English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [relative-clauses]

A clause used to join two sentences together, or to provide more information about something.

Remember to use Who for people and Which for things. That can be used for both.

Using the relative clause that to combine sentences:

  • I bought a new winter coat. It is very warm.

becomes

  • I bought a new winter coat that is very warm.

Using the relative clause which to provide more information about something:

  • I live in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has lots of sunshine.

Everyone knows where LA is, so the relative clause provides more information:

  • I live in Los Angeles, which has lots of sunshine.

Using who as a defining relative clause:

  • I am looking for my brother. He is good at fixing things.

becomes:

  • I am looking for my brother who is good at fixing things
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"The girl I love hates me" or "The girl who I love hates me"

The girl I love hates me Is the sentence grammatically correct? My teacher says it should be the girl who I love hates me
Edwin Cooper Van Dyke
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Words like 'place' in 'the place where/that/∅ ...'

A discussion under a recent question brought up a topic I've been wondering about for a while: Only the word "place" is unusual and has the formula "the place where/that/∅", isn't (or should I say "doesn't"?) it? – Zhang Jian yesterday @ZhangJian…
user230
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Are these two consecutive relative clauses that modify the same noun phrase?

“ ‘Landry’s funeral was covered as lavishly as any celebrity wedding in the tawdry magazines who feed on the famous, and whose publishers will surely mourn her demise longer than most. We were permitted glimpses of various celebrities in tears, but…
Listenever
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The use or omission of commas round relative clauses

In Longman English Grammar Practice, there is a practice question in which you would say what the sentences mean with and without commas. My brother who is in Canada is an architect. Without commas: I have another brother or other brothers…
Ghaith Alrestom
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Identifying a reduced relative clause

I came across this sentence today but am not sure if this is a reduced relative clause. These six categories are also consistent with those used to group the multiple-choice questions included in this chapter. Can that/which are be understood to…
jammy yang
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Is usage of relative pronoun for a personal pronoun admissible in writing

In the following sentence, a personal pronoun (I) is referred by a relative pronoun (who): I am Steve who is living in this locality for the recent 2 years. Is this correct or looking weird? Can anyone clarify?
Muthukumar Palaniappan
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"A place which we can stay" or "A place which we can stay in"?

1. (a) We need a place where we can stay. (b) We need a place (that) we can stay. (no preposition at the end of clause) 2. (a) We need a house where we can stay. (b) We need a house (that) we can stay in. (c) We need a house which we can…
Dinusha
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Is 'where' used as a pronoun in relative clauses?

Please take a look at the following examples: (a) Statement: He works in a office. (b) Relative clause: 　　1. The office where he works (is for rent). 　　2. The office in which he works (is for rent). Here, 'where' = 'in which', and I think 'where'…
Dinusha
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"what" vs "which" in non-defining relative clauses

According to google ngrams the second variant is more widely used: [It was cold there], what took us by surprise. [It was cold there], which took us by surprise. Can anybody, please, explain me why? Which variant is better? Will it be a…
DimanNe
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Which vs of which?

Here is a sentence from the Examination: The science medicine, which progress has been rapid lately, is perhaps the most important of all sciences. As I know, which clause can still + Object, so it's very nearly with of which. In that sentence…
mmo2112
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we lack wings prevents VS lack of wings prevents

I got a bit disturbed when I read sentence in a book Flow by Mihaly Csikszzentmihalyi: The first fact does not entail the second any more than the fact that we lack wings prevents us from flying. Is it correct? Shouldn't it be The first fact…
Jānis Erdmanis
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Difference between "He is a hard-working man" and "He is a man who works very hard"

What is the difference between these two sentences below in terms of semantics or for that matter any other aspects? He is a hard-working man. He is a man who works very hard. Is the distinction simply a matter of style? If not, what…
Michael Song
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A modifier or verb tense?

I'm a bit confused about something that looks like a modifier/adjective. "I meant to send you this draft instead of the one I sent you." Does "I sent you" modify (like an adjective) the "one", so to speak, or is it actually a verb tense? If it is…
jess
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Why can "where" be used after a non-location word in "a new job where he can get more free time”?

In a multiple-choice question: It's said that he's looking for a new job, one____ he can get more free time. I think the best answer would be "from which," which is not an option. The answer given is "where," which I don't think makes much…
HypnoticBuggyWraithVirileBevy
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Correct use of "being"

Is the use of being correct in the following sentence? "Accordingly, similar reports were found in the literature, being possible to establish a link among the three definitions"
hawally
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