Relative Clauses
A. If the relative pronoun (who, which, that, whom) refers to the subject of the verb which follows it, it may not be omitted.
That is the football player who won the award.
She owns that painting which is hanging in the corridor.
B. If the relative pronoun refers to the object of the verb it may be omitted.
The holiday (which) I went on was a disaster.
This is the person (whom) I was telling you about.
C. Whose is used for both people and things and cannot be omitted.
That’s Jane, whose sister works for UNESCO.
The big white house, whose garden has a swimming pool, is very old.
D. We use “of which” to make a distinction between several different things.
There are many temples in Thailand, of which only five are worth paying a visit to.
E. Use relative adverbs “when, why and where” to refer to place, time, and the reason for something.
In American history, September 11th was the day when everything changed.
Ko Samui is the island where we spent our winter vacations.
My horrible boss is why I left my last job.
F. A defining relative clause contains ESSENTIAL information to the understanding of the sentence. Without it the sentence has no meaning.
She’s the woman wholikes dogs.
Sarah is someone whom I appreciate a lot.
“She’s the woman” AND “Sarah is someone” do not make sense on their own.
G. A non-defining relative clause contains non-essential information which can be omitted without changing the main meaning of the sentence. The non-essential information appears between two commas.
The island of Ko Smaui, which is very busy in the winter months, is becoming very popular.
Exercises: Rewrite the following sentences correctly using relative pronouns.
- Ekwefi, she is Okonkwo’s second wife, left her first husband in order to be with Okonkwo.
- Mbanta, it is Okonkwo’s motherland, is the place where Okonkwo is exiled.
- The District Commission, he works for the British Government, shows no remorse at Okonkwo’s death.
- Chinua Achebe writes about Igbo culture, Okonkwo is ready to die for it.
- At the end of the novel, the District Commissioner is the man who Obierika blames for his friend’s death.
- Okonkwo, his strength is well known throughout the nine villages, manages to defeat Amalinze the Cat.
Put these sentences together using relative pronouns. Put commas where necessary. There might be more than one possible answer.
- The young boy came to live in Mbaino.
He was killed by the elders.
- The outcasts were among the first to join the Christians.
They were called the Osu.
- Obierika looked after Okonkwo’s yams.
The yams grew very well that year.
- Reverend Smith came to live among the Igbo people.
His attitude towards the Igbo people was very contemptuous.
- Okonkwo’s body was hanging on the tree.
He had committed suicide.