Unit 22

Relative clauses são orações iniciadas por um pronome relativo (who, which, that, whose, etc.):

My favorite T-shirt is one which says “NO WAR”.

Charles Chaplin, who is famous for his work in the USA, was born in England.

Relative clause entre vírgulas funciona como um aposto, trazendo apenas informações extras, e não comprometendo a estrutura da frase se retirada:

Charles Chaplin was born in England.

Pronomes relativos mais comuns:

Who – para pessoas A man who (or that) has good friends is a rich man.

Which – para coisas concretas ou abstratas

The rules which (or that) are regularly broken will be reviewed by the administration.

That – para coisas ou pessoas

A woman that (or who) loves her husband worries about him.

Are you buying the car that (or which) I recommended?

Exemplos:

Evening students, who are usually more tired, may present their projects once a month only.

Não é possível usar that em um aposto ou depois de preposição.

The new shopping mall, which was built by Jones Engineering, is very spacious.

There are many things in which I still believe.

Who, which e that podem ser omitidos com certa freqüência. Para que isso aconteça, há três condições :

1. Os pronomes devem se referir ao objeto da relative clause

Here are some regulations (that/which) you’ll have to follow.

2. A relative clause não deve ser um aposto

The new director (who, that) we have elected is more popular than the last one.

3. Os pronomes não devem vir após preposição:

The speed at which airplanes can fly varies according to the direction of the wind.

Which não pode ser omitido.