TOPIC: RELATIVE CLAUSES ( MỆNH ĐỀ QUAN HỆ)

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I. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

Uses:
A defining relative clause gives information that cannot be left out because it defines, explains or
specifies the thing or person we mean.
E.g. The doctor who treated me told me not to worry.
E.g. The house which Mrs Johnson lives in is very beautiful.
1. The relative pronoun ‘who/which’ as subject.
E.g. This is the man. He gave me a lift yesterday.
→ This is the man who gave me a lift yesterday.
E.g. The doctor is very famous. She saved my mother.
→ The doctor who saved my mother is very famous.
E.g. This is the house. It was built in 1989.
→ This is the house which was built in 1989.
E.g. The dogs are very clever. They saved him yesterday.
→ The dogs which saved him yesterday are very clever.
2. The relative pronoun ‘whom/which’ as object.
E.g. This is the woman. I saw her at the party last night.
→ This is the woman (whom) I saw at the party last night.
E.g. The girls are very clever. We met them two days ago.
→ The girls (whom) we met two days ago are very clever.
E.g. This is the house. We built it ten years ago.
→ This is the house (which) we built ten years ago.
E.g. The songs were very nice. He sang them last night.
→ The songs (which) he sang last night were very nice.
Notes:
- The pronouns ‘who/whom/which’ can be replaced by ‘that’.
E.g. The man is very friendly. He lives next door.
→ The man that lives next door is very friendly.
E.g. The film was very interesting. I saw it on TV last night.
→ The film that I saw on TV last night was very interesting.
- The pronouns ‘who/whom/which/that’ as object can be omitted.
E.g. The car (that) I hired yesterday broke down.
E.g. The girl (who) you met last Sunday has gone abroad.
- We use ‘that’ after all, everything, little, much, none, those, the first, second, etc. and after
superlative form.
E.g. I gave her all the money (that) I had.
E.g. This is the best hotel (that) I know.
3. The relative adverb pronoun ‘when’
- The relative adverb pronoun ‘when’ is used to replace an adverb or an adverbial phrase of time:
the day/ the time/ the year/ then, etc.
E.g. That was the time. They stayed at Do Son beach then.
→ That was the time when they stayed at Do Son beach.
E.g. The day was 15th. We met you on that day.
→ The day when we met you was 15th.
- We can replace a prepositional phrase of time like at/on/in which, etc. by ‘when’:
E.g. That is the day. I went to school on that day.
→ That is the day on which I went to school.
→ That is the day which I went to school on.
→ That is the day when I went to school.
4. The relative adverb ‘where’
- We use the relative adverb pronoun ‘where’ to replace an adverb or an adverbial phrase of place
like the place/the city/ there/ here, etc.
 E.g. This is the house. Our Uncle Ho lived in that house.
→ This is the house where our Uncle Ho lived.
E.g. The city is very nice. We grew up here.
→ The city where we grew up is very nice.
- A prepositional phrase of place like in/at/on which can be replaced by ‘where’:
E.g. The city is very nice. We grew up in the city.
→ The city in which we grew up is very nice.
→ The city which we grew up in is very nice.
→ The city where we grew up is very nice.
5. The relative possessive pronoun ‘whose’
- We use the relative possessive pronoun ‘whose’ to replace a possessive adjective.
E.g. This is the man. I work with his daughter.
→ This is the man whose daughter I work with.
E.g. The woman is very kind. We are living with the woman’s son.
→ The woman whose son we are living with is very kind.
- We can use ‘the Noun of which’ to replace a thing, and ‘the Noun of whom’ to replace a
person.
E.g. That is the table. Its leg was broken.
→ That is the table the leg of which was broken.
E.g. The man is very poor. His son has just won the championship.
→ The man the son of whom has won the championship is very poor.

II. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

1. Basic uses:
A non-defining relative clause gives extra information. It is separated from the main sentence by
commas.
E.g. Her father, who she loves most, is a very strict man.
E.g. We will visit the Town Hall, which has just been reconstructed.
E.g. This camera, which I bought 10 years ago, is still in good condition.
We use a non-defining relative clause when the noun before it has already been
identified/defined. A noun can be identified when:
- It is preceded by a demonstrative: this, that, these, those
E.g. This doctor, who is very famous, is treating my mother.
- It is a proper name.
E.g. Korea, which is a small country, attracts many students each year.
- It is a thing or person that is one of a kind.
E.g. They’ll build a wind power station, which is very necessary for the development of the
area.
Note: The relative pronoun in a non-defining relative clause cannot replace by ‘THAT’ and cannot be
omitted (even when it is the object of the clause).
2. Other uses:
a. Non-defining relative clause that modifies the previous sentence.
E.g. Nobody invited Jane to the party. This made her angry.
→ Nobody invited Jane to the party, which made her angry.
E.g. He always borrows me money. I don’t like that.
→ He always borrows me money, which I don’t like.

Note: In this kind of non-defining relative clause, only the relative pronoun WHICH is used.
b. Non-defining relative clause after expressions of quantity
E.g. I have many friends. Some of them are from foreign countries.
→ I have many friends, some of whom are from foreign countries.
E.g. I can’t decide between the 2 universities. Both of them are famous.
→ I can’t decide between the 2 universities, both of which are famous.
Common expressions of quantity include:
most of, everyone of, one of, several of, the majority of, the minority of,
 none of, no one of, all of, half of, neither of, etc.
Note: In this kind of non-defining relative clause, we use WHICH for things and WHOM for people.

III. REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

A relative clause can be reduced (shortened) in the following ways:
1. Reduced to a Present Participle/ Present Participle phrase
- If the relative clause is a continuous structure, we omit the relative pronoun and the verb be.
E.g. The man who is speaking is Mr Smith.
→ The man speaking is Mr Smith.
E.g. Mr Brown is the oldest person who is doing this kind of job.
→ Mr Brown is the oldest person doing this kind of job.
E.g. The building that is standing on the corner belongs to Mr Jones.
→ The building standing on the corner belongs to Mr Jones.
- If the relative clause is an active structure, we omit the relative pronoun, and change the main
verb to an Ing-form. Note that the verb is usually in the simple present tense, and the relative pronoun
must be the subject of the relative clause.
E.g. Do you know the man who lives upstairs?
→ Do you know the man living upstairs?
E.g. All the trains that leave for London have been cancelled.
→ All the trains leaving for London have been cancelled.
2. Reduced to a Past Participle/ Past Participle phrase
- If the relative clause is a passive structure in simple or perfect tenses, we omit the relative
pronoun and the verb be.
E.g. This is a castle which was built in the 16 century.
→ This is a castle built in the 16 century.
E.g. The student who is chosen as winner will get a prize.
→ The student chosen as winner will get a prize.
- If the relative clause is a passive structure in a continuous tense, we omit the relative pronoun
and the auxiliary verb be.
E.g. The young trees which are being planted are very rare.
→ The young trees being planted are very rare.
E.g. The candidate who is being interviewed is totally unqualified.
→ The candidate being interviewed is totally unqualified.
3. Reduced to an Infinitive/Infinitive phrase
- When the noun in the main clause is preceded by the first, the second, …, the last, the only or a
superlative form of comparison, we change the main verb into an Infinitive.
E.g. She is always the first who comes and the last who leaves.
→ She is always the first to come and the last to leave.
E.g. He was the last man who did this kind of job.
→ He was the last man to do this kind of job.
E.g. Dick was the only boy who found the correct answer.
→ Dick was the only boy to find the correct answer.
E.g. Tom is the shortest player who plays in a basketball team.
→ Tom is the shortest player to play in a basketball team.
- If the main verb in the main clause is have, we change the relative clause to an Infinitive or an
Infinitive phrase.
E.g. I have something that I need to do tonight.
→ I have something to do tonight.
E.g. She had 2 reports that she had to write last week.
→ She had 2 reports to write last week.
E.g. Do you have a knife which I can cut this apple with?
→ Do you have a knife to cut this apple with?
4. Reduced to an Adjective
- When the relative clause contains one or more adjectives, we omit the relative pronoun and the
verb be, then put the adjective(s) before the modified noun.
 E.g. The children who were happy played until nine in the evening.
→ The happy children played until nine in the evening.
E.g. The house, which was beautiful, was sold for $300,000.
→ The beautiful house was sold for $300,000.
5. Reduced to an Adjectival phrase
- If relative pronoun that is preceded by something/ nothing/ anything/ somebody/ nobody/
anybody/ somewhere/ nowhere/ anywhere, we change the relative clause to an Adjective or Adjectival
phrase.
E.g. There must be something that is wrong.
→ There must be something wrong.
E.g. I am looking for someone that is responsible for the damage.
→ I am looking for someone responsible for the damage.
- When the relative clause is separated from the main clause by a comma/commas, and contains
an adjectival phrase or contains at least two adjectives, we omit the relative pronoun and the verb be.
E.g. My grandmother, who is old and sick, never goes out of the house.
→ My grandmother, old and sick, never goes out of the house.
E.g. Mary, who is beautiful and intelligent, is the best girl in my class.
→ Mary, beautiful and intelligent, is the best girl in my class.
6. Reduced to a Prepositional phrase
- When the relative clause contains a prepositional phrase after the main verb be, we omit the
relative pronoun and the verb be.
E.g. The box, which was on the table, was made in Italy.
→ The box on the table was made in Italy.
E.g. The woman who was at the meeting spoke about business in Europe.
→ The woman at the meeting spoke about business in Europe.