The topic explained
LESSON 2A GRAMMAR
- I can use relative clauses to add emphasis.
A painter, a lecture, and the clauses inside it
What can you see in the paintings? Where do you think they were painted? Painting A is The Cornfield; painting B is The Grove, Hampstead.
Practice: Mohanna Durra, clause by clause
Defining relative clauses
Defining or non-defining: does the sentence need it?
- When the relative clause defines the subject, we must use the relative pronoun.
- Edward Hopper was a painter. He painted Nighthawks. → Edward Hopper was a painter who/that painted Nighthawks.
- When the relative clause defines the object, we may drop the relative pronoun.
- Nighthawks is a painting by Edward Hopper. I love it. → Nighthawks is a painting by Edward Hopper (which/that) I love.
Non-defining relative clauses
- We use who for subjects and who/whom for objects.
- Edward Hopper, who was an American painter, lived and died in New York.
- Hopper, who/whom I admire, painted Nighthawks.
- We use which (NOT that) for things.
- Nighthawks, which was painted by Edward Hopper, is a very famous painting.
- We use which (NOT that or what) to give extra information about a complete clause.
- Hopper inspired many artists, which is really good news.
Can you drop the relative pronoun in a non-defining clause?
In a defining clause, when may the relative pronoun be dropped?
Prepositional relative phrases
Preposition first, or last?
- Prepositions can come either before the relative pronoun or at the end of the relative clause.
| Preposition at the end (less formal) | Preposition before the pronoun (more formal) |
|---|---|
| In this case, we use who/that (NOT whom) for people and which/that for things. | In this case, we use whom (NOT that or who) for people and which (NOT that) for things. |
| That’s the painter (who/that) I told you about. | The painter to whom you are referring was Mark Rothko. |
- Very often we drop the relative pronoun.
- I wasn’t sure if this was the painting (which/that) you were thinking of.
Nominal relative clauses
Whatever, whenever, wherever: any, no matter
- What is a nominal relative pronoun meaning the thing(s) (that)/everything (that). It does not refer to a preceding noun/pronoun.
- I like what you do. NOT I like the things what you do./I like that what you do.
- Whatever is more emphatic and means anything that or no matter what.
- I’ll do whatever you want me to do. = I’ll do anything that you want me to do.
Reduced relative clauses
Shorter: a participle for the pronoun and verb
- Relative clauses are sometimes shortened. We can use a participle instead of a relative pronoun and full verb, e.g.
- The man who sits next to Elliot is my father’s friend. = The man sitting next to Elliot is my father’s friend.
Useful phrases
- We use quantifiers such as none, some, half, many, most, both, all + of + whom/which in relative clauses.
- The potato has many uses, none of which involve drinks.
- Ninety people have died, half of whom were killed by mosquitoes.
