UNIT 17: GRAMMAR
CLAUSES
Relative pronouns in relative clauses
who
to refer to people (and animals
when we want to give them a
personality)
There are a lot of people who
hate having injections.
whic
h
to refer to things and concepts
(and animals when we don’t
want
to
give
them
a
personality)
This is the prescript! m which
the doctor gave me.
who
m
a formal word for who; as an
object; must be used directly
after a preposition
That's
the
consultant
with
whom I spoke.
that
a more formal word for who,
which, when, where, why; only
used
in
defining
relative
clauses
This is the prescription that the
doctor gave me.
when
to refer to time; = in/on/etc
which
I'll never forget the day when I
broke my finger.
wher
e
to refer to place or situation; =
m/at/etc which
Harley Street, where she was
born, is famous for its clinics.
why
often after the word reason; -
the reason for which; only used
in defining relative clauses
And that's (the reason) why I
wanted to become a vet.
whos
e
the possessive of who and
which; can also come after a
preposition
There are several kids in my
class
whose
parents
are
doctors.
what
= the thing(s) which; only used
in defining relative clauses
What I don't understand is why
she didn't take her pills.
Watch out
When we use a preposition with a relative pronoun, it is more formal to put
the preposition before the pronoun.
This is the medical encyclopaedia to which I referred, (very formal)
This is the medical encyclopaedia which ' referred to (less formal)
Which
can refer to the whole preceding clause, rather than just the
preceding noun.
She announced that she wanted to be a pathologist, which really shocked
US. ( = the announcement shocked us)
Defining and non-defining relative clauses
Defining relative clauses
These tell us which one of a group of things/people we are talking about.
The sentence doesn’t usually make complete sense if we remove the relative
clause.
That’s the doctor who did Karen’s operation.
We can use that instead of who/which/etc. This is more informal.
