Relative clauses

See also Pronouns

Also see the page on Pronouns

1. A "defining" or identifying clause, which tells us which person or thing we are talking about. This kind of clause could often be information included in brackets (...)
2. A "non-defining" or non-essential clause, which gives us more information about the person or thing we are talking about.

Examples

• The farmer (his name was Fred) sold us some potatoes.  The farmer, whose name was Fred, sold us some potatoes.

It is important to see the difference between the two types of clause, as it affects:

• the choice of pronoun used to introduce the clause,
• the punctuation - you must use commas with a non-defining clause.

How to form relative clauses

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

As the name suggests, these clauses give essential information to define or identify the person or thing we are talking about. Obviously, this is only necessary if there is more than one person or thing involved.

Examples

• Dogs that like cats are very unusual.

In this sentence we understand that there are many dogs, but it is clear that we are only talking about the ones that like cats.

Punctuation

• Commas are not used in defining relative clauses.

Relative pronouns

The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses:

	Person	Thing	Place	Time	Reason
Subject	who/that	which/that
Object	who/whom/that/	which/that/	where	when	why
Possessive	whose	whose

Notes:

1. The relative pronoun stands in place of a noun.

This noun usually appears earlier in the sentence:

The woman	who/that	spoke at the meeting	was very knowledgeable.
Noun, subject of main clause	relative pronoun referring to 'the woman', subject of 'spoke'	verb + rest of relative clause	verb + rest of main clause

2. Who, whom and which can be replaced by that. This is very common in spoken English.
3. The relative pronoun can be omitted when it is the object of the clause

The woman	that	the man loved	was living in New York.
Noun, subject of main clause	relative pronoun, referring to 'the woman', object of 'loved'	verb + rest of relative clause	verb + rest of main clause.

(You can usually decide whether a relative pronoun is an object because it is normally followed by another subject + verb.)

4. Whose is used for things as well as for people.

Examples

• The man whose car was stolen.
• A tree whose leaves have fallen.

5. Whom is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who/that, or omit the pronoun completely :

• The doctor whom/who/that/ I was hoping to see wasn't on duty.

6. That normally follows words like something, anything, everything, nothing, all, and superlatives.

Examples

• There's something that you should know.
• It was the best film that I've ever seen.

• A clown is someone who makes you laugh.
• An elephant is an animal that lives in hot countries.
• The plums that were in the fridge were delicious. I have eaten them.
• Where are the plums (that) I put in the fridge?
• Has anyone seen the book I was reading?
• Nothing that anyone does can replace my lost bag.
• Let's go to a country where the sun always shines.
• They live in the house whose roof is full of holes.

Reported Speech: orders, requests & suggestions

ORDERS, REQUESTS, SUGGESTIONS

1. When we want to report an order or request, we can use a verb like 'tell' with a to-clause.

Example

• He told me to go away.

The pattern is verb + indirect object + to-clause.

(The indirect object is the person spoken to.)

Other verbs used to report orders and requests in this way are: command, order, warn, ask, advise, invite, beg, teach, forbid.

Examples

• a. The doctor said to me, "Stop smoking!".  The doctor told me to stop smoking.
• "Get out of the car!" said the policeman.  The policeman ordered him to get out of the car.
• "Could you please be quiet," she said.  She asked me to be quiet.
• The man with the gun said to us, "Don't move!"  The man with the gun warned us not to move.

(See also section on Verbs followed by infinitive and Verbs followed by gerund)

2. Requests for objects are reported using the pattern ask + for + object:

Examples

• "Can I have an apple?", she asked.  She asked for an apple
• "Can I have the newspaper, please?"  He asked for the newspaper.
• "May I have a glass of water?" he said.  He asked for a glass of water.
• "Sugar, please."  She asked for the sugar.
• "Could I have three kilos of onions?"  He asked for three kilos of onions.

3. Suggestions are usually reported with a that-clause. 'That' and 'should' are optional in these clauses:

• She said: "Why don't you get a mechanic to look at the car?"  She suggested that I should get a mechanic to look at the car. OR She suggested I get a mechanic to look at the car.

Other reporting verbs used in this way are: insist, recommend, demand, request, propose.

Examples

• "It would be a good idea to see the dentist", said my mother.  My mothersuggested I see the dentist.
• The dentist said, "I think you should use a different toothbrush".  The dentistrecommended that I should use a different toothbrush.
• My manager said, "I think we should examine the budget carefully at this meeting."  My manager proposed that we examine the budget carefully at the meeting.
• "Why don't you sleep overnight at my house?" she said.  She suggested that I sleep overnight at her house.

Notes

Suggest can also be followed by a gerund: I suggested postponing the visit to the dentist.
See also Summary of Reporting Verbs.

REPORTED SPEECH: hopes,intentions & promises

HOPES, INTENTIONS & PROMISES

When we report an intention, hope or promise, we use an appropriate reporting verb followed by a that-clause or a to-infinitive:

"I'll pay you the money tomorrow." 
He promised to pay me the money the next day.
He promised that he would pay me the money the next day.

Other verbs used in this pattern include:
hope, propose, threaten, guarantee, swear.

Examples

• "I'll be back by lunchtime."
• He promised to be back by lunchtime.
• He promised that he would be back by lunchtime.
• "We should arrive in London before nightfall."
• They hoped to arrive in London before nightfall.
• They hoped they would arrive in London before nightfall.
• "Give me the keys to the safe or I'll shoot you!"
• He threatened to shoot me if I didn't give him the keys to the safe.
• He threatened that he would shoot me if I didn't give him the keys to the safe.

Note: see also Summary of Reporting Verbs.

Reported Speech: Summary of reporting verbs

Summary of reporting verbs

Note that some reporting verbs may appear in more than one of the following groups.

1. Verbs followed by 'if' or 'whether' + clause:

ask know remember

say see

2. Verbs followed by a that-clause:

add admit agree announce answer argue boast claim comment complain confirm consider deny

doubt estimate explain fear feel insist mention observe persuade propose remark remember repeat

reply report reveal say state suggest suppose tell think understand warn

3. Verbs followed by either a that-clause or a to-infinitive:

decide expect guarantee hope

promise swear threaten

4. Verbs followed by a that-clause containing should 
(but note that it may be omitted, leaving a subject + zero-infinitive):

advise beg demand

insist prefer propose

recommend request suggest

5. Verbs followed by a clause starting with a question word:

decide describe discover discuss explain forget guess

imagine know learn realise remember reveal say

see suggest  teach tell think understand wonder

6. Verbs followed by object + to-infinitive

advise ask beg command

forbid instruct invite

teach tell warn