Relative Clauses

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3-5

Doel

Aan het einde van deze les weet je wat relative clauses zijn en weet je hoe je ze moet gebruiken.

relative clauses

relative clauses are " betrekkelijke bijzinnen".

There are two different kinds of relative clauses:

• defining relative clause 
• non-defining relative clauses

Relative pronouns

DUS

who	people
which	animals and things
that	people, animals and things
whose	Possessions (of someone/something)
whom	if there is a preposition at the beginning of the clause

Relative clauses 

Please combine the following two sentences, using a relative pronoun:
The girl found my lost wallet. She returned it to me.

Please combine the following two sentences, using a relative pronoun:
We watched a movie last night. The movie was really interesting.

What was the difference between those two example sentences?

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Betrekkelijke bijzinnen

Non-defining / restrictive relative clauses: 

• They give extra information, which isn’t absolutely necessary. 
• We use COMMAS to separate them from the rest of the sentence. 

Defining / restrictive relative clauses:  

• You need them in the sentence for it to make sense. 
• They give you essential information. 
• There are no COMMAS, as the information cannot be left out.

Relative clauses

no commas:

Je kunt that weglaten: 

• als het het voorwerp van de betrekkelijke bijzin is.
• als het gevolgd wordt door een voornaamwoord ( naam, of ik, jij, hij....)

This is the house that Jack built. 

Defining relative clauses give us...

1. Extra information
2. Essential information

Non-defining relative clauses give us...

1. Extra information
2. Essential information

Is this sentence correct?
This sport, that was invented two years ago, is becoming very popular.

1. Correct
2. Incorrect

The village in .........I lived had really changed

1. that
2. which
3. whom
4. who

Is this sentence correct?
Nadal, whose uncle was a football player, won Wimbledon in 2010.

1. Correct
2. Incorrect

Sarah's dog,.... is still young, always likes to play with a ball

1. who
2. which
3. whom
4. whose

Our new table, ... is made of recycled wood, looks great!

1. that
2. who
3. which
4. whose

Xander's best friend,... is older than he is, works as a teacher

1. who
2. that
3. whom
4. which

The man ... car was stolen was on the news

1. which
2. whose
3. that
4. who

She worked for a man ______ used to be an athlete.

We broke the computer ______ belonged to my father.

That fat man is the man for _______ Max works.

He is the one _______ wife ran naked across the football field.

Kurt Vonnegut, _______ was one of America's best writers, was also a very good painter.