Relative clauses

= a group of words, usually only a part of sentence

= consists of Subject + Verb

The boy has gone to the beach. (Which boy?)

The boy who lives next door has gone to the beach.

The book is very good. (Which book?)

The book that I bought yesterday is very good.

There is a photo of the hotel. (Which hotel?)

There is a photo of the hotel where we stayed.

1. defining relative clauses = essential information

> The writer who wrote ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is my favourite author.

> The house where we live is very old.

> A pilot is a man who flies a plane.

2. non-defining relative clauses = extra information

> John Steinbeck, who wrote ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, is my favourite author.

> Our house, where we have lived for ten years, is very old.

> Captain John Chang, who is flying the plane today, is a highly experienced pilot.

Defining relative clauses

> can use that

> no commas

> sometimes you can leave out the relative pronoun

Non-defining relative clauses

> can't use that

> commas

> you can never leave out the relative pronoun

This is something that makes me happy. – To je niečo, čo ma teší.

I want to know what happened to you. – Chcem vedieť, čo sa ti stalo. (= jedná sa o predmetnú vetu, v ktorej sa WHAT môže nachádzať)

- if it's the object of a relative clause = you can leave it out

The book which I bought is not very good.

The book I bought is not very good.

- if it's the subject of a relative clause = you must keep it

(tip: the sentence would start with a verb)

The stone which fell on my head was quite big.