Relative clauses

1. RELATIVE CLAUSES
ALL RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Prepared by Rahşan Nur Pehlevan, Betül
Akpınar, and Simge Çengel.

2. QUESTION 1
 The Oscar winner for the best actress in 2009 was
……………….. , WHO starred in the film The Blind
Side .
Julia Roberts Sandra Bullock Helen Mirren

3. QUESTION 2
 Choose the place WHERE you would like to have your
dream holiday.

4. QUESTION 3
 A ............ is a disaster THAT (WHICH) caused
pollution in Iceland and Europe in 2010.
Volcanic Eruption Hurricane Tsunami

5. QUESTION 4
 Do you know the name of the person WHOSE work was
awarded with a Nobel Prize?
Pele Sir
Winston
Churchill
Abraham
Lincoln

6. LET’S LOOK AT
THE QUESTIONS AGAIN
 How many clauses are there in each sentence ?
 We use the words “Who , Where , Which , Whose” to
ask questions . Now, are we using them within the same
or with a different function? In other words, do we form
questions with them?
 Where do we use them in sentences ?

7. LET’S LOOK AT
THE QUESTIONS AGAIN
 There are 2 clauses in each sentence .
 We aren’t asking questions. We are using the words “Who ,
Where , Which , Whose” for a different function .
 We use them after the nouns . Thus , the nouns become know
.
 We call them “Relative Pronouns” , and the clauses with
them “Relative Clauses”. Remember that “Relative” mean
that the clause RELATES TO the previous noun.

8. Robert Foster, who is 24, cannot
feed himself. He is paralysed from
the shoulders down, the result of a
car accident. The monkey, which
has been trained to act as Roberts
arms, is a Capuchin monkey. Her
name is Hellion. When Robert
gives verbal commands, Hellion
feeds him and even clears the
dishes away after meals. The areas
where Hellion is forbidden to go
are marked with white stickers at
home. This is the result of a long
training programme that did not
always go so well. However, she
has adapted now and actually
seems to enjoy looking after
Robert.
Which relative pronoun
defines which noun?
Person :
Animal :
Object :
Place :

9. THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF
RELATIVE CLAUSES :
DEFINING
RELATIVE CLAUSES :
For example :
I congratulated the
student .
I congratulated the
student who got the
highest mark.
 They help us to
answer the question
“which”?
(Which student?).
NON-DEFINING
RELATIVE CLAUSES :
For example :
Jill was very friendly.
Jill, who gave my son a
sweet, was very friendly .
 They give extra information
(about Jill). They are like
parentheses. They have
commas at the start and
end.

10. RELATIVE PRONOUNS :
 1)WHO : To refer to a person .
eg. The man who escaped from the prison was a bank
robber .
 2)WHOM : To refer to a person as the object of the
sentence .
eg. My father, whom you met yesterday, lives in Germany .
 3)THAT : To refer to a person or a thing, usually in a
defining clause.
eg. The book that I bought last week is very interesting.

11. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
 4) WHICH : a) To refer to a thing, usually in a non-
defining clause.
eg. My experiment, which I started on Monday, is still
unfinished.
: b) To modify a whole sentence .
eg. It is impossible for us to catch the train, which will
be very bad .
 5)WHOSE : To refer to the people or things with a
possessive meaning .
eg. My classmate Susan , whose parents are both
doctors, doesn’t want to be a doctor .

12. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
 6)WHY : To refer to a reason. ( For which )
eg. The reason why we are holding this meeting is to
seek solutions to our recent problems.
 7)WHERE : To refer to a place .
eg. İstanbul, where more than ten million people live,
has many problems to solve.
 8)WHEN : To refer to a time .
eg. Saturday is the day when we usually go shopping.

13. MIND THE TRAP !
PLACES can be “where” or “which”,
depending on how the sentence is structured.
“Which” is used for objects (it, them).
“Where” is used for places (here, there).

14. MIND THE TRAP !
Examples :
1) We stayed at a hotel. The staff were very friendly there .
We stayed at a hotel where the staff were very friendly .
The word “there” indicates a place, so we use “where”.

15. MIND THE TRAP !
2) We stayed at a hotel. It had a magnificient view .
We stayed at a hotel which had a magnificient view .
The word “it” indicates an object, so we use “which”.

16. AN EXERCISE
WITH RELATIVE CLAUSES :
 Decide if the following sentences are defining/non-
defining, and fill in the blanks with the suitable relative
pronoun(s) .
1) Where is the book …….. was here on my table?
2) I love to think about my student days, …….. my only
problem was getting up in time for lectures .

17. AN EXERCISE
WITH RELATIVE CLAUSES :
3) All over the world, politicians …….. don’t keep their
promises are numerous .
4) The reason …….. I didn’t let my son watch “Children
of the Corn” is that it is too scary .
5) Michael Douglas, …….. father was the famous actor
Kirk Douglas, is one of Hollywoods most highly paid
stars.
6) There is a cafe on the first floor …….. you can get
something to eat if you are hungry .

18. A GAME…
Each group will be given a prompt sentence to change
to a new, TRUE sentence by adding a defining or non-
defining relative clause, in 30 seconds. Your sentences
must be meaningful and grammatically correct. You will
get a point for each correct usage. Silly sentences
lacking interesting information will not be given points,
so think quick! Your teacher is the final referee! 
For example:
Sezen Aksu is a singer .
Sezen Aksu , who writes romantic lyrics , is a singer .

19. A GAME…
 Rio de Janeiro is a city in Brazil .
 Rio de Janeiro, which has a famous festival , is a city in
Brazil .

20. A GAME…
 Orhan Pamuk is a writer .
 Orhan Pamuk is the writer who wrote Masumiyet
Müzesi .

21. A GAME…
 Lara is a beautiful beach .
 Lara , which is in Antalya , is a beautiful beach.

22. A GAME…
 Italy is a country .
 Italy is the country that won the 2006 World Cup .

23. A GAME…
 Brad Pitt is an actor .
 Brad Pitt is an actor who starred in the Curious Case of
Benjamin Button .

24. A GAME…
 China is a country .
 China is the country that has the highest population in
the world.

25. A GAME…
 October is a month.
 October is the month when Halloween is celebrated.

26. A GAME…
 A rainbow is a colourful phenomenon.
 A rainbow is a colourful phenomenon that you can see
in the sky after the rain .

27. A DETECTIVE STORY …
 Choose one of the cases and with the given
information, write a paragraph about each
suspect and the victim by using relative clauses.
You may also enrich your paragraph by adding
information about the time, the place, the
objects, and the reason. Use your imagination.

28. Tom
Red
Scott
Green
Emma
White
- 20 years old
- Emma’s
ex-boyfriend
- quick-tempered
- hat was found in
Emma’s room
- 19 years old
- Emma’s classmate
at university
- unsocial
- the last person to
see Emma alive
- 19 years old
- a popular student
- rich
- found dead at her
home

29. Joyce Trace Pinky Woo
Mr and Mrs
Tinklewood
- 23 years old
- dancer
- easy- going
- found dead in
her changing
room
- 20 years old
- dancer
- jealous
- had an
argument with
Joyce
- A middle –aged couple
- neighbours of Joyce
- they blame Joyce for the
loss of their son
- obsessive couple
- threatened Joyce several
times

30. RAHŞAN NUR PEHLEVAN
MERYEM SİMGE ÇENGEL
BETÜL AKPINAR