1 Bachillerato A y B curso 2009/2010

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Son oraciones subordinadas que aaden informacin a lo que se ha dicho sobre algo o alguien en la
oracin principal.
Una oracin de relativo va inmediatamente despus del nombre al que describe, y frecuentemente
empieza con un pronombre relativo.
Los pronombres relativos ms frecuentes son: WHO (para personas), WHICH (para cosas) y THAT (para
personas y cosas). stos tienen dos funciones:
1. Actan como objeto o sujeto del verbo en la oracin de relativo.
2. Unen las dos oraciones (la principal y la subordinada)

** En el ingls formal, se usa WHOM en lugar de WHO cuando es objeto en la oracin de relativo.

Hay dos clases de oraciones adjetivas o de relativo:

1. Especificativas (DEFINING)
2. Explicativas (NON-DEFINING)

I. ORACIONES DE RELATIVO ESPECIFICATIVAS (DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES)

Se llaman especificativas porque delimitan/determinan al sustantivo al que se refieren (su

antecedente); sin ellas, ste quedara falto de significado y la oracin resultara confusa.
Analiza este ejemplo:
The man who lives across the road is a professor.
El pronombre relativo who es el sujeto de la oracin de relativo. La oracin de relativo es necesaria
si queremos entender de qu hombre (de entre todos los posibles) estamos hablando. Si quitramos
la oracin de relativo no sabramos qu hombre es el catedrtico.

That muchas veces sustituye a who o which despus de palabras como only, all, anything,
something, none, nothing, little, few, much.
Ex: She was the only person that congratulated me.
I have something that might interest you.

That tambin se utiliza despus de superlativos, aunque suele omitirse.

Ex: He is the nicest person that I have ever met.
This is the worst essay that I have ever read.

EXERCISE 1
Combine the following sentences using the relative pronoun who, which or that. Make any other
necessary changes.
1. The book is on the table. It has a red cover.
............................................................................................................................................................
2. We visited the town. It lies at the source of the Danube.
............................................................................................................................................................
3. I think Ive seen the film. Its on TV tonight.
............................................................................................................................................................
4. She remembered my birthday. She was the only one to do so.
............................................................................................................................................................
5. The castle stands above the town. It was built by the Normans.
............................................................................................................................................................
6. I met a Japanese tourist. He lives north of Tokyo.
............................................................................................................................................................
7. Where are the people? They promised to visit us.
............................................................................................................................................................
8. Ann lost the money. It belonged to her uncle.
............................................................................................................................................................
 Cuando las oraciones de relativo contienen preposiciones (esto es, cuando el relativo va
acompaado de una preposicin), stas pueden ocupar distintas posiciones en la oracin en ingls.

a. Si la preposicin se coloca delante del pronombre relativo, slo podemos utilizar WHOM y
WHICH, puesto que THAT no puede ir precedido de preposicin. (MUY FORMAL)
b. Cuando la preposicin se coloca al final se puede usar cualquier pronombre (who, which, that)

Compara: The politician to whom I talked is very well known.

The politician who(m) I talked to is ...
The politician that I talked to is...

The instruments with which he works are very expensive.

The instruments which he works with are ...
The instruments that he works with are ...

Cuando who(m), which, that no funcionan como sujeto sino como complemento dentro de la oracin
de relativo se pueden omitir.
Ex: The lady (who) I phoned is a friend of mine.
The tennis-ball (which) you lost was Peters.

As, en los ejemplos anteriores podemos omitir el relativo y generalmente encontrarmos :

The politician I talked to is very well-known

The instruments he works with are very expensive.

** Es muy importante recordar que en estos casos en donde hay preposicin, se omite el pronombre
relativo, no la preposicin.

II. ORACIONES DE RELATIVO EXPLICATIVAS (NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES)

En contraste con las anteriores, las explicativas slo aaden informacin extra respecto a su
antecedente pero no son esenciales a la oracin principal:
Ex: Derek, who is in Frankfurt, has sent me a card.

El hecho de que Derek est en Frankfurt es una simple aclaracin; aunque prescindiramos de la
oracin de relativo, sabemos de quin estamos hablando. Por tanto, podramos omitirla sin crear
ninguna confusin.
El sujeto suele ser un nombre propio (Suzi, Greece), o contiene un posesivo (tales como my, his, her),
un demostrativo (como that, these o those), etc.

Por tratarse de una especie de parntesis o algo aadido, las oraciones de relativo explicativas
van entre comas.
El pronombre relativo no puede omitirse en las oraciones explicativas de relativo.
THAT no puede usarse nunca en las oraciones explicativas de relativo.
Ex: Pompeii, which [ no that] was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, was once a very prosperous
Roman city.

CONTRASTA:

a. The students who sang the national anthem celebrated the end of the school year.

b. The students, who sang the national anthem, celebrated the end of the school year.

El primer ejemplo (especificativa) nos dice que slo los estudiantes que cantaron el himno nacional
fueron los que celebraron el final del curso.
Por el contrario el segundo ejemplo (explicativa) expresa que los estudiantes, todos en general,
cantaron el himno y celebraron el final del curso. De ah la importancia de las comas.

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EXERCISE 2: Fill in the correct relative pronouns.
1. Alfred Hitchcock, ...................... was born in 1899, made the classic film Psycho.
2. Our leading lady, for ................... this role was created, cant rehearse because she is ill.
3. The flowers ................. we have chosen for the wedding will be arranged by a local florist.
4. The old house on the hill, ............... is said to be haunted, has finally been sold.
5. The dog ............... tried to bite my brother has been taken into quarantine.
6. Last summer I met Uncle David, ................ invited us to saty with him in South Africa.

EXERCISE 3:
Combine the following sentences using the relative pronoun who, which or that. Make any other
necessary changes.
1. Switzerland is a landlocked country. It is famous for watches.
............................................................................................................................................................
2. Andr Gide was a French novelist. He received the Nobel Prize in 1947.
............................................................................................................................................................
3. Our local sports centre was damaged by fire. It was only finished two years ago.
............................................................................................................................................................
4. Oxford University is the oldest university in England. It is over 800 years old.
............................................................................................................................................................
5. My aunt Jane is a journalist. She is covering the situation in Chechnya.
............................................................................................................................................................
6. The Olympic Games are held every four years. They originated in Greece.
............................................................................................................................................................

III. ORACIONES DE RELATIVO CON WHERE, WHOSE Y WHEN/THAT

a. Where (donde) es el adverbio relativo de lugar y suele ir en lugar de palabras como there y here o a
sintagmas preposicionales de lugar. Nunca se puede omitir.
Ex: This is the building. The crime took place here.
This is the building where the crime took place.

Ex: That is the restaurant. We usually have dinner in it.

That is the restaurant where we usually have dinner.

b. Whose (cuyo(s), cuya(s)) se usa para la posesin. Suele sustituir a my, her, Johns, etc. y nunca se
puede omitir.
Ex: This is the girl. Her sister lives near us.
This is the girl whose sister lives near us.

c. When se emplea para expresiones de tiempo y muchas veces es sustituido por that. Sin embargo,
generalmente se omiten.
Ex: 1993 was the year. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize then.
1993 was the year (when/that) Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

EXERCISE 4: Complete the following sentences with WHOSE, WHERE or WHEN

1. I remember a time .............. life seemed so simple.
2. The boy ................ jacket you borrowed wants it back.
3. We spent many years in Central Africa, ................ life was much less complicated than it is in a
European city.
4. My friend Helen, ................. father is a journalist, goes to boarding-school.
5. Do you remember the day .................. you received your exam results?
6. The island of Corsica, ............... Napoleon was born, has been part of France since 1768.

EXERCISE 5: Complete the following sentences by adding a suitable relative clause of your own.
1. The hotel where .............................................................................. had a wonderful restaurant.
2. Madonna, whose .........................................................................., often behaves outrageously.
3. Do you remember the day when ...............................................................................................?
4. The island of Minorca, where ............................................., is the northernmost of the Balearic Islands.

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5. I have a close friend whose ........................................................................................................
ADDITIONAL EXERCISES:

1. Combine the sentences with the relative pronoun and then say in which of them the relative
pronoun can be omitted:

a. The lawyer is considered to be the best in his field. We hired him.

b. The actor won an Oscar. He played Hamlet.
c. These are the pictures. We took them in Thailand.
d. My sister will be home for Easter. Shes studying Art.
e. The music was written by Mozart. You are listening to it.
f. The photographer has complained to the censor. His photos were banned from publication.

2. Change these formal sentences into informal English:

a. The child to whom I gave the gift thanked me for it.

b. This is the house in which I was born.
c. This is the pen with which Shakespeare wrote his plays.
d. The people from whom I bought the house were very pleasant.

3. Combine the following sentences using a relative pronoun. You may have to make changes in
punctuation:

a. Lake Tanganyika is a large freshwater lake. It was discovered by European explorers in 1958.
b. This is the place. I met your father here.
c. The pupil has won the writing competition. His essay was the most original.
d. Mr. Collins is a Member of Parliament. We had dinner with him recently.
e. The book has disappeared. I borrowed it from the library.
f. The book is a bestseller. I bought you the book.
g. I was in hospital at that time. War broke out then.
h. The headmaster of your school is a friend of mine. I am writing a letter to him.
i. Wounded Knee is a place in South Dakota. US troops massacred the Sioux Indians there.
j. I can still remember the day. That day an earthquake shook the buildings of this city.

4. Fill in the blank spaces using a relative pronoun:

- Use O pronoun wherever it is possible.

- Use WHICH when the antecedent is a whole clause or a sentence.
- Do not use THAT in non-defining clauses or after a preposition.

a. Peter, ................. is a magnificent musician, is here with us.

b. We know most of the people ............... live in our street.
c. The car, ................. was second hand, took us all the way to Denmark.
d. He is working hard, ................ is very good.
e. The hotel .................. we stayed did not have a swimming-pool.
f. The hotel .................. we stayed at was near the sea.
g. She told me to go back home, ................ I did.
h. Harry, ................. youve just met, is the owner of this pub.
i. The woman .................. son I know is Mrs. Brown, not Mrs. White.
j. The one .............. I normally use is the white one.
k. This one, ................ I never use, is black, as you can see.
l. They made this house all by themselves, ................ is unbelievable.