RELATIVE CLAUSES
Study the following sentences:
(i) The boy who plays the violin is Amit.
(ii) I have read the book which you wrote.
The clauses in italics just after the noun phrases the boy and the book identify them.
The clauses ‘who plays the violin’ relates to the Noun Phrase
‘The boy’ by stating his activity.
Likewise “Which you wrote” relates to the book. These “Noun Phrases’ are called antecedents and the clauses which qualify them are called Relative clauses. A relative clause qualifies a noun phrase like an adjective. The relative clauses usually begin with the words such as who, whom, which, that and whose etc. They are called relative pronouns.
FOMATION
We usually follow the following patterns and the steps to form relative clauses.
(A) Study the following:
- The birds are chirping.
- The birds live in the neighborhood.
Let us see how a Relative Clause is formed.
(a) First identify the identical noun phrase in both the sentences i.e, ‘ the birds.’
(b) Then replace the identical noun phrase in the second sentence i.e, ‘the bird’ with a suitable relative pronoun (here which/that)
(c). Move the relative pronoun to the beginning of the relative Clauses it necessary.
The birds are chirping which/ that live in the neighborhood.
(d) Finally, place the Relative Clause immediately after its antecedent.
Finally we get the sentence ‘The birds which live in the neighborhood are chirping.
How to form Relative Clause:
Study the following sentence:
I write with the pen which my father bought.
We get this sentence by combining the following two sentences.
(i) I write with the pen.
(ii) My father bought the pen.
Notice the Noun Phrase the pen is present in both the sentences. In other words, there is an identical noun phrase in the two sentences.
Let us now see how a Relative Clause is formed
(A) I write with the pen || My father bought the pen.
The pen || my father bought which.
The pen ||which my father bought.
The pen || which my father bought.
= I write with the pen which my father bought.
(B) The sick were delighted || Florence Nightingale nurse the sick.
The sick were delighted Florence Nightingale nursed who/ whom
The sick were delighted who/whom Florence Nightingale nursed
The sick who/whom Florence Nightingale nursed were delighted.
(C). I like the man || He has a bald head.
The man || who has a bald head.
= I like the man who has a bald head.
(Note that (i) the man and he refer to the same person; they are identical in reference;
(ii) The relative pronoun who remains in place as it comes in the subject position of the Relative Clause.)
(B) The thief escaped in the dark || he robbed me.
The thief escaped in the dark || who robbed me.
The thief escaped in the dark who robbed me.
= The thief who robbed me escaped in the dark.
=The thief who robbed me escaped in the dark.
(Notice from the examples in A, B, C and D that we use relative pronouns who and whom for people and which for things.
(E) The boy is our monitor || I have borrowed his book.
The boy is our monitor || I have borrowed whose book.
The boy is our monitor whose book I have borrowed.
The boy is our monitor whose book I have borrowed.
The boy whose book I have borrowed. Is our monitor.
=The boy whose book I have borrowed is our monitor.
(Notice above that:
(i) First, hisis replaced by the possessive relative pronoun whose;
(ii) then the noun phrases whose book ( and not only the relative pronoun whose) is brought to the beginning of the Relative Clause’
[We cannot move only the relative pronoun whose as it is part of a noun phrase; the whole noun phrase has to be moved.]
(iii) finally, the Relative Clause whose book I have borrowed is placed next to its antecedent the boy.)
(F) The chair has a broken leg || he is sitting on the chair.
The chair has a broken leg || he is sitting on which.
The chair has a broken leg || which he is sitting on.
The chair has a broken leg which he is sitting on.
The chair which he is sitting on. has a broken leg.
=The chair which he is sitting on has a broken leg.
(in the above example, Relative Clause formation has been done in 3 stages:
Stage 1: One of the identical noun phrases (the chair) has been replaced by the relative pronoun which.
Stage 2: The relative pronoun which has been brought to the beginning of the Relative Clasue.
Stage 3: The whole of the Relative Clause which he is sitting on has been placed immediately after its antecedent the chair.
Note that in stage 2 we can bring the preposition on along with which to the beginning of the Relative Clause. Then we will get the sentence—
The chair on which he is sitting has a broken leg.
Function
Relative clauses are of two kinds:
(i) Defining/ Restrictive/ Identifying Relative clauses.
(2) Non-defining/ Non-restrictive/ Non-identifying Relative clasues.
Now let’s discuss Defining Relative Clauses:
Examples:
(i) The girl who is wearing a red frock is Ava’s sister.
(a) The Girl is Ava’s sister: MC
(b) Who is wearing a red frock: Identifying Relative clause qualifying the noun phrase “the girl”. It points out/identifies ‘the girl’. The determiner used in the antecedent (noun phrase) is usually the …not my, your etc.
(ii) I hate people who waste their time.
(a) I hate people who waste their time.
(b) who waste their time. The relative clause which qualifies the noun phrase “people”. i.e. , the relative clause gives some essential information about the people I hate.
These relative clauses which give essential information about a noun are called Identifying Relative Clauses.
Relative Pronouns used in Defining Relative Clauses:
For people For things
(i) Subject of the verb: who/that which/that
e.g. The person who/that was talking……….The music which/that was playing….
(ii) Object of the verb: Who/whom/to whom/that which/to which/that…
e.g. The man who/whom/that/0 we met….The music which/to which/to/0 we hear……
(III) Object of the preposition: who/that/whom/to whom which/to which/that
e.g. The man who/that/whom/0 we talked to…..the music that/which/to which/ 0 we listened to….
(iv) Possessive form: who/that/whom/to whom which/to which/that
e.g. The man whose book we borrowed……….The book the cover of which is torn………
The forms are the same whether the noun is singular/plural/masculine or feminine.
Position of Relative Clause:
(A) The children who are playing cricket live in this locality.
(a) The children live in this locality: Main clause (MC).
(b) Who are playing cricket Relative clause qualifying the noun phrases “The children’, which is the subject.
Here the relative pronoun ‘who’ is the subject of the Relative Clause. Its use is obligatory or compulsory . In this cae it can’t be dropped.
(B) I have read the book which/that/0 my father bought.
(a) I have read the book: Main Clause (MC).
(b) Which/that/0 (zero) my father bought.
In the above sentence the relative clause qualifies the noun phrase ‘the book’ which is the object and the relative pronoun that/which/ is the object of the relative clause. If the relative pronoun is the object of the relative clause, the use of the relative pronoun is optional .When the relative pronoun is omitted, the clause is called a contact clause or zero relative clauses.
E.g. I read the book my father bought.
Here my father bought is the contact clause and we have used a zero relative in the sentence.
(C) Study some more examples:
(i) The shopkeeper for whom I was working is a good person.
(ii) The boy with whom I share the house is a college student.
In the above sentences the relative pronouns (whom) act as the object of the preposition for and with. In such cases we may drop the relative pronoun and use the preposition at the end of the relative clause.
Example:-
(i) The shopkeeper I am working for is a good person.
(ii) The boy I share the house with is a college student.
(D) Study further examples:
(i) It is the best possible explanation that we can gie about Socrates.
It is the best possible explanation : MC
That we can give about Socrates: Relative Clause.
(ii) The next/last/only question that drew everybody’s attention is worth discussing.
The next/last/only question is worth discussing: MC
That drew everybody’s attention is worth discussing: Relative Clause
The relative pronoun ‘that’ is usually preferred to ‘which’ or ‘who’ when the antecedent noun phrase is in the superlative degree or it is preceded by words like first, second, next, last etc., or antecedent noun phrase is an indefinite pronoun like someone, something, anything etc.
2. (a) Non-Defining Relative Clauses:
Look at the following sentences.
(1) Our institution, which works for public welfare, is highly popular.
(i) Here the relative clause which work for public welfare is not giving any essential information about the noun institution. The institution has already been identified by the determiner ‘our’. The relative clause is only giving us some extra information. We can easily rewrite the sentence in the following manner without any significant change in meaning.
(ii) Our institution is highly popular and it works for public welfare.
(2) Pramod, who is my class mate, is very honest.
In the above sentences the relative clause is non-defining because the antecedent is a proper noun and a proper noun helps us in identifying the person.
Mark the difference in meaning expressed by the Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses.
Examples: (1) The travelers who knew about the floods took another road.
(2) The travelers, who knew about the flood, took another road.
The first sentences has a defining relative clause “who knew about the flood’ Here the travelers who knew about the flood meaning that only some travelers knew about the floods. The rest of the travelers didn’t know about the floods. So they didn’t take another road.
But in the second sentence who knew about the flood is within two commas. It is a Non-defining Relative Clause.
Here the Non-defining Relative Clause does not restrict the number of travelers to a few but it includes all the travelers. Hence here the example means that all the travelers knew about the floods and they took another road.
(b) (i) The ball went to Satish, who scored a goal.
(ii) Satish scored a goal in the last minute, which was fortunate.
In (i) who refers to Satish. The word doesn’t need further definition.
But in (ii) the relative clause refers to the whole clause that goes before it (i.e. ., Satish scored a goal in (i) and (ii) are No-Defining Relative Clauses.
Points to remember:
- Non-identifying Relative Clauses don’t take the Relative Pronoun ‘that’ with them.
- The relative Pronoun can’t be dropped before the Non-identifying Relative Clause.
- Anyone, anything, someone, something which express indefinite meaning can’t be used as the antecedent of the Non-identifying Relative Clause.
- The non-identifying Relative Clause sometimes qualifies the whole main clause (sentential relative clause) but it is not possible in the case of the Identifying Relative Clause.
- The Identifying Relative Clause is an essential part of the sentence but the Non-identifying Relative Clause is an additional part of the sentence.
- The Non-identifying Relative Clause gives some extra information. It is separate by commas. These clauses refer to the total number or quantify indicated by the antecedent i.e., they cover the whole set whereas the identifying relative clause restricts the number or quantity to a sub-set.
EXERCISE-4
Mark the examples and combine the following sets of sentences using the relative pronoun who.
- Green grocer is a person. He/she sells fruit and vegetables.
Ans: A preen grocer is a person who sells fruit and vegetables.
- A burglar is a person. He/she breaks into a house to steal things.
- A conductor is a person. He/she collects fares on a bus.
- A driver is a person. He/she drives a motor car.
- An actor is a person. He/she acts on the stage or for films.
- A journalist is person. He/she writes for a newspaper.
- A patient is a person. He/she receives treatment from a hospital.
- A liar is a person. He/she tells lies.
- A plumber is a person. He repairs water pipes.
- A widow is a person. She has lost her husband.
EXERCISE-5
Complete the sentences by using who/whom/whose/that.
- What’s the name of your friend …………………. Comes to our house?
- The boy ………………………. Is playing cricket is Srikant.
- An orphan is a child ………………. Parents are dead.
- This school is for the children ………………….first language is Oriya.
- The man ……………….you met yesterday is a friend of my father’s.
- A carpenter is a person ………………………does wood work.
Exercise-6
Pick out the Identifying and the Non-identifying Relative Clasue.
- My friend, who is a good violinist, has won several prizes.
- Dr Mohapatra, who has a good name, lives on the next street.
- Where is the pen I left on the table?
- My teacher, who teaches well, is liked by the students.
- Mr Sahoo, who is very hard working, earns a lot of money.
- The chairman of the committee, who is impartial, solves all problems cleverly.
- Mother Teresa, who faithfully served mankind, is called a saint now.
- We love the man who thinks of our welfare.
EXERCISE-7
Read th e information. Complete the following sentences using relative pronoun and say if the clauses are identifying or Non-identifying.
- The man is not known to us. The police arrested him.
A: The man………………………………………………………………
- The strike at the factory is over now. It lasted ten days.
A: The strike at the factory ………………………………………………………………
- My brother lives in Koraput. He is a doctor.
A: My brother ………………………………………………………………
- I have found out the book. I was looking for it.
A: I have found out the book ………………………………………………………………
- Mira’s grand mother is in hospital. She is sick.
A: Mira’s grand mother ………………………………………………………………
- Einstein failed his University Entrance Examination. He discovered the theory of relativity.
A: Einstein ………………………………………………………………
- Engineer Chaudhury is on a visit to our village . he got this bridge built.
A: Engineer Chaudhury ………………………………………………………………