Relative Clauses

Konu Anlatımı

Relative Clauses — Sıfat Cümlecikleri

Bir ismi tanımlayan ve ona ek bilgi veren cümleciklere relative clause denir. Bu cümlecikler who, which, that, whose, where ile başlar.

who / which / that

whose ve where

• whose: iyelik bildirir. The girl whose father is a firefighter is proud of him.
• where: yer bildirir. This is the hospital where she works.

İlgili Cümlecikte Zamir Seçimi ve Atlanma

İlişki zamiri tanımlanan isme göre seçilir: insana who, nesne ve hayvana which, hem insan hem nesneye that, iyeliğe whose, yere where, zamana when gelir: The school where I study has a new library. ve That was the year when he won the prize.

Zamir cümlede nesne konumundaysa tanımlayıcı cümlede atlanabilir: The book (that) I read was great. Ancak zamir özne konumundaysa atlanamaz: The man who helped me cümlesinde who silinirse geriye eksik bir cümle kalır. Sınavda hangi konumda olduğunu soru kökü belirtir.

Whose sonra isim alır: whose car, whose idea, whose research. Where ise in/at which ile aynı işlevi görür: The hospital where she works = The hospital at which she works.

Tanımlayıcı ve Tanımlayıcı Olmayan Cümlecikler

Tanımlayıcı (defining) cümlecik hangi kişiyi ya da şeyi kastettiğimizi belirler, bu yüzden virgül almaz: The students who passed the exam celebrated. Yalnızca sınava girenler kutladı; virgül eklenirse anlam bütünüyle değişir.

Tanımlayıcı olmayan (non-defining) cümlecik yalnızca ek bilgi verir, virgülle ayrılır ve içinde that kullanılmaz: My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor. Buradaki bilgi silinse de cümle anlamını korur; bu yüzden virgül zorunludur.

Sınav tuzağı şudur: virgül konmuş ama that bırakılmıştır. My car, that was bought last year, is fast. yanlıştır; doğrusu My car, which was bought last year, is fast. biçimindedir. Virgül gördüğünüzde that şıkkını eleyin.

Ne Öğreneceğiz

In this lesson you will learn to join two sentences into one with a relative clause. You will study the relative pronouns who, which, that, whose, where, when and see which noun each one refers to: people take who, things take which or that, possession takes whose, place takes where and time takes when.

You will learn the difference between defining and non-defining clauses. A defining clause says which person or thing you mean and takes no commas; a non-defining clause only adds extra information, takes commas and never uses that.

Finally you will learn when the relative pronoun can be left out. If the pronoun is the object of the relative clause, it can disappear (The book (that) I read was great); if it is the subject, it cannot (The man who helped me). This rule decides most exam answers on this topic.

Ön Bilgi

You need three things in place.

First, the ability to recognise the subject and the object in a simple sentence, because the omission rule depends on the position of the relative pronoun.

Second, the order of adjectives and the pattern whose + noun, because whose is always followed by a noun: whose car, whose idea, whose research.

Third, a feel for commas. English uses commas around a non-defining clause, and the exam often tests whether you can see them. A quick test: delete the clause. If the sentence still tells you which person or thing is meant, the clause is non-defining.

Basit Örnek ve Günlük Yaşam

Read this text and count the relative clauses.

The nurse who works in our school clinic is very patient. The medicine that she recommended helped me immediately. The hospital where she trained is in the city centre. My father, whose back often hurts, followed her advice too.

Sentence one uses who for a person; sentence two uses that for a thing; sentence three uses where for a place; and the last uses whose for possession, with commas because it adds extra information about a person who is already identified (my father).

Now join these pairs into single sentences: The book is on the table. I bought it yesterday. · The man is my uncle. He is wearing a hat.

İleri Örnek

Compare two sentences with the same words but different commas.

Defining: My brother who lives in London is a doctor. (I have more than one brother; this one lives in London.)

Non-defining: My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor. (I have one brother, and he happens to live in London.)

The meaning changes completely. In a writing task, decide first whether your listener can already identify the person or thing. If they can, use commas and who or which; if they cannot, drop the commas and you may use that.

Adım Adım Çözülmüş Örnek

Follow these steps to build a relative clause.

1. Step 1 — Find the word that appears in both sentences. She is a nurse + She helps sick people → the repeated word is she.
2. Step 2 — Choose the pronoun by meaning. A person takes who; a thing takes which or that; possession takes whose; place takes where; time takes when.
3. Step 3 — Put the pronoun where the repeated word was. She is a nurse who helps sick people.
4. Step 4 — Check whether the pronoun is the object. If the clause already has its own subject after the pronoun (the book that I read), the pronoun can be omitted.
5. Step 5 — Decide about commas. If the clause only adds extra information, put commas on both sides and use who or which, never that.

Karşılaştırma Tablosu

This table shows which pronoun to choose and when it can be left out.

Test for omission: if there is a subject right after the pronoun, the pronoun is the object and may be dropped: The film (that) we saw was brilliant. If there is no subject after it, the pronoun is the subject and must stay: The man who helped me.

Sık Yapılan Hatalar

Six mistakes are typical of this topic.

• Using that with commas. My car, that was bought last year, is fast is wrong. With commas use which: My car, which was bought last year, is fast.
• Using who for a thing. The book who I read should be The book that I read or The book which I read.
• Forgetting the noun after whose. whose works here is wrong; write whose brother works here.
• Omitting a subject pronoun. The man helped me was a doctor is wrong; the pronoun is the subject, so it must stay: The man who helped me was a doctor.
• Writing which for a person in speech. In informal English that is possible, but who is the safe, standard choice.
• Adding a second pronoun. the book that I read it is wrong. The relative pronoun already replaces the object, so it must be removed.

Özet

Relative clauses join information without repeating a noun.

• Pronouns: who (people), which (things), that (both), whose (possession), where (place), when (time).
• Defining: identifies the noun, no commas, that allowed.
• Non-defining: extra information only, commas required, that forbidden.
• Omission: only when the pronoun is the object of the relative clause.
• Careful pair: where = in / at which; whose = of whom for people.

Kendini Dene

Answer in full sentences and then check the key.

1. Join: The man is a doctor. He lives next door.
2. Choose the correct sentence: (a) My bicycle, that was stolen, was new. (b) My bicycle, which was stolen, was new. (c) My bicycle which, was stolen, was new.
3. Omit the pronoun if possible: The film that we watched was exciting.
4. Fill in: The woman ____ bag was stolen reported it to the police. (who / whose / which)
5. Is the pronoun in The book (that) I read was great a subject or an object?
6. Write four sentences about people in your family. Use who, whose, where and one non-defining clause with commas.

Answer key: 1) The man who lives next door is a doctor. 2) (b) — a non-defining clause takes commas and uses which, never that. 3) The film we watched was exciting. — the pronoun is the object, so it can be dropped. 4) whose — it shows possession and is followed by a noun. 5) An object — the clause already has the subject I, so the pronoun can be omitted. 6) Any four correct sentences, e.g. My mother, who works in a hospital, gets up very early. My uncle, whose son is my age, lives by the sea. The school where my sister studies is near the park. My grandfather tells stories that nobody forgets.