Relative pronouns and clauses

ausing confusion. Also unlike defining relatives, they are separated from their noun by commas. The pronoun can never be omitted in a non-defining relative clause. The construction is fairly formal and more common in written than in spoken English. B Relative pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses:
Subject
Object
Possessive
For persons For things
who which
whom/who which
whose whose/of which
79 Non-defining relative clauses: persons
A Subject: who
No other pronoun is possible. Note the commas:
My neighbour, who is very pessimistic, says there will be no apples
this year.
Peter, who had been driving all day, suggested stopping at
the next town.
Clauses such as these, which come immediately after the subject of the main verb, are found mainly in written English. In spoken English we would be more likely to say:
My neighbour is very pessimistic and says . . .
Peter had been driving all day, so/and he suggested . But clauses placed later in the sentence, i.e. clauses coming after the object of the main verb, are quite common in conversation:
I've invited Ann, who lives in the next flat. Clauses following a preposition + noun are also common:
I passed the letter to Peter, who was sitting beside me.
B Object: whom, who
The pronoun cannot be omitted, whom is the correct form, though who is sometimes used in conversation:
Peter, whom everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent. As noted above, a non-defining clause in this position is unusual in spoken English. We would be more likely to say:
Everyone suspected Peter, but he turned out to be innocent. But non-defining clauses coming later in the sentence, i.e. after the object of the main verb or after a preposition + noun, are common in conversation:
She wanted Tom, whom she liked, as a partner; but she got Jack,
whom she didn't like.
She introduced me to her husband, whom I hadn 't met before.
C Object of a preposition: whom
The pronoun cannot be omitted. The preposition is normally placed before whom:
Mr Jones, for whom I was working, was very generous about
overtime payments.
It is however possible to move the preposition to the end of the clause. This is commonly done in conversation, and who then usually takes the place of whom:
Mr Jones, who I was working for, . . .
If the clause contains an expression of time or place, this will remain at the end:
Peter, with whom I played tennis on Sundays, was fitter than me could become
Peter, who/whom I played tennis with on Sundays, was fitter
than me.
D Possessive: whose
Ann, whose children are at school all day, is trying to get a job. This is George, whose class you will be taking. In conversation we would probably say:
Ann's children are at school all day, so she . This is George. You will be taking his class.
an all, both, few, most, several, some etc. + of + whom/which
This form can be used for both people and things. See examples below. For each a more informal equivalent is given in brackets:
Her sons, both of whom work abroad, ring her up every week.
(Both her sons work abroad, but they ring her up every week.)
He went with a group of people, few of whom were correctly equipped
for such a climb.
(He went with a group of people; few of them . . .)
The buses, most of which were already full, were surrounded by
an angry crowd.
(Most of the buses were full, and/but they were surrounded by
an angry crowd.)
I met the fruit-pickers, several of whom were university students.
(I met the fruit-pickers; several of them were . . .)
I picked up the apples, some of which were badly bruised.
(I picked up the apples; some of them . . .)
The house was full of boys, ten of whom were his own grandchildren.
(The house was full of boys; ten of them . . .)
81 Non-defining relative clauses: things
A Subject: which
that is not used here:
That block, which cost £5 million to build, has been empty for years.
The 8.15 train, which is usually very punctual, was late today. In speech we would be more likely to say:
That block cost £5 million to build and has been empty for years.
The 8.15 train is usually punctual; but it was late today.
B Object: which
that is not used here, and the which can never be omitted: She gave me this jumper, which she had knitted herself or She gave me this jumper; she had knitted it herself. These books, which you can get at any bookshop, will give you all the information you need or
These books will give you all the information you need. You can get them at any bookshop.
C Object of a preposition
The preposition comes before which, or (more informally) at the end of the clause:
Ashdown Forest, through which we 'II be driving, isn 't a forest
any longer or
Ashdown Forest, which we 'II be driving through, isn't a forest
any longer.
His house, for which he paid £10,000, is now worth £50,000 or
His house, which he paid £10,000 for, is now . . .
D which with phrasal verbs
Combinations such as look after, look forward to, put up with (see chapter 38) should be treated as a unit, i.e. the preposition/adverb should not be separated from the verb:
This machine, which I have looked after for twenty years, is still
working perfectly.
Your inefficiency, which we have put up with far too long, is
beginning to annoy our customers.
E Possessive: whose or of which
whose is generally used both for animals and things, of which is possible for things, but is unusual except in very formal English.
His house, whose windows were all broken, was a depressing sight.
The car, whose handbrake wasn't very reliable, began to slide
backwards.
82 Connective relative clauses
The pronouns are who, whom, whose, which. Commas are used as with non-defining clauses. Connective clauses do not describe their nouns but continue the story. They are usually placed after the object of the main verb:
/ told Peter, who said it wasn 't his business or after the preposition + noun:
/ threw the ball to Tom, who threw it to Ann. They can be replaced by and/but + he/she etc.:
/ threw the ball to Tom and he threw it. . .
I told Peter, but he said . . .
Sometimes it may be difficult to say whether a clause in this position is non-defining or connective, but there is no need for students to make this distinction, as the two forms are the same. More examples of connective clauses:
He drank beer, which made him fat =
He drank beer and it made him fat.
We went with Peter, whose car broke down before we were
halfway there =
We went with Peter but his car broke down before we were
halfway there.
We can use one/two etc., few/several/some etc. + of + whom/which as shown in 80:
I bought a dozen eggs, six of which broke when I dropped the box.
He introduced me to his boys, one of whom offered to go with me.
The lorry crashed into a queue of people, several of whom had to have
hospital treatment. which can also stand for a whole clause:
The clock struck thirteen, which made everyone laugh.
He refused to do his share of the chores, which annoyed the others.
(His refusal annoyed them.)
The rain rattled on the roof all night, which kept us awake. She was much kinder to her youngest child than she was to the others, which made the others jealous.
53 what (relative pronoun) and which (connective relative)
what = the thing that/the things that:
What we saw astonished us =
The things that we saw astonished us.
When she sees what you have done she will be furious =
When she sees the damage that you have done she will be furious. Be careful not to confuse the relative what with the connective relative which. Remember that which must refer to a word or group of words in the preceding sentence, while what does not refer back to anything. The relative what is also usually the object of a verb, while the connective which is usually the subject:
He said he had no money, which was not true.
Some of the roads were flooded, which made our journey more
difficult. (See also 82.)
84 The importance of commas in relative clauses
Remember that a defining relative clause is written without commas. Note how the meaning changes when commas are inserted:
(a) The travellers who knew about the floods took another road.
(b) The travellers, who knew about the floods, took another road. In (a) we have a defining relative clause, which defines or limits the noun travellers. This sentence therefore tells us that only the travellers who knew about the floods took the other road, and implies that there were other travellers who did not know and who took the flooded road. In (b) we have a non-defining clause, which does not define or limit the noun it follows. This sentence therefore implies that all the travellers knew about the floods and took the other road.
(c) The boys who wanted to play football were disappointed when it rained.
(d) The boys, who wanted to play football, were disappointed . . . Sentence (c) implies that only some of the boys wanted to play football. There were presumably others who didn't mind whether it rained or not. Sentence (d) implies that all the boys wanted to play and all were disappointed.
(e) The wine which was in the cellar was ruined. (0 The wine, which was in the cellar, was ruined.
Sentence (e) implies that only some of the wine was ruined. Presumably some was kept elsewhere and escaped damage. Sentence (f) states that all the wine was in the cellar and ruined.
85 whoever, whichever, whatever, whenever, wherever, however
These have a variety of meanings and can introduce relative and other clauses. The other clauses do not technically belong to this chapter but it seems best to group these -ever forms together.
A whoever (pronoun) and whichever (pronoun and adjective) can mean 'the one who', 'he who', 'she who':
Whoever gains the most points wins the competition.
Whichever of them gains the most points wins.
Whichever team gains the most points wins.
Whoever gets home first starts cooking the supper.
Whichever of us gets home first starts cooking.
Whoever cleans your windows doesn 't make a good job of it.
B whatever (pronoun and adjective), whenever, wherever:
You can eat what/whatever you like, (anything you like) When you are older you can watch whatever programme you like. My roof leaks when/whenever it rains, (every time it rains) You will see this product advertised everywhere/wherever you go. Go anywhere/wherever you like.
C whoever, whichever, whatever, whenever, wherever, however
can mean 'no matter who' etc.:
If I say 'heads, I win; tails you lose', I will win whatever happens or
whichever way the coin falls.
Whatever happens don't forget to write.
I'll find him, wherever he has gone, (no matter where he has gone) whatever you do is often placed before or after a request/command to emphasize its importance:
Whatever you do, don't mention my name.
however is an adverb of degree and is used with an adjective or another adverb:
I'd rather have a room of my own, however small (it is), than
share a room.
However hard I worked, she was never satisfied.
D whatever, wherever can indicate the speaker's ignorance or indifference:
He lives in Wick, wherever that is. (I don't know where it is, and
I'm not very interested.)
He says he's a phrenologist, whatever that is. (I don't know what it
is and I'm not very interested.)
who ever? when ever? what ever? etc. may be written as separate words, but the meaning then changes (see 61):
I lost seven kilos in a month. ~ How ever did you lose so much in
such a short time?
BILL (suspiciously): I know all about you.
TOM (indignantly): What ever do you mean?
Where ever did you buy your wonderful carpets?
9 Prepositions
86 Introduction
Prepositions are words normally placed before nouns or pronouns (but see 87 about possible alternative positions). Prepositions can also be followed by verbs but, except after but and except, the verb must be in the gerund form:
He is talking of emigrating.
They succeeded in escaping.
The student has two main problems with prepositions. He has to know (a) whether in any construction a preposition is required or not, and (b) which preposition to use when one is required.
The first problem can be especially troublesome to a European student, who may find that a certain construction in his own language requires a preposition, whereas a similar one in English does not, and vice versa: e.g. in most European languages purpose is expressed by a preposition + infinitive; in English it is expressed by the infinitive only:
/ came here to study.
The student should note also that many words used mainly as prepositions can also be used as conjunctions and adverbs. Where this is the case it will be pointed out in the following paragraphs.
87 Alternative position of prepositions
A Prepositions normally precede nouns or pronouns. In two
constructions, however, it is possible in informal English to move the preposition to the end of the sentence:
1 In questions beginning with a preposition + whom/which/what/ whose/where:
To whom were you talking? (formal)
Who were you talking to? (informal)
In which drawer does he keep it? (formal)
Which drawer does he keep it in? (informal) It used to be thought ungrammatical to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now accepted as a colloquial form.
2 Similarly in relative clauses, a preposition placed before whom/which can be moved to the end of the clause. The relative pronoun is then often omitted:
the people with whom I was travelling (formal) the people I was travelling with (informal) the company from which I hire my TV set (formal) the company I hire my TV set from (informal)
B But in phrasal verbs the preposition/adverb remains after its verb, so the formal type of construction is not possible, the children I was looking after could not be rewritten with after + whom and Which bridge did they blow up? could not be rewritten with up + which.
88 Omission of to and for before indirect objects
A 1 A sentence such as / gave the book to Tom could also be expressed
I:gave Tom the book, i.e. the indirect object can be placed first and the preposition to omitted.
We can use this construction with the following verbs: bring, give, hand, leave (in a will), lend, offer, pass (= hand), pay, play (an instrument/piece of music), promise, sell, send, show, sing, take, tell (= narrate, inform):
/ showed the map to Bill = / showed Bill the map.
They sent £5 to Mr Smith = They sent Mr Smith £5. 2 Similarly I'll find a job for Ann could be expressed /'// find Ann a job (putting the indirect object first and omitting for). This construction is possible after book, build, buy, cook, (bake, boil, fry etc.), fetch, find, get, keep, knit, leave, make, order, reserve:
I'll get a drink for you = I'll get you a drink.
I bought a book for James = I bought James a book. B Normally either construction can be used. But:
1 The construction without preposition is preferred when the direct object is a phrase or a clause:
Tell her the whole story.
Show me what you 've got in your hand.
2 The construction with preposition is preferred:
(a) When the indirect object is a phrase or a clause:
We kept seats for everyone on our list/for everyone who had paid. I had to show my pass to the man at the door.
(b) When the direct object is it or them. Sentences such as They kept it for Mary, She made them for Bill, We sent it to George cannot be expressed by a verb + noun + pronoun construction.
If the indirect object is also a pronoun (/ sent it to him) it is sometimes possible to reverse the pronouns and omit to (/ sent him it), but this cannot be done with for constructions and is better avoided. This restriction does not apply to other pronoun objects:
He gave Bill some. He didn 't give me any.
He bought Mary one. I'll show you something.
C promise, show, tell can be used with indirect objects only, without to:
promise us show him tell him read, write can be used similarly, but require to: read to me write to them
play, sing can be used with to or for:
play to us play for us sing to us sing for us
89 Use and omission of to with verbs of communication
A Verbs of command, request, invitation and advice, e.g. advise, ask, beg, command, encourage, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, tell, urge, warn, can be followed directly by the person addressed (without to) + infinitive:
They advised him to wait.
I urged her to try again. (See 244.)
The person addressed (without to) can be used after advise, remind, tell, warn with other constructions also:
He reminded them that there were no trains after midnight.
They warned him that the ice was thin/warned him about the ice. But note that recommend (= advise) when used with other constructions needs to before the person addressed:
He recommended me to buy it but He recommended it to me. He recommended me (for the post) would mean 'He said I was suitable'.
When ask is used with other constructions the person addressed is often optional. The preposition to is never used here:
He asked (me) a question.
He asked (me) if I wanted to apply.
She asked (her employer) for a day off.
B call ( = shout), complain, describe, explain, grumble, murmur, mutter, say, shout, speak, suggest, talk, whisper need to before the person addressed, though it is not essential to mention this person:
Peter complained (to her) about the food.
She said nothing (to her parents).
He spoke English (to them), shout at can be used when the subject is angry with the other person:
He shouted at me to get out of his way.
Compare with He shouted to me which means he raised his voice because I was at a distance.
90 Time and date: at, on, by, before, in A at, on
at a time:
at dawn at six at midnight at 4.30
at an age:
at sixteen/at the age of sixteen She got married at seventeen.
on a day/date: ,
on Monday on 4 June on Christmas Day
Exceptions at night at Christmas, at Easter (the period, not the day only)
on the morning/afternoon/evening/night of a certain date:
We arrived on the morning of the sixth. It is also, of course, possible to say:
this/next Monday etc., any Monday, one Monday
B by, before
by a time/date/period = at that time or before/not later than that date. It often implies 'before that time/date':
The train starts at 6.10, so you had better be at the station by 6.00. by + a time expression is often used with a perfect tense, particularly the future perfect (see 216):
By the end of July I'll have read all those books. before can be preposition, conjunction or adverb:
Before signing this . . . (preposition)
Before you sign this . . . (conjunction)
I've seen him somewhere before, (adverb) (See 195 B, 342.)
C on time, in time, in good time
on time = at the time arranged, not before, not after:
The 8.15 train started on time. (It started at 8.15.) in time/in time for + noun = not late; in good time (for) = with a comfortable margin:
Passengers should be in time for their train.
I arrived at the concert hall in good time (for the concert). (Perhaps
the concert began at 7.30 and I arrived at 7.15.)
D on arrival, on arriving, on reaching, on getting to
on arrival/on arriving, he . . . = when he arrives/arrived, he ... on can also be used similarly with the gerund of certain other verbs (chiefly verbs of information):
On checking, she found that some of the party didn't know the way.
On hearing/Hearing that the plane had been diverted, they left the
airport. The on in the last sentence could be omitted. (See 277.)
E at the beginning/end, in the beginning/end, at first/at last
at the beginning (of)/at the end (of) = literally at the beginning/end:
At the beginning of a book there is often a table of contents.
At the end there may be an index.
in the beginning/at first = in the early stages. It implies that later on there was a change:
In the beginning/At first we used hand tools. Later we had machines. in the end/at last = eventually/after some