92. Relative clauses 1: clauses with who/that/which
93. Relative clauses 2: clauses with and without who/that/which
You must use who/that/which when it is the subject of the relative clause. So you cannot say ‘The woman lives next door is a doctor’ or ‘Where is the cheese was in the fridge?’.
When who/that/which is the object, you can leave it out.
What = the thing(s) that:
Did you hear what they said? (= the things that they said)
94. Relative clauses 3: whose/whom/where
Whom
Whom is possible instead of who when it is the objet of the verb in the relative clause (like the sentences in Unit 93B)
You can also use whom with a preposition (to whom / from whom / with whom etc.):
I like the people with whom I work. (I work with them)
Whom is a formal word and we do not often use it in this way. We usually prefer who or that, or nothing (see Unit 93).
The day / the year / the time etc. => something happens or that something happens
The reason => something happens => something happens or that / why something happens.
95. Relative clauses 4: extra information cluses (1)
96. Relative clauses 4: extra information cluses (2)
Prepositions + whom / which
You can use a preposition before whom (for people) and which (for things). So you can say: to whom / with whom / about which / without which etc:
Mr Lee, to whom I spoke at the meeting, is very interested in our proposal.
In informal English we often keep the preposition after the verb in the relative clause. When we do this, we normally use who (not whom) for people
This is my friend from Canada, who I was telling you about.
All of / most of etc. + whom / which
Helen has three brothers. All of them are married. (2 sentenses)
Helen has three brothers, all of whom are married. (1 sentense)
In the same way upi cam sau:
- none of / neither of / any of / either of => + whom (people) / which (things)
- some of / many of / much of / (a) few of => + whom (people) / which (things)
- both of / half of / each of / none / two of etc. => + whom (people) / which (things)
You can also say the cause of which / the name of which etc:
- The building was destroyed in a fire, the cause of which was never established.
- We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the name of which I can’t remember now.
Which (not that)
- Joe got the job. This surprised everybody. (2 sentences)
- Joe got the job, Which surprised everybody. (1 sentences)
In this example, which = ‘the fact that he got the job’. You must use which (not that) in sentences like these.
97. -ing and -ed clauses (the woman talking to Tom, the boy injured in the acident)
A clause is a part of a sentence. Some clauses begin with -ing or -ed.
- Do you know the woman talking to Tom?
- The boy injured in the accident was taken yo hospital.
We use -ing clauses to say what somebody (or something) is (or was) doing at particular time.
Do you know the woman talking to Tom? (the woman is talking to Tom)
You can also use an -ing clause to say what happens all the time, not just at a particular time.
The road connecting the two villages is very narrow. (the road connects the two villages)
-ed clauses have a passive meaning:
The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital. (he was injured in the accident)
Injured and invited are past participles. Note that many past participles are irregular and do not end in -ed (stolen / made / written etc.):
The police never found the money stolen in the robbery.
You can use left in this way, with the meaning ‘not used, still there’
We’ve eaten nearly all the chocolates. There are only a few left.
We often use -ing and -ed clauses after there is / there was etc.
- There were some children swimming in the river.
- Is there anybody waiting?
- There was a big red car parked outside the house.