Ch 14
Relative Clauses (B2)
Reduced · prepositional · whom/which · whole-clause which
B2 adds reduced relative clauses, prepositional relatives, and the use of "which" to refer to a whole clause.
Full defining clause
The book which I bought was expensive.
Reduced (no pronoun)
The book I bought was expensive. (pronoun omitted)
Reduced (-ing)
The man standing at the door is my brother.
Reduced (-ed)
The report written by the team is excellent.
Full → reduced (-ing)
The girl who is standing over there → The girl standing over there
Full → reduced (-ed)
The car which was built in 1960 → The car built in 1960
Active meaning → -ing
people working here = people who are working here
Passive meaning → -ed
letters sent last week = letters that were sent last week
Informal (preposition at end)
The person I spoke to was helpful.
Formal (preposition + whom/which)
The person to whom I spoke was helpful.
Object things
The matter about which we spoke = the matter we spoke about
Quantifiers
She has three brothers, all of whom are doctors.
whom only appears after a preposition or as a formal object. In speech, "who" + preposition at end is far more natural.
Comment on action
She didn't apologise, which annoyed everyone.
Comment on situation
He's always late, which is frustrating.
Linking idea
The meeting was cancelled, which meant we had a free afternoon.
This "which" must have a comma before it. NEVER use "that" for this — only "which" can refer to a whole clause.
The book which I bought it was expensive.
→
The book which I bought was expensive.
don't repeat the pronoun (it)
He's late, that is annoying.
→
He's late, which is annoying.
referring to whole clause → which, not that
The man who I spoke with him is my boss.
→
The man I spoke with / The man with whom I spoke is my boss.
don't repeat "him"; choose informal end-prep or formal whom
She has two cars, both them are red.
→
She has two cars, both of which are red.
quantifier + of + which/whom
Recap
Reduced active
drop who/which + be → -ing
people working here
Reduced passive
drop who/which + be → -ed
letters sent yesterday
Prepositional
informal: end / formal: prep + whom/which
to whom I spoke / I spoke to
Clause-which
comma + which (not that)
..., which was unexpected