The Sunday News
The man who lives next door is very friendly. (who lives next door) is a relative clause. A clause is a part of a sentence. A relative clause tells us which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means: — the man who lives next door . . . (who lives next door tells us which man). — People who live in London . . . (who live in London tells us what people). We use who in a relative clause when we are talking about people. We use who instead of he/she/they:
The man — he lives next door — is very friendly. The man who lives next door is very friendly. We know a lot of people — they live in London. We know a lot of people who live in London. A driver is someone who drives a car. What was the name of the boy who ran away from school? The man who was injured in the accident is now in hospital. Anyone who wants to do the examination must enter before the last day of the month.
It is also possible to use that instead of who: The man that lives next door is very friendly. But sometimes you must use who for people. Let us look at these examples again from another angle. The man who lives next door is very friendly. Fred works for a company that makes computers. Have you found the keys that you lost? In these examples, the relative clauses tell us which person or thing (what kind of a person or thing) the speaker means:
The man who lives next door tells us which man. “a company that makes computers”, tells us what kind of company. “the keys that you lost” tells us which keys. We are told that not all relative clauses are like this. For example, Meli’s father, who is 65, goes jogging every day. The house at the end of the line, which has been empty for three years, has just been sold.
In these examples the relative clauses (who is 65 and which has been empty for three years) do not tell us which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which person or thing is meant. “Meli’s father and the house at the end of the lone. The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing.
In these ‘extra information’ relative clauses you have to use who for people and which for things. You cannot use that and you cannot leave out who or which. When you write clauses like this, you have to put commas at the beginning and at the end of the clause. Study these examples: Yesterday I met my English teacher, who told me he was transferring from our school.
Mr Gordon, who has worked for the same company all his life, is retiring next year. He told me his address which, which I wrote down in my diary. The workshop at the school, which lasted five days is now over. Remember that we use whom/which instead of he/she/it/they. Last night they went to a beach party which they enjoyed very much.
You can also use whose, whom and where in ‘extra information’ relative clauses. Abdul, whose mother is Chinese, speaks both Chinese and Swahili fluently. Mr Jacobs is going to Canada, where his daughter has been living for six years. My niece, whom (or who) you once met, is visiting us next week.
When we are talking about things, we use that (not who) in a relative close. 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? I don’t like stories that have unhappy endings. Ben works for a company that makes computers. Everything that happened was my fault. The window that was broken has now been repaired.
You can also use which for things (but not foe people): Where are the spanners which we used to repair the car? Attempt the following exercise to show understanding of what has been said here. In this exercise you have to explain what some words mean. Choose the right meaning from the list and then write a sentence with who:
He/she steaks from a shop; he/she breaks into a house and steals things; he/she doesn’t’ eat meat; he/she doesn’t drink alcohol; he/she designs buildings/he/she buys something from a shop.
The first has been done for you: (an architect) An architect is someone who designs buildings. (a burglar) A burglar is someone . . . (a vegetarian) A vegetarian . . . (a customer) . . . (a shoplifter) . . . (a teetotaller) . . .
You can also show examples on the other relative clauses discussed today.
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