RELATIVE CLAUSE

 Instead of an adjective to describe a noun, a detailed sentence can also be given and it is called as adjective
(relative) clause. In a relative clause we describe which person or thing we are talking about.
English people
People who are from England are luckier than us
 We use relative pronouns to refer to the noun in the relative part. Who/ whom( for people), which(for things),
that(for people and things), whose( for possession) are relative pronouns. Where, when, why and what can
also be used as relative pronouns sometimes.
People who live in a glass house shouldn’t throw a stone
People- which people- who live in a glass house. Here ‘who’ is a relative pronoun, goes after the noun and introduces
a relative clause
The man - he lives next door - is very friendly
The man who lives next door is very friendly
We know a lot of people- they live in London
We know a lot of people who live in London
David works in a factory- the factory produces cars
David works in a factory which produces cars
We saw some people- their car was stolen
We saw some people whose car was stolen
An architect is someone who designs buildings
A kettle is a machine which you can boil water
A real friend is a person who(whom) you can trust any time
I don’t like stories that have unhappy endings
Everything that happened was my fault
Where is the cake which was in the fridge a few minutes ago
Do you know the man who is sitting next to you
 Relative pronoun can be the subject of a relative clause. We can use who for people, which for things, and that
for both
I talked to the girl. She won the competition
I talked to the girl who won the competition
That is the dog. It attacked me
That is the dog which attacked me
The woman is carrying a camera. She is a reporter
I have trained a dog. It can catch a thief
Who is that woman? She is wearing a hat
The people are very noisy. They are working outside
 Relative pronoun can be the object of a relative clause. We can use who (whom-but very formal-) for people,
which for things, and that for both OR you can omit the relative pronoun
This is the note. I found it this morning
This is the note which I found this morning
Who was that man. You were kissing him
Who was that man who (whom) you were kissing
Are these the cakes? Marry baked the cake
Are these the cakes which Marry baked
  Relative pronoun can express a possession, we use (Whose) mainly for people but sometimes it goes with
other nouns. (Of whose can be used with others )
Jenny is the boy. His passport is out of date
Jenny is the boy whose passport is out of date
There were two applicants. Their skills were excellent
There were two applicants whose skills were excellent
Marry was looking for a dog. Its leg had been broken in an accident
Marry was looking for a dog whose leg had been broken in an accident
I am from a country. Its history goes back thousands of years
I am from a county of whose history goes back thousands of years
 If the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, it comes to the end of the relative clause in informal
English. In formal English it can come at the beginning of the relative pronoun. When we omit the relative
pronoun, prepositions stays at the end
Mrs. Bell is the person. I got this information from her
Mrs. Bell is the person who I got this information from (since Mrs. Bell is the object, we can use whom, but when we use
whom, we can’t use the preposition at the end. Mrs. Bell is the person whom I got this information from _WRONG.
Mrs. Bell is the person from whom I got this information- RIGHT)
Mrs. Bell is the person I got this information from
What was the name of the restaurant. You usually go to that restaurant
What was the name of the restaurant which you usually go to = what was the name of the restaurant to which you
normally go = What was the name of the restaurant you usually go to
What is the evidence? You base this claim on it
What is the evidence which you base this claim on = What is the evidence on which you base this claim = What is the
evidence you base this claim on
Electronics is a subject. I know very little about it
Electronics is a subject which I know very little about = Electronics is a subject about which I know very little =
Electronics is a subject I know very little about
I have found the letter. I have been looking for it all day = Electronics is a subject I know very little about
I have found the letter which I have been looking for = I have found the letter for which I have been looking
 I have found the letter that I have been looking for ≠ I have found the letter for that I have been looking
Mrs. Bell is the person. I got this information from her
 Mrs. Bell is the person who I got this information from ≠ Mrs. Bell is the person from who I got this information
NOTE: We can’t use a preposition before “that” and “who”
 If on which, at which expresses a time we can use “when”
I will never forget the day. I met my husband on that day
I will never forget the day on which I met my husband = I will never forget the day when I met my husband
That is the time. I will leave at 8
That is the time at which I will leave = that is the time when I will leave
 If in which, at which , to which expresses a place we can use “where”
That is the restaurant. We had dinner in there
That is the restaurant in which we had dinned = that is the restaurant where we had dinner
 Instead of ‘the reason for which’ we can use why as relative pronoun
I don’t understand. Why is he laughing?
I don’t understand the reason for which he is laughing = I don’t understand why he is laughing
  We use relative pronoun “what” without a noun to say ‘the thing(s) which/that
What I want to say is sorry = the thing I want to say is sorry
What worried me is the pain in my back

 Relative clauses can be classified under two headings. Defining and Non- defining

Defining Relative Clauses * tells us which person, thing etc. the speaker talks about
* there is no comma before or after the relative part
* relative pronoun can be omitted if it is the object of the clause
Non- Defining Relative Clauses * gives extra information about the thing or person
(my mother, who is 80, is still healthy)
* if we take the relative clause, there won’t be any change in the sentence
* there are commas before and after the relative clause
* we can’t use relative pronoun ‘that’
* we can’t omit the relative pronouns(who, whom, whose, which)

Mr. Brown’s wife who is very good at painting is planning to attend an art course (resim konusunda çok başarılı olan
karısı)
(we are describing, defining his wife, it means he has more than one)
Mr. Brown’s wife, who is very good at painting, is planning to attend an art course (karısı-ki kendisi resim konusunda çok
başarılıdır)
(we are giving extra information about his wife, we are not defining her)

 We can use none of- many of- much of- a few of- some of- any of- half of- each of- both of- neither of- either of-
one of- two of WHOM(people)/ WHICH(things)
Jack has three brothers. All of them are in doctors
Jack has three brothers, all of whom are doctors
I have lots of friends. Most of them are girls
I have lots of friends, most of whom are girls
She has two skirts. Neither of them are short.
She has two skirts, neither of which are short

 We can define the whole sentence as well

Tom passed the exam. This surprised everybody