Monday 10 February 2014

Relative pronouns




Relative pronouns

Definition of relative pronoun: 

a relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies.  There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that.
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for things. In non-restrictive relative clauses, that is used for things. In restrictive relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information) that can be used for things and people.




                                     
  Examples








Restrictive
(defining )
relative clauses

Subject
- The girl who/ that sent a letter last week is my sister.

people
- The dog which/ that bit me was black.
things


Object
- The girl whom/ who/ that I sent a letter last week is my sister.
- The person I phoned last night is my teacher.

people
- The book which/ that I am reading is boring.
- The book I am reading is boring
.

things


Possessive
- The man whose car is new is my teacher.

people
- The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked.

things





Non-restrictive
(non-defining) relative clauses

Subject
- James, who has helped my sister with maths for years, has left school.
people
- Fruits, which are really cheap in Morocco, can be bought now  for a reasonable price.

things


Object
- The professor, whom/who I respect, has just retired.


people
- The sculpture, which he admired, was moved into the basement of the museum.
 things


Possessive
- My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor.
people
- The chair, whose leg was broken, was stolen by a student.
 things