Mastering Relative Clauses and Essential English Vocabulary

Understanding Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses, meaning they depend on a main clause. A relative clause is equivalent to an adjective; this means it has the same basic function as this type of word: to accompany, modify, define, or qualify a noun. Therefore, within a main clause, the relative clause always refers to a noun that it modifies. The noun modified by a relative clause is called the antecedent.

Relative clauses are joined to the main clause by a series of words which are relative pronouns and relative adverbs. The main ones are: who, which, that, whom, when, and where.

As we said at the beginning, relative clauses are equivalent to an adjective. Just as adjectives are classified according to their meaning into explicative (providing an inherent quality of a noun, e.g., “the cold snow”) and specifying (providing a quality of the noun that allows us to differentiate it from the rest of its category, e.g., “the giant building”), relative clauses also establish this difference. Hence, we can distinguish:

Types of Relative Clauses

• DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (specifying relative clauses): These are clauses that provide essential information for the meaning of the sentence. Without them, the sentence would not make sense; they cannot be omitted from the main clause they are part of.
• NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (explicative relative clauses): The information they offer is not necessary for the sentence to have complete meaning, so they can be omitted from the main clause without any consequence.

Formal Characteristics Differentiating Clause Types

• Non-defining relative clauses are always placed between commas.
• In a non-defining relative clause, we can never use the pronoun “that” as the relative pronoun.
• In a non-defining relative clause, we can never omit the relative pronoun, regardless of its syntactic function.

Main Relative Pronouns

• who (quien): used for people.
• whom (quien, a quien): used for people. It differs from who in that who functions as the subject within the relative clause, while whom functions as the object.
• which (que, el cual): used for objects.
• that (que): used for people and objects, but only in defining relative clauses.
• whose (cuyo, de quien): indicates possession and is equivalent to a possessive adjective.
• where (donde): used for places.
• when (cuando): used for dates, specific times.

Omitting the Relative Pronoun

The relative pronoun can function as the subject of the relative clause or it can perform another function, usually as a complement (object). To make it easier to recognize the function of the relative pronoun, remember that when the pronoun functions as the subject, it appears immediately before the verb. That is, there is no other element between the relative pronoun and the verb.

• (The man who visited us yesterday is an actor / The house that was so old was rebuilt) In both the first case and the second, who functions as the subject of the verb 'visited' and that functions as the subject of 'was'.
• (The man that I met at the party is an actor / The house that we bought is very comfortable) In the first of these sentences, the relative pronoun functions as the object of the verb 'met': the verb 'met' already has its own subject, which is the first person singular pronoun 'I'. In the second sentence, the relative pronoun that also functions as the object: the verb 'bought' has its own subject, which is 'We'.

Consequence of Omitting Relative Pronouns

In the first pair of examples, where the relative pronoun functions as the subject, it can never be omitted from the sentence. However, in the second pair of examples, where the relative pronoun functions as the object, it can be omitted from the sentence.

Note on Prepositions with Relative Pronouns

When we need to use a preposition + relative pronoun, we should use whom for people and which for things (e.g., This is the boy about whom you are asking me / I like the car about which you were talking). However, it is more frequent not to use this structure. What is common is to place the preposition at the end of the relative clause and omit the pronoun (e.g., This is the boy who you were asking me about / This is the car which you were talking about).

Practice Sentences and Vocabulary

• In ancient times, people used to exchange goods and services with other people.
• Lydian coins were made of gold and silver.
• The invention of coins helped trade between countries.
• Paper money was first used in China in 806 CE.
• The first cheques were used in the 13th century in Venice.
• These days, most people pay for things with a credit card.
• What was the main problem with the barter system? The main problem was that it only worked if you had something that the other person wanted.
• What was first used as an exchange in the barter system? Animal skins and grain were first used as an exchange in the barter system.
• What did the Chinese use as an early type of coin? They used cowrie shells.
• Who used the first real coins? When? The Lydians in the 6th century.
• Why did Venetian banks start giving people paper notes? Because it was safer than carrying around gold and silver.
• How do most financial transactions take place today? Today, most financial transactions take place on the internet.
• The use of mobile phones will probably evolve further in the future.
• The manufacturers guarantee that the watch will last for five years.
• He works as a builder, so he’s got a lot of tools.
• The official US currency is the dollar.
• Lydian coins had a stamp with a lion’s head, the king’s symbol.
• I need to withdraw all of my money from my bank account.

Key Vocabulary

imitation

a copy of something

civilisation

an advanced state of social and cultural development

withdraw

take out

guarantee

promise that something can be trusted

evolve

change gradually over time

currency

a system or type of money

stamp

a mark or design made by pressing something into a surface

tool

an object that you use for making or doing things

Vocabulary Questions

• What do you call a machine which gives you money? A cash machine.
• What do you call the plastic card which you can use to pay for things? A credit card.
• What do you call the place where stocks are bought and sold? A stock exchange. (Note: 'a shop' is incorrect here)
• What do you call the person who looks after a company? A manager.
• What do you call the currency which is used only on the internet? Bitcoin.
• What do you call a person who looks after accounts? An accountant.
• What can happen to someone whose PIN number is 1234? (This is a question about security risk, not a definition)

Examples of Relative Clauses in Sentences

• Rob, who used to work here, has set up his own business.
• I'm not sure whose pen this is.
• Is there anyone here who can speak German?
• That's the man whose credit card was stolen last week.
• Who is the boy who's standing over there?

Useful Phrases and Collocations

• stand for election
• sceptical about his...
• campaign he devoted...
• president in their homes
• majority and he now...
• for her final...
• on his school...
• with the stress...
• to caring...
• in some voluntary...

Relative Pronoun Usage Examples

• who / (which) you bought
• (who) / whose I spoke to
• which / (where) my uncle lives in
• which / (where) you worked
• (which) / who I bought yesterday
• who / (whose) father works
• (who) / which I met last week
• what / (which) you are interested in
• who / (whose) credit card

Further Examples

• This is the exam which I’m worried about.
• She’s the tennis player who is going to win Wimbledon.
• A resort is a place where people go on holiday.
• He’s the businessman whose father is a famous film director.
• The Mark was the currency which they used in Germany before the Euro.
• He’s the architect whose company is designing Masdar City.
• That’s the restaurant where we ate last night.
• I’m applying for a job in the US, where my aunt lives.
• A friend whose father works in IT helped me to get this job.
• Mike, whose uncle is a banker, is studying economics at college.
• Tim and Sue, whose mum was born in Paris, speak perfect French.
• Jessica has got a coin collection which/that contains many rare coins.
• Mary spent the money which/that belonged to her sister.
• The pen which is blue is on the desk.
• That is the new president for whom we all voted.
• I met a Finnish tourist who lives in Helsinki.
• I know the man who is going to marry my friend.
• Joe bought a new DVD player which was made in Korea.