Rephrasing - Relative clauses

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining Relative Clauses

They describe the preceding noun and give essential information about the noun. They are introduced by a relative pronoun which can be replaced by THAT or even omitted (except when the relative pronoun is subject of the clause or is in the possessive case). They are not separated by commas.

People as:
subject	WHO / THAT	The man WHO / THAT reported the crime has been given a reward
object (of a verb)	WHO / THAT / --	The man (WHO / THAT) I saw at the party is Janet's father
object (of a preposition)	WHO / THAT / --	The man (WHO / THAT) I was talking TO is working for Peter
Notice that the preposition moves to the end of the clause.
possessive	WHOSE	The film is about a man WHOSE children are kidnapped
Things as:
subject	WHICH / THAT	The cup WHICH / THAT is on the table is full of sugar
object (of a verb)	WHICH / THAT / --	The cup (WHICH / THAT) I bought in Venice is on the table
object (of a preposition)	WHICH / THAT / --	The novel (WHICH / THAT) you talked ABOUT is very good
Notice that the preposition moves to the end of the clause.
possessive	WHOSE	Living in a house WHOSE walls were made of glass would be horrible

Notice also that:

- when usually replaces in/on which (time)
- where usually replaces in/at which (place)
- why usually replaces for which (reason)

When, where and why used in this way are called relative adverbs, and can be omitted in the same way as relative pronouns.

Non-defining Relative Clauses

They are placed after nouns which are definite already; therefore, the information they add to the noun is not essential. They are always introduced by a relative pronoun which cannot be replaced by THAT and they are separated by commas.

People as:
subject	WHO	John, WHO is going to marry Jill soon, is an engineer
object (of a verb)	WHO (WHOM)	Peter, WHO everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent
object (of a preposition)	WHO (WHOM)	She asked Paul, WHO she worked FOR, to give her a holiday
Notice that the preposition moves to the end of the clause. If the clause contains an expression of time or place, this will remain at the end: Peter, WHO I play tennis WITH on Sundays, is fitter than me
possessive	WHOSE	Alice, WHOSE parents live next to us, is trying to get a job
Things as:
subject	WHICH	I went to Port Aventura, WHICH is a famous park
object (of a verb)	WHICH	Port Aventura, WHICH I have visited on several occasions, is near Tarragona
object (of a preposition)	WHICH	John's house, WHICH we were talking ABOUT just yesterday, has been demolished
Notice that the preposition moves to the end of the clause.Where and when can also introduce non-defining relative clauses: Three years ago I travelled to Austria, WHERE I met my future husband I read lots of books last month, WHEN I had a broken leg
possessive	WHOSE	Living in Barcelona, WHOSE climate is temperate, is a wish many people have

Connective Relative Clauses

They have the same form as non-defining relative clauses. They do not describe a noun but continue the story. They are introduced by who, which and whose, which can be replaced by and or but. They are usually placed after the object of the main verb or after the preposition + noun structure:

I told Jane, WHO said it wasn't her business
(BUT she said it wasn't her business)

We went with John, WHOSE car broke down before we got there
(BUT his car broke down before we got there)

He drank a lot of whisky, WHICH made him ill
(AND it made him ill)

WHICH can also stand for a whole sentence:

They asked me to go away, WHICH was very rude
They said it was his fault, WHICH wasn't true

Adapted from A Practical English Grammar (Thomson & Martinet, OUP 1980) by Olga Godoy Giménez

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