Relative clauses

Relative Clauses/Pronouns

Look at this example:

The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

Relative Clause

A clause is a part of the sentence. A relative clause tells us which person or thing the speaker means.

Who( we use who in a relative clause when we are talking about people. We use who instead of he/she/they.

Ex. We know a lot of people. They live in London. We know a lot of people who live in London.

That/Which ( we use that/which in a relative clause when we are talking about things.

Ex. Where is the cheese? It was in the fridge. Where is the cheese that/which was in the fridge?

( Pay attention. You can also use that instead of who. Ex. The man that/who lives next door is very friendly.

Whose ( we use whose in a relative clause instead of his/her/their

Ex. We saw some people. Their car had broken down. We saw some people whose car had broken down.

Exercises
1. Complete the sentences with the correct relative pronoun. a) That is the man _______ wife is my friend. b) London is a city ________ I would like to live. c) That is the teacher ________ went to the meeting with the students. d) This is the car _________ I would like to buy. e) My sister _______ husband is a mechanic, works for TAP. f) The cat _________ was at the window belongs to my sister. g) The cities, __________ a lot of people live, are very polluted.

2. Join the following sentences by means of a relative pronoun. a) A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital. __________________________________________________________________________ b) A man answered the telephone. He told me you were away. __________________________________________________________________________ c) A waitress served us. She was very impolite. __________________________________________________________________________ d) A building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt.