Las oraciones de relativo, también conocidas como oraciones adjetivas, realizan, como es lógico la función de un adjetivo, es decir, la función de complemento de un nombre.
Como se puede observar en el ejemplo anterior la oración de relativo sale directamente del nombre al que complementa o antecedente, en este caso ‘the man’.
La oracion subordinada ‘who came yesterday’ viene a darnos una información esencial acerca del antecedente. Sin esa información la oración principal apenas expresaría una información válida[1].
Características de las oraciones de relativo especificativas (Defining Relative Sentences)
&
Esquema
| ü El pronombre relativo that puede sustituir a who (personas) y a which (animales y cosas. ü Se puede omitir el pronombre relativo cuando éste no funciona como sujeto. ü Este tipo de proposición de relativo nunca va separada por comas. ü La información que aporta al antecedente es esencial. |
Pronombres relativos en inglés
§ Who: se utiliza para personas
A pessimist is a man who looks round for a coffin when he smells flowers
§ Which: se utiliza para animales y cosas
Conscience is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking (H.L. Mencken)
- That: puede sustituir a los dos anteriores
This is the woman who/that I saw last week
Paul hasn’t paid me back the money which/that I lent him last month
- When: se utiliza cuando el antecedente es un complemento de tiempo
That will be the day when I finish my task
- Where: se utiliza cuando el antecedente es un lugar:
This is the house where Mozart was born
§ Whose: es el pronombre relativo-posesivo. (NO SE PUEDE OMITIR EN NINGÚN CASO)
This is the man whose daughter lives next door to you
Omisión del pronombre relativo en inglés
El pronombre relativo (who/which/that) se podrá omitir cuando no funcione como sujeto.
This is the woman I saw last week
Paul hasn’t paid me back the money I lent him last month
Esto sería del todo imposible en la oración siguiente ya que el pronombre relativo funciona como sujeto:
All the students who work hard pass this subject
&
Esquema
| ü El pronombre relativo that NO puede sustituir a who (personas) y a which (animales y cosas. ü NO SE OMITIRÁ el pronombre relativo aunque éste no funcione como sujeto. ü Este tipo de oración de relativo va siempre separada por comas. ü La información que aporta es una mera explicación. No es esencial para entender la oración principal. |
x Shakespeare, that wrote Hamlet, was a great poet
ü Shakespeare, who wrote Hamlet, was a great poet
x Lichtenstein, that is a very small country, is situated between
ü Lichtenstein, which is a very small country, is situated between
ü
RELATIVE CLAUSES EXERCISES
| 2 | Join each pair of sentences using the relative pronoun in brackets | |
| | a | Mary is having a child. She lives two flats away from us. (who) |
| | | |
| | b | The film was really interesting. We saw it on Saturday. (which) |
| | | |
| | c | Benidorm is a very cosmopolitan town. We’ve lived there for 2 years. (where) |
| | | |
| | d | Maria is a very charming girl. His brother is a friend of mine. (whose) |
| | | |
| | e | Two years ago we bought a house. We got married then. (when) |
| | | |
| | f | Mr Smith introduced me to his son. He is my boss. (who) |
| | | |
| | g | Sean O’Hara is a policeman. His wife was at the party last night. (whose) |
| | | |
| | h | Robert is going to get married. He is a lawyer. (who) |
| | | |
| | i | Our car has broken down again. We bought it only last month. (which) |
| | | |
| | j | We stayed in a hotel. The hotel is in the south of |
| | | |
| | k | Lucas is my best friend. I have known Lucas since I was a child. (who) |
| | | |
| | l | Next weekend I’m going to |
| | | |
| | m | Mary Stuart is in my class. Her father is a famous footballer. (whose) |
1 Complete the blanks with the correct relative pronouns. Who, which, that, whose or Ø
1. Where is the bottle of Coke ______________ I bought this morning?
2. I talked to the girl ______________ car had broken down in front of the shop.
3. Mr Jones, ______________ is a taxi driver, lives on the corner.
4. There is the car ______________ I'd like to buy.
5. He cleaned the car ______________ had an accident.
6. This is the girl ______________ comes from
7. That's Peter, the boy ______________ has just arrived at the airport.
8. What did you do with the money ______________ your mother lent you?
2 Write relative clauses without using the relative pronoun.
I gave you a book. It had many pictures.
→ The book
I am reading a book at the moment. It is very interesting.
→ The book
You live in a town. The town is very old.
→ The town
The sweets are delicious. I bought them yesterday.
→ The sweets
The football match was very exciting. My friend played in it.
→ The football match
The letter hasn't arrived yet. I posted it three days ago.
→ The letter
He lives in a house. The house is not very big.
→ The house
They are playing a song on the radio. Do you like it?
→ Do you like
Jane wore a beautiful shirt yesterday. Did you see it?
→ Did you see
Sue is going out with a boy. I don't like him.
→ I don't like
Relative clauses exercises (intermediate -)
Join the following sentences to make one sentence using a relative pronoun when necessary.
If the relative pronoun is unnecessary, put it in brackets. You may sometimes have to change the word order or change 'a' into 'the'.
There's the boy. He broke the window. _______________________________
The film star gave a party. It cost $10,000. _______________________________
That's the palace. The Queen lives in it. _______________________________
You met a man at the party. He is a famous film star.
The man..._______________________
A man came to the party. He's a policeman. _______________________________
There are the policemen. They caught the thief. _______________________________
What's the name of the lady? She was wearing the blue dress. _______________________________
I gave her a watch. It stopped after two days. _______________________________
My car was very expensive. It's a Mercedes. _______________________________
You're reading a book. I wanted to read it. _______________________________
The Red Lion is a pub. We met in it for a drink. _______________________________
There's someone at the door. He wants to speak to George. _______________________________
Here are the letters. They arrived this morning. _______________________________
I met Mr Da Silva. He is President of Brazil. _______________________________
That's the house. I was born in it. _______________________________
That's the dictionary. Bill gave it to me for Christmas. _______________________________
Where is the lady? She ordered fish. _______________________________
Those are the cars. They only take unleaded petrol. _______________________________
The children went to
Do you know the children? They live in that house. _______________________________
Do you like the people. Sarah invited them to her party. _______________________________
The clothes come from C&A. They are good quality. _______________________________
[1] A este tipo de oraciones, especificativas en castellano, se les denomina defining en inglés.
