RELATIVE CLAUSES

1 Examples: (defining: people)

The girl is very attractive. You were chatting her up last night.
The girl (that/whom) you were chatting up last night is very attractive. (object)
The couple are stinking rich. They are sitting beside the loudspeakers.
The couple who/that are sitting beside the loudspeaker are stinking rich. (subject)
The man is my boss. His wife is fanning herself with the newspaper.
The man whose wife is fanning herself with the newspaper is my boss. (possessive)

We place the relative clause after its antecedent1. As you can see in the examples above,
we have replaced the words her, they and his with the appropriate relative form. Observe
that her is an object pronoun; they, a subject one; his, a possessive adjective. In the first
case, we need an object relative pronoun2: whom (rather formal)/that; in the second, a
subject relative pronoun: who/that3; in the third, a possessive relative determiner: whose.

2 Examples: (defining: things and animals)

She bought a bungalow. It was very expensive.
She bought a bungalow which/that was very expensive. (subject)
The bungalow (which/that) she bought was very expensive. (object)
She lives in a semi-detached house. She inherited it from her parents.
She lives in a semi-detached house (which/that4) she inherited from her parents.
(object)
He lives in a detached house. Its garden looks terrific.
He lives in a detached house the garden of which looks terrific. (possessive)
He lives in a detached house whose garden looks terrific. (possessive)

Both which (more formal) and that can act as subjects and as objects, but that is
preferred after indefinite pronouns, superlatives and ordinal numbers5:
I didn’t understand everything. He said it at the conference hall.
I didn’t understand everything (that) he said at the conference hall. (object)
He wants to tell you something. It is very important.
He wants to tell you something that is very important6. (subject)

As for the possessive relative of which7, it is a much better alternative in formal

situations than whose for inanimate things. Both whose and of which can be used for
animals, but whose is probably commoner:
He saw a dog. Its tail had been cut off.
He saw a dog whose tail had been cut off8/He saw a dog the tail of which had been cut
off.

3 Examples: (defining with prepositions)

The person is quite adamant about letting people smoke in his car. I was talking to him
last night.
The person (that/whom) I was talking to last night is quite adamant about letting people
smoke in his car.
The person to whom I was talking last night is quite adamant about letting people
smoke in his car.
The bus broke down. I was on the bus.
The bus (which/that) I was on broke down.
The bus on which I was broke down.

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 We normally put the preposition at the end of the relative clause, and the relative
pronoun may be omitted. In a very formal context, we can put the preposition before the
relative pronoun. In this case, the relative pronoun can never be removed, and whom (for
people) and which (for things or animals) must be used. Unfortunately, this sounds
awkward at times or is impossible:
The girl was very fit and healthy. We encouraged her to go on.
The girl (whom/that) we encouraged to go on was very fit and healthy. (Not The girl on
whom we encouraged to go was very fit and healthy, because on is not a preposition here,
but an adverb.)
The girl, who was very fit and heathy, was encouraged to go on.
(For the use of commas, see the next sections.)
These are the documents. I came across them in the living room drawer last night.
These are the documents (which/that) I came across in the living room drawer last
night. (Come across is considered as one word, since the meaning changes if we omit
‘across’.
Consequently, ‘across’ should not be separated from ‘come’.
However, there are cases in which this is possible: I found the person for whom I was
looking. None the less, this sounds too formal and is avoided in speech.)

4 Examples: (defining and non-defining relative clauses)

The student reads broadsheet newspapers. She’s sitting next to Alexis.
The student who/that is sitting next to Alexis reads broadsheet newspapers. (defining)
Edith reads broadsheets newspapers. She is sitting next to Alexis.
Edith, who is sitting next to Alexis, reads broadsheet newspapers.(non-defining)
The stranger comes from France. You met him yesterday.
The stranger (that/whom) you met yesterday comes from France. (defining)
The stranger in black comes from France. You met him yesterday.
The stranger in black, whom you met yesterday, comes from France. (non-defining)
The lady firmly believes in progress. Her husband works with you.
The lady whose husband works with you firmly believes in progress. (defining)
The lady over there firmly believes in progress. Her husband works with you.
The lady over there, whose husband works with you, firmly believes in progress. (non-
defining)
The cat scratched him. You often feed it.
The cat (that/which) you often feed scratched him. (defining)
Sandra’s cat scratched him. You often feed it.
Sandra’s cat, which you often feed, scratched him. (non-defining)
The cemetery looks gloomy. It dates from the seventeenth century.
The cemetery which/that dates from the seventeenth century looks gloomy. (defining)
This cemetery looks gloomy. It dates back to the seventeenth century.
This cemetery, which dates back to the seventeenth century, looks gloomy. (non-definig)
The dog was run over by a lorry last night. Its coat and (its) eyes were beautiful.
The dog whose coat and (whose) eyes were beautiful was run over by a lorry last night.
(defining)
Her dog was run over by a lorry last night. Its coat and (its) eyes were beautiful.
Her dog, whose coat and (whose) eyes were beautiful, was run over by a lorry last
night. (non-defining)
The graveyard is in a poor condition. Its walls were put up by my great-grandfather.
The graveyard the walls of which9 were put up by my great-granfather is in poor
condition. (defining)
This graveyard is in poor condition. Its walls were put up by my great-grandfather.
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 This graveyard, the walls of which/whose walls10 were put up by my great-granfather,
is in a poor condition. (non-defining)

When the antecedent does not give us enough information, we do not put commas.
Commas are only used when the information provided by the relative clause is not
needed. As a result, we may remove the relative clause. For instance, the antecedent ‘the
student’ is very ambiguous. Hence the relative clause is required to determine it: The
student who is sitting next to Alexis... In this case, we know which student we are referring
to: Not all the students in the class, but the one sitting next to Alexis. But if we say ‘Edith’
(instead of ‘the student’), there is no necessity to use ‘who is sitting next to Alexis’, as we
already know which student we are talking about, that is, ‘Edith’ provide us with
enough information.

That is not posssible with non-defining relative clauses, ie the ones with commas. The
relatives pronouns whom or which cannot be left out.

Non-defining relative clauses are formal and not very usual in speech. For this reason,
when there is a preposition11, it usually goes before the relative pronoun:
His job is very important to him. He has devoted all his life to it.
His job, to which he has devoted all his life, is very important to him. (Or less formally,
His job, which he has devoted all his life to, is very important to him.)
Mrs Brown is a very good lawyer. I have an appointment with her this afternoon.
Mrs Brown, with whom I have an appointment this afternoon, is a very good lawyer.
(Or less formally, Mrs Brown, whom I have an appointment with this afternoon, is a very
good lawyer.)

Observe the following:

Paris is a marvellous place. I spent two years of my life in Paris.
Paris, in which city12 I spent two years of my life, is a marvellous place. (For more
details, see section 13 in this unit.)
Paris, where I spent two years of my life, is a marvellous place. (For further information
about the relative pronoun where, see section 13.)
We reached a deal. Under this, we shall increase our annual profits.
We reached a deal under which we shall increase our annual profits. (In this case, the
prepositon may not be moved to the end of the relative clause.)
The deal (that/which) we reached will increase our annual profits.

5 Examples: (co-ordinating13 relative clauses)

She arrived home very late. This annoyed her parents.
She arrived home very late, which annoyed her parents.
He gave the secretary a memo14. She handed it over to the boss.
He gave the secretary a memo, who handed it over to the boss.

Co-ordinating relative clauses are a subclass of non-defining relative clauses. They do

not describe their antecedents, but give extra information about it. Compare the following:
Adam, who is in hospital, wants to see you immediately.
He gave the secretary a memo, who handed it over to the boss.
The two sentences give us additional information about their antecedents, but there is a
difference between them: the first one tells us something about its antencedent, but the
second one does not: it simply relates an action or a fact of the antecedent. They can also
refer to the whole sentence: She arrived home very late, which annoyed her parents. Last
but not least, that is impossible here, and commas must be used.
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6 Examples:
There were a lot of passers-by in the street. Most of them were in a hurry.
There were a lot of passers-by in the street, most of whom were in a hurry.
Eight guests could not come to the reception. Two of them were in bed with influenza.
Eight guests, two of whom were in bed with influenza, could not come to the reception.
There were five clocks in the house. One of them was broken. There were five clocks in
the house, one of which was broken.

As seen above, when we have the following combination: a pronoun (most, one, etc.) +
of + them/it, we place a comma before the pronoun, and instead of them or it, we write
whom (for people) or which (for things or animals).

There were nearly fifty people at the party. The majority15 of them were wearing informal
clothes.=> (There were nearly fifty people at the party, the
majority of whom were wearing informal clothes)

7 Examples:
She congratulated me on having passed all the tests. She was the first person to do this.
She was the first person to congratulate me on having passed all the tests.
She was the first person that congratulated me on having passed all the tests.
I need a room of my own. I need to study there/in this room.
I need a room of my own in which to study.
I need a room of my own to study in.

After ordinal numbers16 or expressions such as ‘the only’, we can use that or an
infinitive. The infinitive construction17 is also common when we have a preposition in the
relative clause. Note the following:
There are a lot of letters. He must write them.
There are a lot of letters for him to18 write.

8 Examples:
She wrote him a letter. It told him how sad she felt.
She wrote him a letter which/that told him how sad she felt.
She wrote him a letter telling him how sad she felt.
My son was very calm and quiet. He expected me to give himsome pocket money.
My son, who expected me to give him some pocket money, wasvery calm and quiet.
My son, expecting me to give him some pocket money, was very calm and quiet.

The relative pronoun may sometimes be deleted if a present participle (verb-ing) is used
instead. It is also possible to omit the relative pronoun and the verb be or have +
been when they are followed by a present or past participle:
The girl has a vicious tongue. She is waving at the boy.
The girl (who is) waving at the boy has a vicious tongue.
I took the easel. It had been made by me.
I took the easel (which had been) made by me.

9 Examples:
This is the town. I live here/in this town.
This is the town where I live.
This is the town in which I live.
This is the town (that/which) I live in.
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 He often goes to the place. They met there for the first time.
He often goes to the place (where/in which) they met for the first time.
He often goes to where they met for the first time.
He often goes to Newcastle. They met there for the first time.
He often goes to Newcastle, where/in which city they met for the first time.
I saw a wonderful place yesterday. This is the place.
This is the wonderful place (that/which) I saw yesterday.
There are not many places. You can spend the night there.
There are not many places where/in which19 to spend the night.
There are not many places (where/in which) you can spend the night.
She always works at night. Her children are sleeping then.
She always works at night, when her children are sleeping.
I remember several occasions. You told me that you regretted having met me on these
occasions.
I remember several occasions on which you told me that you regretted having met me.
I remember (several occasions) when you told me that you regretted having met me.
There are times. I hate you then.
There are times (that/when) I hate you.
He will never forget that day. She asked him to join their lives for good then/that day.
He will never forget the day (that/when) she asked him to join their lives for good.
They became aware of what was going on then.
It was then that they became aware of what was going on.(emphatic)
I told you this because I love you.
The reason (why/that) I told you this is that20 I love you.
I told you this, but I can’t tell you the reason.
I can’t tell you (the reason) why I told you this.

Notice the usage of the relative adverbs ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’. After phrases such
as ‘the day’, ‘the place’, etc., that is to say, terms referring to time or place, that21 or no
relative is often used (or must be used) instead of a relative adverb. Observe, too, that
a preposition at the end of the relative clause is at times necessary if we replace the
preposition plus ‘which’ with that or no relative at all, especially in words referring to
place: This is the town (that) I live in.

As regards the pronoun what22, it can replace the thing(s) that:

I don’t understand. You are saying understandable things.
I don’t understand the things (that/which) you are saying.
I don’t understand what you are saying.

Finally, which can also act as a determiner after a preposition:

He could be wrong. If such were the case, we should lose a fortune.
He could be wrong, in which case we should lose a fortune.
He loves Catalonia. He spent the best years of his life there.
He loves Catalonia, in which country/where he spent the best years of his live.

10 Examples:
The woman is rolling in money. She’s wearing black.
The woman (who is) wearing black is rolling in money.
The woman in black is rolling in money.
The boy is my son. He has a ball in his hands.
The boy who has a ball in his hands is my son.
The boy with a ball in his hands is my son.
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 The girl lives overseas. Her tracksuit is green.
The girl whose tracksuit is green lives overseas.
The girl in the grey tracksuit lives overseas.
The girl (who is) wearing a grey tracksuit lives overseas.
The man is snowed under with work. He’s across the street.
The man (who is) across the street is snowed under with work.

A preposition may at times be employed instead of a relative clause. In some cases, we

can also omit the relative pronoun plus the verb, as in the last instance above. Notice that
all the examples seen in this section are of defining relative clauses.

11 Examples:
The soldiers who were exhausted wanted to spend the night there.
The soldiers, who were exhausted, wanted to spend the night there.

The first sentence suggests that only the ones who were exhausted wanted to spend the
night there. The other one indicates that all of them were exhausted and wanted to spend
the night there.

12 Examples: (cleft sentences)

She needs love.
What she needs is love.
Love is what she needs.
It’s love that she needs.
What is it that she needs?
Your friend betrayed you.
It was your friend that/who betrayed you.
He became angry.
It was he23 who became angry. (formal)
He rang the bell.
It was him that rang the bell. (informal)
Who was it that rang the bell?
He found her wailing this morning.
It was this morning that he found her wailing.

In order to emphasize a part of the sentence, we can use cleft sentences.

____________________
1
Note the following construction: He who wants to eat sits down to the table.
2
The object relative pronoun may be dropped. Who, instead of whom or that, sometimes
occurs in conversation.
3
Who is a much better alternative than that, but that is far more common than who after
indefinite pronouns, superlatives and ordinal numbers:
Everybody loves pasta. They should go to an Italian restaurant.
Everybody that loves pasta should go to an Italian restaurant. (subject)
The first people brought me a present. They arrived at the party.
The first people that arrive at the party brought me a present. (subject)
The first people to arrive at the party brought me a present.
They are the best workers. He has never had such good workers.
They are the best workers (that) he has ever had. (object→Whom is unusual here.)
4
Other alternatives to this:
The semi-detached house (that) she lives in was inherited from her parents.
The semi-detached house where/in which she lives was inherited from her parents.
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5
See the previous section (footnote 3).
6
In this particular case, we could have said He wants to tellyou something important.
7
Of which can sometimes be avoided, as in the followingexamples:
The detached house (that) he lives in has a garden that looks terrific.
The detached house where/in which he lives has a garden that looks terrific.
The detached house (that) he lives in has a terrific garden.
The detached house where/in which he lives has a terrific garden.
8
Here, we could have said The dog (that/which) he saw had its tail cut off.
9
This alternative is much better than the one with whose (at least in formal contexts): The
graveyard whose walls were put up by my great-grandfather is in poor condition.
10
See the previous footnote.
11
See also section 3 in this unit.
12
Which is a relative determiner here. The preposition cannot be put at the end.
13
Also called connective relative clauses.
14
Note also that the relative clause is placed after ‘a memo’, not after ‘the secretary’,
which is its antecedent. We could have also said He gave a memo to the secretary, who
handed it over to the boss.
15
Note that ‘majority’ is a noun, not a pronoun.
16
See sections 1 (footnote, 3) and 2 in this unit.
17
Note the following:
Which bus do I have to take?
I don’t know which bus to take/I don’t know which bus I have to take. (interrogative
determiner)
Who(m) are they going to invite to their wedding?
They still don’t know who(m) to invite to their wedding/They still don’t know who(m)
they are going to invite to their wedding. (interrogative pronoun)
18
There are a lot of letters (that) he must write is possible, but much less usual.
19
See also section 10.
20
Because sometimes occurs in conversation instead of that, but should be avoided in
formal contexts: The reason (why/that) I told you this is because I love you. For is used
before gerunds (verb-ing), nouns or pronouns:
The reason for me/my being late is that I was stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour.
(My is formal.)
The reason (why/that) I’m late is that I was stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour.
21
In defining relative clauses, of course.
22
Notice too:
I don’t know. I have to do something that I don’t know.
I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know what I have to do.
I don’t know the things (that) I have to do.

The infinitive structure is also possible with other wh- words:

I don’t know how to do it.
I don’t know how I have to do it.
I don’t know the way (that/in which) I have to do it.
23
See unit 10, section 8.
( Miquel Molina i Diez)

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