Relative clauses (1) –clauses with who/that/which

A) Study this example:

The man who lives next door is very friendly.

(Who lives next door =relative clause)

A clause is a part of sentence. A relative cause tells us which person ot thing ( or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means:

· The woman who lives next door… (Who lives next door tells us which us what kind of people)

· People who live in Paris… (who live in Paris tells us what kind of people)

We use who in a relative clause when we are talking about people. We use who instead of he/she/they.

· The woman =>he lives next door –is very friendly.

The woman who lives next door is very friendly.

· We know a lot of people –they live Paris.

We know a lot of people who live in Paris.

Other examples:

· An architect is someone who designs buildings.

· What was the name of the man who lent you the money?

· The girl who was injured in the accident is now in hospital.

· Anyone who wants to do the examination must enter before next Friday.

Note: it’s also possible to use that instead of who.

· The woman that lives next door is very friendly.

b) When we are talking about things, we use that (not who) in a relative clause. We use that instead of it/they.

· Where are the eggs? - They were in the fridge.

· Where are the eggs? –That were in the fridge.

Other examples:

· I don’t like novels that have unhappy endings.

· John works for a company that makes typewriters.

· Everything that happened was your fault.

· The window that was broken has now been repaired.

Note: You can also use which for things (that not for people):

· Where are the eggs which were in the fridge?

That is more usual than which in the sentence in this lesson .But sometimes you must use which.

c) Remember: we use who/that/which instead of he/she/they/it.

· Do you know the woman who lives next door? (Not…who he lives…)