Las ‘relative clauses’ (oraciones de relativo) se usan para definir o aportar más información sobre que persona, lugar o que cosa
estamos hablando.
I bought a new car. It is very fast.
→ I bought a new car that is very fast.
She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.
→ She lives in New York, which she likes.
Las oraciones de relativo van introducidas por un pronombre o un adverbio relativo:
who, which, that, whose, when, where.
The woman has gone to the beach. La mujer ha ido a la playa. (¿qué mujer?)
The woman who lives in the blue house has gone to the beach. La mujer que vive en la casa azul ha ido a la playa.
Se usa who para referirse a las personas.
En la primera frase no se sabe qué mujer ha ido a la playa y se usa la clausula ‘who lives in the blue house’ para definir qué mujer.
The book is very expensive. El libro es muy caro. (¿qué libro?)
The book that is on the table is very expensive. El libro que esta encima de la mesa es muy caro.
Se usa which para referirse a las cosas.
En la primera frase no se sabe qué libro es muy caro y se usa la clausula ‘which is very expensive’ para definir qué libro.
This is a picture of the cinema. Esto es un dibujo del cine. (¿qué cine?)
This is a picture of the cinema where we met. Esto es un dibujo del cine donde nos conocimos.
Se usa where para referirse a los lugares.
En la primera frases no sabemos qué cine esta en el dibujo se usa la clausula ‘where we met’ para definirlo.
Tambien se puede usar that para hablar de personas o cosas.
The woman that lives in the blue house has gone to the beach.
The book that is on the table is very expensive.
Muchos hispanohablantes cometen el error de repetir el sujeto en frases de este tipo. Por ejemplo,
The girls who they work at that shop are really friendly. X
Does the bus that it goes to the airport stop here? X
Aquí van más ejemplos de este error, y cómo corregirlo:
I have a friend who he works at the airport. X–> I have a friend who works at the airport.
Where are the flowers that they were on the table? X–> Where are the flowers that were on the table?
Estas frases son otra variación sobre este tema:
Did you see the gift that I bought it for your mother? X –> Did you see the gift that I bought for your mother?
There are red wines that you should drink them cold. X –> There are red wines that you should drink cold.
1. Realiza estos ejercicios: AQUÍ y aquí
Más
2. Combine the sentences into one single sentence using relative clauses.
1 My flat is in an old part of the city. It was built in the 1920s.
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2 There are lots of bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood. I live in the neighbourhood.
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3 My neighbour comes from Ecuador. He works on the fruit farms around the city.
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4 The neighbour makes a lot of noise walking around. His flat is above mine.
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5 The traffic is also very noisy. It passes my flat.
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3.
Complete these sentences with the correct relative pronoun.
1. Brigitte Bardot is a French actress who/that has protested against the slaughter of seals.
2. The fox is an animal .……………….. can be seen
in many British cities.
3. Kate is the girl .……………….. father bought a
baby crocodile.
4. The office .……………….. I work is a branch of
the RSPCA.
5. Charlie is the hamster .……………….. is fatter
than all the rest.
6. Mr Forrester is the butcher .……………….. had
his shop window smashed by ALF
members.
4. Circle the relative pronouns you could
omit in these sentences.
1.
The girl that we
were talking to loves snakes.
2. Is that the woman who threw acid at the
horses?
3. The book which I bought yesterday is about
training dogs.
4. My friend Simon is the boy whose mother is a
professor of zoology.
5. Do you know the people who made so much
noise at the party last night?
6. Have you seen the bag where I keep my
football kit?
5. Join each pair of sentences with a
defining relative clause. Omit the
pronoun where possible.
1.
Last week I bought a book. It’s a best-seller.
Last week I bought a book which/ that is a
best–seller.
2. Have you seen the biscuits? They were on the
top shelf.
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3. A woman gave me the application form. She
told me how to fill it out.
...............................................................................................
4. The novel is about a child. Her parents die
in the jungle.
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5. Charles Chaplin was a famous comedian. He
directed well-known films.
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6 You are going to meet a girl tomorrow. She
is intelligent and pretty, too.
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7 I bought a new CD. Its songs are by
different country music singers.
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RESUMEN
