21、ed instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.,Pronouns used in defining relative clauses,The woman who/that answered the door was about forty years old. Hes the reporter whom/who/that/(-) I saw on TV last night. The engineer whose design is selected

22、will be offered a contract. Do you know a shop which/that sells antique furniture? What was the last film that/(-) you saw? Police have found the car the owner of which was reported missing 3 weeks ago.,Notes about Restrictive Clauses (Defining Clauses) In this type of relative clause, the informati

23、on is essential; if it is deleted,then the sentence will no longer make sense as we will not understand who or what is being talked about.,For People The man that stole my car was fined. (this is used in American and British English) The man who stole my car was fined. (this is used in British Engli

24、sh),For Things The company which made it has gone bankrupt. The company that made it has gone bankrupt.,Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-p

25、erson in the non-defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets. Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing. In non-defining relative clauses, we cant omit the relative pr

26、onoun and we cant use that.,Epictetus, who is one of the most well-known Stoic philosophers, was born a slave. Mr Kowalski, whom/who you all know, will take over the Marketing Department from next month. Van Gogh, whose paintings are popular today, was not appreciated during his life. Madrid, which

27、is the capital of Spain, lies on the river Manzanares. Then they played My Favourite Things, which I recognised immediately from The Sound of Music. The cupboard was full of glasses and cups, many of whichwere broken.,Notes about Non-Restrictive Clauses (Non-Defining Clauses) In this type of relativ

28、e clause, the information is not essential; it could be deleted without making the sentence ungrammatical and it would still be clear who or what we are talking about.,For People The President of the United States, who is visiting Moscow, claimed that relations between the two countries were at thei

29、r best for twenty years. NB - you cannot use that here (after a comma).,For Things The intermission, which lasts for fifteen minutes, comes halfway through the film.,The manwhosecar was stolen wasnt insured. The housewhosebasement was flooded is being repaired.,Showing Possession To show possession,

30、 we usewhosefor both people and things:,NB -WHOMis an objectpronoun. It is used in formal English after a preposition and can be used to replace an object,although many no longer do this. In a phrase like To whom it may concern,whowould not be acceptable.,Omitting the Relative Pronoun inRestrictive

31、Clauses,In the following examples, the woman is the object of the verb saw and, therefore the pronoun can be omitted: The womanwhoI saw is coming later. The womanwhomI saw is coming later. The womanthatI saw is coming later. The woman I saw is coming later.,In the following examples, the man is the

32、subject of both verbs and cannot be omitted: The manwhotold me is coming later. The manthattold me is coming later.,How can we choose a relative adverb: where,when or why?,The reason why I didnt call you is that Ive lost your phone number. (only in defining relative clauses),The relative adverb wher

33、e is used after nouns that refer to places:,The house where Mozart was born is now a museum.(defining relative clause) I flew to Munich, where I had to catch another plane to Oslo.(non-defining relative clause),The relative adverb when is used after nouns that refer to times and dates:,I cant rememb

34、er a time when I was so happy. (defining relative clause) The most stressful day of the week is Monday, when people go back to work. (non-defining relative clause),The relative adverb why is used after reason:,Prepositions in relative clauses,The house in which Mozart was born is now a museum.(defin

35、ing relative clause) Mr Pierce, to whom I talked just now, sends you his regards.(non-defining relative clause),The relative pronoun can also refer to the object of a preposition. In informal styles, the preposition comes after the verb:,The house which Mozart was born in is now a museum. (defining

36、relative clause) The house that Mozart was born in is now a museum. (defining relative clause) The house Mozart was born in is now a museum. (defining relative clause) Mr Pierce, who I talked to just now, sends you his regards.(non-defining relative clause),In formal styles, the preposition is place

37、d before the pronouns whom or which:,What I did in the end was (to) go home. What I have done is (to) write a letter to the editor.,In the following examples, the verb after be takes the form that the verb in the what-clause is normally followed by:,What I want is to sleep. What he cant stand is to

38、get up early.,In the past simple and present perfect, we can use the following patterns:,Special usages of the relative pronouns “that” & “which”. 1.“that” only used after the proceeding word referred to things (1).Do you have anything that you want to say for yourself? (2).This is the very bus that

39、 Im waiting for. (3).This is the best way that has been used against pollution. (4).This is the first book that he has read. (5).Do you know the persons and things that they are talking about? (6).Shanghai is no longer the city that it used to be. 2.“which” only used after the proceeding word referred to things . (1).The sports meeting was put off, which astonished me. (2).This is the house in which LuXun once lived. (3).Whats that which flashed through the sky just now?,1 What is the difference between defining and non-defining relative cla