RELATIVE CLAUSES
A short recap


RELATIVE PRONOUNS
¢Who, whom, which, that, whose
¢The choice of RP depends on whether you refer to:
¢ - a person, animal or thing
¢ - a subject or an object
¢ - a possessive meaning

WHO/THAT
¢Refer to human beings
¢
¢ That’s the man who broke my arm. (subject)
¢
¢It was from a man who I know slightly. (object)
¢ It was from a man whom I know slightly.
¢
¢I met a friend who I went to school with.
¢ I met a friend with whom I went to school. (formal)
¢
¢

WHICH/THAT
¢Refers to a non-human subject or object of a relative clause
¢
¢The heart is a muscle which/that pumps blood. (S/O?)
¢The heart is a muscle (which/that) you should take care of. (S/O?)
¢ The heart is a muscle of which you should take care.

WHOSE
¢Used for possession by humans and animals
¢
¢The man whose house burnt down got a stroke.
¢
¢Compare:
¢He wrote a novel, the title of which I’ve forgotten. (formal)
¢He wrote a novel, whose title I’ve forgotten.
¢

DEFINING/NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
¢The heart, which is a fascinating organ, is located in the thoracic cavity.
¢ (=there are other fascinating organs)
¢
¢
¢The heart which he received works well.
¢ (=a specific heart)

DEFINING/NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
¢Defining:
¢ The doctors who were unhappy with their situation went on strike.
¢(=not all the doctors, just those who were unhappy)
¢
¢Non-defining
¢ The doctors, who were unhappy with their situation, went on strike.
¢(=all the doctors)
¢
¢Cf  The doctors, who were members of MSF, went on strike. (=extra information)
¢Task: The doctors who were members of MSF went on strike. (=who?)
¢
¢

DEFINING/NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
DEFINING
NON-DEFINING
WHO
WHOM
WHOSE
WHICH
THAT
WHO
WHOM
WHOSE
WHICH

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
¢The heart, which is a fascinating organ, is divided into four chambers.
¢ (=correct)
¢
¢The heart, that is a fascinating organ, is divided into four chambers.
¢ (=incorrect)