DEFINING OR NON-DEFINING

RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                       when         why
                       PERSON                   THING             PLACE     TIME      REASON

Subject        who/that                    which/that             


Object      who,whom, which,            which/that          where              
                   that or nothing                 nothing


Possessive     whose                         whose

DEFINING

Used to define who or what we are talking about. Comma are not used in definign relative clauses

Example:

Elephants who marry mice are very unusual.

Hay muchos elefantes pero solo hablamos de los que se casan con ratones, necesitamos definir de que elefantes hablamos, además decimos who y no which, porque la acción de casarse es cosa de personas.

The students who had revised hard passed the exam (only some of the students revised, and these were the ones who passed the exam)

The relative pronoun stands in place of a noun (en lugar de un nombre).
This noun usually appears earliere in the sentence (este nombre está antes en la frase)

The woman who/that spoke at the meeting was very knowledgeable

We can use that instead of who, whom (very formal), which. The first time is better use who, which, whom.
That normally follows words like something, anything, everything, nothing, all, and superlatives.

There's somthing that you should know
It was the best film that I've ever seen

The doctor whom, who, nothing, that I was hoping ti see wasn't on duty.

The relative pronoun can be omitted when it is the object of the clause (who, whom, which or that).

Si hay un nombre o pronombre después del pronombre relativo podemos omitirlo porque es el objeto de la cláusula.

The mousse that the elephant love was very beautiful. Correct
The mousse the elephant love was very beautiful. Correct, but is more common in spoke English.

The company that she works for is based in London. Correct
The company she works for is basde in London. Correct
The company that employs her is based in London. Correct
The company employs her is based in London. Incorrect, because The company is a subject pronoun and I need that.

Whose (cuyo/a, cuyos/as..) is used for things as well as for people. Possessive

The man whose car was stolen is from Russia
A tree whose leaves have fallen looks very different

NON-DEFINING

These clause add more information. This extra information is put between commas and does not explain who or what we are talking about.

We can not use That instead of who, which in non- defining clauses.
We can use, some, none, all and many with "of which" and "whom" to add extra information.

In non-defining relative clauses, object pronoun must be used

Lucy, who I haven't seen for ages, rang me last night.
relative pronoun is necessary

SUBJECT OR OBJECT?

If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table. WHICH+ VERB= SUBJECT PRONOUN

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table.  WHICH+NOUN/PRONOUN= OBJECT PRONOUN

EXAMPLES

My students, many of whom are from Europe, are learning English to get a better job

My students, who are all adults, are learning English to get a better job.

My students, who had revise hard, passed the exam(all the students revised and they all passed it)


EXERCISE

Relative clauses - defining or non-defining?

Study the situations and then decide whether the following relative clauses are defining or non-defining.

defining – no commas
non-defining – commas

1. I have three brothers.
   My brother who lives in Sidney came to see me last month.
   My brother, who lives in Sidney, came to see me last month.
2. I have one sister.
   My sister who is 25 years old spent her holiday in France.
   My sister, who is 25 years old, spent her holiday in France.
3. Bob's mum has lost her keys.
   Bob's mum who is a musician has lost her car keys.
   Bob's mum, who is a musician, has lost her car keys.
4. My friend Jane moved to Canada.
   My friend Jane whose husband is Canadian moved to Canada last week.
   My friend Jane, whose husband is Canadian, moved to Canada last week.
5. I am a shoe fanatic.
   The shoes which I bought yesterday are very comfortable.
   The shoes, which I bought yesterday, are very comfortable.
6. Mr Robinson is very famous.
   Mr Robinson whom I met at the trade fair is a famous inventor.
   Mr Robinson, whom I met at the trade fair, is a famous inventor.
7. Tamara has two cats. Both of them are black.
   Tamara's two cats which can play outside are black.
   Tamara's two cats, which can play outside, are black.
8. Kevin has four cats. Two of them are black.
   Kevin's two cats which are black can play outside.
   Kevin's two cats, which are black, can play outside.
9. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church.
   The church which we visited yesterday is very old.
   The church, which we visited yesterday, is very old.
10. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church.
    St. Mary's Church which we visited yesterday is very old.
    St. Mary's Church, which we visited yesterday, is very old.

2º EXERCISE

Decide whether the relative pronouns must be used or not.

1. A calendar is something which tells you the date.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
2. Strikers are soccer players who try to score goals for their team.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
3. Jane is a person who everybody likes.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
4. A stamp is something which you put on a letter if you want to send it.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
5. The Thames is a river which runs through London.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
6. Cheese is food which mice like eating.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
7. A racket is something which you use to hit a ball when you play tennis or badminton.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
8. Socks are things which you wear on your feet.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
9. A guide is a person who shows tourists around around a place.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
10. Love is a feeling which nobody can describe.
    relative pronoun is necessary
    relative pronoun is not necessary

3EXERCISE

Decide whether the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun or an object pronoun.

1. Do you know the girl who I danced with? - subject pronounobject pronoun
2. Do you know the girl who danced with me? - subject pronounobject pronoun
3. The apples that are lying on the table are bad. - subject pronounobject pronoun
4. The apples that we bought in the shop are bad. - subject pronounobject pronoun
5. We will stay at a hotel which is not far from the beach. - subject pronounobject pronoun
6. We will stay at a hotel which my friend has recommended to us. subject pronounobject pronoun
7. That is a museum which I like very much. - subject pronounobject pronoun
8. That is a museum which lies in the heart of the town. subject pronounobject pronoun
9. This is the man who Barbara visited in Scotland. subject pronounobject pronoun
10. This is the man who lives in Scotland. subject pronounobject pronoun

4EXERCISE

Choose the correct relative pronoun (who, which, whose).

1. This is the bank whowhichwhose was robbed yesterday.
2. A boy whowhichwhose sister is in my class was in the bank at that time.
3. The man whowhichwhose robbed the bank had two pistols.
4. He wore a mask whowhichwhose made him look like Mickey Mouse.
5. He came with a friend whowhichwhose waited outside in the car.
6. The woman whowhichwhose gave him the money was young.
7. The bag whowhichwhose contained the money was yellow.
8. The people whowhichwhose were in the bank were very frightened.
9. A man whowhichwhose mobile was ringing did not know what to do.
10. A woman whowhichwhose daughter was crying tried to calm her.
11. The car whowhichwhose the bank robbers escaped in was orange.
12. The robber whowhichwhose mask was obviously too big didn't drive.
13. The man whowhichwhose drove the car was nervous.
14. He didn't wait at the traffic lights whowhichwhose were red.
15. A police officer whowhichwhose car was parked at the next corner stopped and arrested them.

5.exercise

Decide whether the relative pronon us correct or not.

1. The postman which works in this village is very old. Correct or not.
2. The egg which is in the nest is brown. Correct or not
3. Where is the bed who was in the attic. Correct or not
4. The cowboy who is wearing the red shirt is very funny. Correct or not
5. The bottles that are lying on the foor are green. Correct or no

ANSWERS

1 exercise.
a,bbb,a,bb,aa,b

2. exercise
aa,bb,a,bbb,a,b

3. exercise
who-object
who-subj
that-subj
that-obj
which- subj
which- obj
wich-. obj
which-subj
who- obj
who- subj

4.exercise

which, whose,who, which,who, who, which,who,whose, whose, which, whose,who, which,whose

5.exercise

not correct, correct, not correct,correct, correct.

sources.ego4.com and Jean's notes