ORACIONES DE RELATIVO

Son oraciones subordinadas adjetivas introducidas por un pronombre o un adverbio

relativo y las hay de dos tipos: defining (especificativas) y non-defining (explicativas).

DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

USES Proporcionan información esencial para Añaden información adicional sobre la
identificar a la persona, lugar o cosa de que persona, lugar o cosa de que se habla:
se habla: Sandra, who is very good at maths, is going
Students who study English at University to study engineering.
often become teachers.
EL PRONOMBRE RELATIVO
PEOPLE Subject: who, that Subject: who
Object: (who[m], that) Object: who[m]
The students who she met are studying She met my friends, who are studying
English English at the University
Sonia is the girl who they offered that job to
/ …to whom they offered that job / Sonia is
the girl they offered that job to

THINGS Subject: which, that Subject: which

Object: (which, that) Object: which
The picture which won the prize is the one My painting, which is on the right is for sale
on the right
Thrillers are the kind of films which / that I
like best. Thrillers are the kind of film I like
best.
POSSESSIVE For people: whose For people: whose
For things. of which, whose For things: of which, whose
This is the man whose car is parked outside Bob, whose car is parked outside, is my
brother-in-law

TIME When, that When

It was snowing the day (when / that ) I was In 1989, when I was born, things were very
born different
PLACE Where Where
The town where I grew up isn’t far away We visited Eastbourne, where I grew up
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
NOTES No van entre comas, ya que la información Van siempre entre comas, ya que la
 que añaden es esencial para entender la información que añaden no es esencial para
oración: entender la oración:
The book (that ) she lent me is very good. Pedro, who is in my class, is Rosa?s
boyfriend

El pronombre de relativo (excepto whose) El pronombre de relativo nunca puede ser

se suele omitir cuando no es el sujeto de la sustituido por that:
oración de relativo: Ana’s friend, who lives in Italy, came to
The man (who) she met at the airport is now visit her last month
her husband

“What” es un pronombre de relativo que Aunque haga la función de objeto, el

incluye al antecedente. Equivale a “lo que”,
“las cosas que”:
Do you remember what I told you
yesterday?
pronombre de relativo nunca puede omitirse:
“Working girl”, which I first saw in the Us,
was a famous film in the 80s
Son muy formales, así que no se usan en el
inglés hablado.

Nota general:
Hay verbos ingleses que van seguidos de preposición. Cuando forman parte de una
oración de relativo, esta preposición puede ir delante del pronombre en contextos
formales. En lenguaje coloquial, el relativo se omite y la preposición se coloca detrás
del verbo en la oración de relativo.
This is the man to whom I was talking this morning
This is the man I was talking to this morning.

EXERCISE:
1.- Join the sentences. Use defining or non-defining relative clauses.
- She’s the researcher. She carried out research into gender differences
- My boss is very nice. He gave me a pay rise last week
- Men and women are likely to feel stressed and tired. They work long hours
- My cousin got a new job last week. She lives on the south coast
- That’s the office. I work there
- Frank has to work now. His car has broken down
- That’s the place. I have my job interview there