RELATIVE SENTENCES

1. Join the following pairs of sentences. There are defining and non-defining relative
sentences.
1. She showed me a photograph of her son. Her son is a policeman.
2. The new stadium will be opened next month. The stadium holds
90,000 people.
3. John is one of my closest friends. I have known John for eight years
4. The boy is one of my closest friends. He is waiting for me.
5. Thank you for your letter. I was very happy to get your letter.
6. The letter is in the drawer. Peter has sent the letter to you.
7. Next week-end Im going to Glasgow. My sister lives in Glasgow.
8. Next summer we are visiting the town. My father was born in this
town.
9. The storm caused a lot of damage. Nobody had been expecting
the storm.
10. That man over there is an artist. I dont remember his name.
11. Mr Yates is retiring next month. He has worked for the same
company all his life.
12. My sister is visiting us next week. You once met her.
13. Mr Carter is very interested in our plan. I spoke to him last night.
14. Ive just bought some books about astronomy. Im very interested
in astronomy.
15. The man is in prison. Janet fell in love with this man.
16. Mr Roberts is in prison. Janet fell in love with him.
2. Complete these sentences with the correct relative pronoun.
1. Brigitte Bardot is a French actress who/that has protested against the
slaughter of seals.
2. The fox is an animal ... can be seen in many British cities.
3. Kate is the girl ... father bought a baby crocodile.
4. The office ... I work is a branch of the RSPCA.
5. Charlie is the hamster ... is fatter than all the rest.
6. Mr Forrester is the butcher ... had his shop window smashed by ALF
members.

3. Circle the relative pronouns you could omit in these sentences.

1. The girl that we were talking to loves snakes.
2. Is that the woman who threw acid at the horses?
3. The book which I bought yesterday is about training dogs.
4. My friend Simon is the boy whose mother is a professor of zoology.
5. Do you know the people who made so much noise at the party last night?
6. Have you seen the bag where I keep my football kit?

4. Join each pair of sentences with a defining relative clause. Omit the
pronoun where possible.
1. Last week I bought a book. Its a best-seller.
Last week I bought a book which/ that is a bestseller.
2. This is the book. I found the information in
it. .................................................................................................
3. I didnt recognise Susan. I talked to her.

.................................................................................................

4. She hasnt given me back my book. She borrowed it from me last week.
..............................................................................................
5. Have you seen the biscuits? They were on the top shelf.
..............................................................................................
6. A woman gave me the application form. She told me how to fill it out.
...............................................................................................
7. The novel is about a child. Her parents die in the jungle.
..............................................................................................
8. Charles Chaplin was a famous comedian. He directed well-known films.
...............................................................................................
9. You are going to meet a girl tomorrow. She is intelligent and pretty, too.
...............................................................................................
10. I bought a new CD. Its songs are by different country music singers.
..............................................................................................
5.

Join each pair of sentences with a non-defining relative clause.

1. Fur coats are very popular among wealthy women. They produce indignation among
animal lovers.
...... Fur coats, which are very popular among wealthy women, produce indignation among
animal lovers.
2. My English friends live in Leeds. They work for the RSPCA.
...........................................................................................
3. Harry is very fond of pets. Hes got a dog, a cat, two hamsters and three budgies.
............................................................................................
4. My brother studied zoology. He works in a natural history museum.
...........................................................................................
5. The Tower of London is on the River Thames. It is one of the most famous buildings in
Britain.
...........................................................................................
6. Fiesta was written by Ernest Hemingway. It is also called The Sun Also Rises.
..........................................................................................
7. The new tunnel will be opened next month. It is the safest in Europe.
..........................................................................................
8. Michael is still asleep. He stayed up until 4 a.m. watching athletics.
........................................................................................
9. Tina gave a big party in her house. Her parents were away on business.
.........................................................................................
10. Doris Lessing was born in Persia. She wrote The Golden Notebook.
........................................................................................
11. Sara speaks good English. She has never visited England or America.
.........................................................................................
6.

Complete these sentences with the correct relative pronoun.

1. Brigitte Bardot is a French actress who/that has protested against cruelty to animals.
2. The fox is an animal can be seen in many British gardens these days.
3. Kim is the girl ... mother used to dance with a boa constrictor!
4. In the street ... I work there is a branch of the RSPCA.
5. Charlie is the guinea pig ... bites your finger if you arent careful.
6. Mrs Foster is the lady ... garden was destroyed by rabbits.

7.

Circle the relative pronouns you could omit in these sentences.

1. The girl that we were talking to keeps a pet snake.

2. Is that the woman who threw stones at the farmers?
3. The book which I bought yesterday is about animals in danger of extinction.
4. My friend Sally is the girl whose mother teaches zoology at the university.
5. Do you remember the people who made so much noise in the street last night?
6. Have you seen the tin where I keep silkworms?
8. Join each pair of sentences with a defining relative clause. Omit the pronoun where
possible.
1. Last week I bought a book. It was written 300 years ago.
.... Last week I bought a book which/that was written 300 years ago.
2. This is the magazine. I found an article about how young gorillas learn in it.
.....................................................................................................................
3. I like people. Well, only if they are friendly and honest.
......................................................................................................................
4. I didnt know the girl. I talked to her at the bus stop.
......................................................................................................................
5. She hasnt given me back my book. She borrowed it from me last month.
......................................................................................................................
6. Have you seen Johns mobile phone? He left it here on Saturday.
......................................................................................................................
9.

Join these sentences using a non-defining relative clause.

1. The bus was full of noisy school children. It broke down at the top of the hill.
.... The bus, which was full of noisy school children, broke down at the top of the hill.
2. His grandparents bought him a present. He wanted a silver mountain bike.
.................................................................................................................
3. Her book was published last year. It became an instant best-seller.
..................................................................................................................
4. A strange old lady lives next door. She is watching you again.
..................................................................................................................
5. The shoes were the first ones I tried on. I finally bought them.
..................................................................................................................
6. The dog barks all the time. Its owner is never home.
..................................................................................................................

RELATIVES
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (Oraciones de relativo especificativas)
WHO (THAT) para personas (que)
WHICH (THAT) para cosas (que)
WHOSE posesin (cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas)
WHO, WHICH (THAT) como sujetos de la oracin de relativo.
Examples:

I spoke to the woman.

She lives next door.

I spoke to the woman WHO lives next door. (WHO=sujeto de la oracin de relativo)
The man was very nice.
He interviewed me.
The man WHO interviewed me was very nice. (WHO = sujeto de la oracin de relativo)
The keys have disappeared.
They were on the table.
The keys WHICH were on the table have disappeared. (WHICH=sujeto de la oracin de
relativo)

A.
Read the two sentences and then write a sentence with WHO
or WHICH. (Lea las dos oraciones y luego escriba una oracin con
WHO or WHICH.)
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.

She is the woman. She gave me my first job.

He picked up the book. It was on the desk.
She is the woman. She telephoned the police.
Hes the person. He wanted to buy your house.
We threw out the computer. It never worked properly.
This is the lion. Its been ill recently.
The man was badly injured. He was driving the car.
The childlren broke my window. They live in the next street.

WHOSE para indicar posesin.

Examples: Theres the man. His wallet was stolen.
Theres the man WHOSE wallet was stolen.

B. Read the two sentences and then write a sentence with WHOSE.
(Lea las dos oraciones y luego escriba una oracin con WHOSE)
1. Theres the lady. Her dog was killed.
2. Hes the person. His car was stolen.
3. They are the people. Their shop burned down last week.
4. Im the one. My flat was broken into.
5. Thats the student. Her parents complained about the school.

WHO, WHICH (THAT) cuando no son sujeto de la oracin de relativo. Normalmente

WHO y WHICH se omiten. (Contact clauses)
Examples: The man was away on vacation.
I wanted to see him.
The man WHO/(THAT) I wanted to see was away on vacation. (El sujeto de la oracin de
relativo es I (no who) y en este caso podemos omitir el relativo)
The man I wanted to see was away on vacation.
You found the keys.
You lost them.
You found the keys WHICH/(THAT) YOU lost. (El sujeto de la oracin de relativo es YOU
(no which) y podemos omitir el relativo.
You found the keys you lost.

C.Read the two sentences and then make a sentence without WHO
or WHICH. (Lea las dos oraciones y luego haga una oracin sin
WHO o WHICH).
1. The meal was delicious. Ben cooked it.

2. This is the chair. My parents gave it to me.

3. The man was holding the gun. We saw him.
4. The TV programme was very sad. I watched it last night.
5. The girl had red hair. We visited her.

PREPOSITIONS + WHICH AND WHOM (Podemos usar una preposicin delante de

WHICH y WHOM)
Examples: Thats the town in which he was born. (Esa es la ciudad en la que naci)
The people with whom I stayed were very nice. (Las personas con quienes
me aloj eran muy agradables)

Thats
the town he was born in (omisin del relativo porque he es sujeto preposicin
al final.)
No obstante es ms usual omitir el relativo y dejar la preposicin al final.

The people I stayed with were very nice(omisin del relativo porque I es
sujeto y preposicin al final.)

D. Read the two sentences and then make a sentence.(Lea las dos
oraciones y luego haga una oracin)
1. The man is Sues cousin. I introduced you to him.
2. The hotel overlooked the sea. We stayed at it.
3. The shop is closed. I bought the shoes from it.
4. The people like him very much. He works with them.

WHERE, WHEN, WHY

E. COMPLETA ESTAS ORACIONES.

1. We visited the school....................my father taught.
2. I met her last month...............she came to our house.
3. Did they tell you the reason................they were late?

4. Im talking about the time..................they didnt have cars.

5. I never liked the house...................my husband was born.

Answers 4
Exercise A
1. He is the man who painted my house.
2. Whats happened to the money which was on the desk?
3. The lock which was broken has now been repaired.
4. Most of the people who work in Peters office are very nice.
5. They are the couple whose children were injured in the accident.
6. She is the person who gives me a lift to work every day.
7. Im the person whose credit cards were stolen.
8. They are the people who offered Sue a job.
9. The car which was stolen has now been found.
10. What is the name of the boy who telephoned you?
11. She is the woman whose husband teaches at Annies school.
12. He is the man whose flat was broken into.
Exercise B
1. why
2. where
3. when
4. where

5. why
6. when
7. where
8. where
9. why
10. where

Answers 9
Exercise A
1. She is the woman who gave me my first job.
2. He picked up the book which was on the desk.
3. She is the woman who telephoned the police.
4. He is the person who wanted to buy your house.
5. We threw out the computer which never worked properly.
6. This is the lion which has been ill recently.
7. The man who was driving the car was badly injured.
8. The children who live in the next street broke my window.
Exercise B
1. Theres the lady whose dog was killed.
2. He is the person whose car was stolen.
3. They are the people whose shop was burned down last week.
4. Im the one whose flat was broken into.
5. Thats the student whose parents complained about the school.

Exercise C
1. The meal Ben cooked was delicious.
2. This is the chair my parents gave me.
3. The man we saw was holding the gun.
4. The TV programme I watched last night was very sad.
5. The girl we visited had red hair.
Exercise D
1. The man I introduced you to is Sues cousin.
2. The hotel we stayed at overlooked the sea.
3. The shop I bought the shoes from is closed.
4. The people he works with like him very much.
Exercise E
1. where
2. when
3. why
4. when
5. where