havo 4 unit 17

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• Leerjaar 4

relative clauses

relative clauses are " betrekkelijke bijzinnen".

There are two different kinds of relative clauses:

• defining relative clause 
• non-defining relative clauses

defining relative clauses

The man who was involved in that accident in Church street is my uncle.

The man that  was involved in that accident in Church street is my uncle.

The man my aunt kissed at the party is her neighbour. 

The book which I found in classroom 12 belongs to John.

The book that I found in classroom 12 belongs to John.

The book I found in classroom 12 belongs to John.

defining relative clause

• gives information that you need to understand the main clause
• is not between commas
• who and which can be replaced by that
• if it is not the subject of the sentence ( direct object or indirect object)  it can also be left out

non-defining relative clause

Mary, who lives in Strawberry Fields, reads Law at university.

Napoleon, who liked chocolate, lost the battle of Waterloo.

The NatWest building, which is bright pink, has 28 floors.

non-defining relative clause

• is between commas
• you cannot use that instead of who and which
• you cannot leave the relative pronoun out

who, whom, whose

who is used as a subject or object

whom is used after a preposition

whose is used to refer to possession

The woman who I saw is Margareth Rose,

The woman to whom I gave a rose is my friend Margareth.

The woman whose friend is called Margareth bought a rose.

when, where, why

when, where and why can be used after a noun.

• when refers to time
• where refers to location
• why refers to a reason

Easter is the time when we eat many chocolate eggs.

The park where we played football when we were kids will be closed.

Nobody can tell me the reason why they left early.

whom

in formal English whom can be used instead of who when it is a direct object or an indirect object.

The president whom we addres with "Sir" must take the initiative to start a conversation.

The Queen whom I sent a letter replied within a week.

whose

whose is used for both people and things and refers to possession

The car whose door had been damaged in the accident was towed away.

A famous professor, whose daughter is my pupil, gave a lecture at our school.

Fill in the right relative pronoun. Give all possibilities and add commas when necessary.  

01. The boy … moved to America was in my sister’s class. 

02. The bike … was stolen from our shed was very expensive. 

03. Her hair,… was dyed blue, was tied in a ponytail. 

04. John … is in love with Jenny has quite a few insufficient marks. 

05. They met in the park … there is a lake and a tearoom. 

06. He cannot remember the day … he moved to Ghent.  

Make one sentence using a relative clause  

  

01.  James is very tall. James has looked into the rejected proposal. 

02.  The man is standing in the corner. The man is an undercover cop. 

03.  My sister is interested in science. She has just moved to Silicon Valley.  04.  The wildlife park is very famous. Two people were attacked by lions in the   wildlife park. 

05.  His wife cried a lot that day. He left for Afghanistan.  

key

1. The boy who / that… moved to America was in my sister’s class. 
2. The bike …which / that was stolen from our shed was very expensive. 
3. Her hair, which was dyed blue ,was tied in a ponytail. 
4. John , who… is in love with Jenny,  has quite a few insufficient marks. 
5. They met in the park where… there is a lake and a tearoom.  
6. He cannot remember the day when… he moved to Ghent.  

key

1. James is very tall. James has looked into the rejected proposal. 

James, who is very tall, has looked into the rejected proposal 

2. The man is standing in the corner. The man is an undercover cop. 

The man who/that is standing in the corner is an undercover cop.  

3. My sister is interested in science. She has just moved to Silicon Valley. 

My sister, who is interested in science, has just moved to Silicon Valley.  

4. The wildlife park is very famous. Two people were attacked by lions in the   wildlife park. 

Two people were attacked in the wildlife park which/ that is very famous. 

5. His wife cried a lot that day. He left for Afghanistan. 

His wife cried a lot the day (when) he left for Afghanistan.