Relative ClausesUpper-Intermediate Level

Types of relative clauses

• Non-defining

– give extra information

– add a comment

• Defining identify a person or a thing

Relative pronouns

We begin a relative clause with a relative

(santykinis) pronoun.

• Who

• Which

• That

• Where

• Whose

What for do we use each

relative pronoun?

Read the text and decide what for each relative

pronoun is used.

Ted Ingram, who is 91 years old this year,

could enter the Guiness Book of Records as

the world’s oldest paperboy. He has

delivered newspapers in the village of

Winterborn Monckton, where he lives, since

he was 23. Ted moved to the village in 1938

and got a job on a farm, where he drove a

tractor. He started delivering papers in 1942

to earn a bit more money.

The 91-year-old , whose wife died twelve

years ago, loves his job as it allows him

to meet the neighbours and have a chat.

During his career, which has lasted

nearly seven decades, Ted has delivered

over half a million papers. ‘I’m not a

paperboy – I’m more like a paperman!’

joked Ted, who has no plans to retire.

Relative pronouns

What for do we use each relative

pronoun?

• Who/whom –

• Which –

• That -

• Where –

• Whose –

for people

for things/animals

for people/things (only in

defining clauses)

for places

for possession

Omitting the relative pronoun in

defining clauses

1. This is the picture which/that Martin

painted last week.

This is the picture which/that Martin

painted last week.

We can omit a relative pronoun when

it is an object of a sentence (i.e. it is

followed by a noun or a pronoun).

Omitting the relative pronoun in

defining clauses

2. A scientist is a person who asks

questions and tries different ways to

answer them.

We cannot omit a relative pronoun

when it is a subject of a sentence, i.e.

it is followed by a verb.

Non-defining relative clauses

• My uncle, who is an accountant, lives in

London.

– Are always separated by commas

• They don’t clean their equipment,

which shows they don’t know what they

are doing.

– Comment is separated by comma and is

connected by relative pronoun which

Complete the text with who, whose, where, which

A Dream Job

It’s a job 1___ attracted over 34,000

applications from around the world. Everyone

2___ applied had to send in a 60-second

video 3___ explained why they wanted the job

and what skills they had to offer. And what

was this amazing job? Caretaker of Hamilton

Island, in the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a place

4___ it’s sunny and warm all year round, and

5___ probably has the most beautiful coral

reefs in the world.

Complete the text with who, whose, where, which

The person 6___ got the job had to explore

the islands nearby, and report back to the

world about their experiences. The sixteen

people 7___ videos most impressed the

employers came to Australia for an interview.

The lucky man 8___ was finally chosen for

the job was Ben Southall from the UK.

It’s a job 1 WHICH attracted over 34,000 applications

from around the world. Everyone 2 WHO applied had to

send in a 60-second video 3 WHICH explained why they

wanted the job and what skills they had to offer. And

what was this amazing job? Caretaker of Hamilton

Island, in the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a place 4 WHERE

it’s sunny and warm all year round, and 5 WHICH

probably has the most beautiful coral reefs in the world.

The person 6 WHO got the job had to explore the

islands nearby, and report back to the world about their

experiences. The sixteen people 7 WHOSE videos most

impressed the employers came to Australia for an

interview. The lucky man 8 WHO was finally chosen for

the job was Ben Southall from the UK.

Checking. Read the text, find relative pronouns

and the complete the Learn this! box

The Best Job in the World?

This is Tommy Lynch, a man whose job is to

test water-slides. It’s a job which almost

every young person would love. He travels to

holiday resorts which have waterslides, has a

go on them and reports back to travel

company where he works. There are a lot of

people who would like Tommy’s job, so his

company can expect a lot of applications

when he leaves.

Learn this!

Relative pronouns: who, whose, where, which

1. We use ___ for things and animals.

2. We use ___ for people.

3. We use ___ for places.

4. We use ___ to indicate possession.

Learn this!

Relative pronouns: who, whose, where, which

1. We use WHICH for things and

animals.

2. We use WHO for people.

3. We use WHERE for places.

4. We use WHOSE to indicate

possession.

Participle (reduced) relative

clauses1. Do you know the woman who is talking to

Nick? – Do you know the woman talking

to Nick?

2. The player that was injured during the

match was our best striker. – The player

injured during the match was our best

striker.

Participle (reduced) relative

clauses1. Do you know the woman who is talking to

Nick? – Do you know the woman talking

to Nick?

2. The player that was injured during the

match was our best striker. – The player

injured during the match was our best

striker.

We can reduce relative clause

by omitting the relative

pronoun (who, that, which)

and the auxiliary verb be

(is/are/was/were)

1. Have you seen the girl who has long curly

hair? - Have you seen the girl with long

curly hair?

Have you seen the girl who has WITH long

curly hair?

2. People who had small children boarded

the plane first. - People with small

children boarded the plane first.

People who had WITH small children

boarded the plane first.

When we talk about physical

characteristics or possession,

we can use with instead of

the relative pronoun (who,

that, which) and the auxiliary

verb have

Complete the second sentence using reduced

(participle) relative clause.

1. I saw a man who was wearing an FC

Barcelona football shirt.

I saw a man wearing an FC Barcelona

football shirt.

2. The new gym that was built last year is

better than the old one.

The new gym built last year is better than

the old one.

3. There was a family that had five children

in the park.

There was a family with five children in

the park.

4. Can you see the car which is coming up

the road?

Can you see the car coming up the road?

5. Bill is the man who’s got blue eyes and a

warm smile.

Bill is the man with blue eyes and a warm

smile.