1. IES PEÑALBA 4º ESO UNIT 8
They are subordinate clauses which allow us to add information about people or things, without
repeating their names.
The woman is a doctor. She lives next to my house. / The woman who lives next to my house is a doctor.
She lives in a house. It was built in 1895. / She lives in a house which was built in 1985.
In relative clauses we have an antecedent and a pronoun that refers to it (it is the relative).
There are two types of relative clauses:
- DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES - NON- DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES (We will study
them next year)
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
They specify the person or thing that we are talking about, that is, they give us essential information
about the antecedent and the meaning would be incomplete without them.
Depending on the nature of the antecedent and the function that it has in the relative clause, we will
use different relative pronouns:
SUBJECT OBJECT
WHO / THAT (WHO/THAT/WHOM)
The man WHO/THAT visited us The man (WHO/THAT/WHOM)
yesterday is my uncle. we saw in the park is a famous
actor.
PERSON
The people WHO / THAT work in The people (WHO/THAT/WHOM)
the office are very friendly. we met on the party are very
friendly.
WHICH / THAT (WHICH / THAT)
I don’t like stories WHICH / THAT The story (WHICH / THAT) she
have an unhappy ending. told me was very sad.
ANIMAL / THING
Ann works for a company The factory (WHICH / THAT) is
WHICH /THAT makes washing next to my house was destroyed
machines. last year.
WHERE
We use WHERE when we need to refer to a particular place. We can
PLACE never omit it.
That is the hotel WHERE we stayed.
The restaurant WHERE we had dinner wasn’t very big.
WHEN
We use WHEN to refer to a particular time. We can’t omit it.
TIME That was the summer WHEN I met your sister.
The year WHEN I met her was very special.
Relatives pronouns can’t be omitted when they are the subject of the relative clause but when they
are the object we can omit them.

2. IES PEÑALBA 4º ESO UNIT 8
1. Fill in the sentences with WHO, WHOM, WHICH, WHERE or WHEN.
1. She is the woman ……………………… moved next door.
2. Sally is the girl ……………………… I saw last week.
3. The college ……………………… I am studying has a computer course.
4. My birthday is the day ……………………… I get a lot of presents.
5. The eggs ……………………… you bought are in the fridge.
6. The day……………………… I arrived I felt lonely.
7. That is the man ……………………… we spoke to in the park yesterday.
8. Is that the man ………………………stole her bag?
9. I went to a city ……………………… I had a great time.
10. I still write to the lady ……………………… I met seven years ago.
11. Father’s day is a day ……………………… people honour their fathers.
12. Where is the money ……………………… I had in my wallet?
13. What’s the name of the woman ……………………… looks after your grandma?
14. Tom is playing with the dog ………………………lives next door.
15. Is she the person ……………………… gave you this CD?
16. February is the month ……………………… people give presents to the ones the love.
17. They visited a town ……………………… is very famous.
18. The Acropolis is a place ……………………… I would like to go back.
19. Have you met the man ………………………Sarah is going to marry?
20. The town ………………………my grandfather was born has changed a lot.
21. Has Peter returned the money ……………………… he borrowed from you?
22. The police have arrested the man ……………………… stole my car.
23. Do you remember the day ……………………… we met?
24. Let’s have a look at the picture ……………………… is on page 7.
25. How old is the man ……………………… owns this shop?
2. Have a look at the sentences and underline the information that is repeated in both clauses. Then
join the sentences using WHO, WHOM, WHICH, WHEN or WHEN.
1. She is the girl. She works in the library. _____She is the girl who works in the library.________
2. Corfu is an island. It has many beautiful beaches.
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3. The woman is here. You called here.
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4. Here’s the alarm clock. I bought it yesterday.
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5. Venice is a wonderful place. We spent our last holiday there.
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6. The teacher gives us a lot of homework. She came to our school last year.
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7. Here is the computer programme. I told you about it.
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8. July and August are the months. Most people go on holidays these months.
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9. She comes from a small village. It is near Barcelona.
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10. The man is angry. You sold him a car.
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11. The school is very old. My parents used to study there.
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12. I met a boy. He knows you. ________________________________________________________

3. IES PEÑALBA 4º ESO UNIT 8
13. Have you received the parcel? I sent you the parcel last week.
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14. December is the day. Children in Great Britain get their Christmas presents.
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15. He sold the house. He used to live there.
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16. I am the person. I wrote to you.
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17. This is the car. The mechanic repaired it last week.
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18. The driver is angry. We hit him with our car.
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19. We met an old man. He told us that he had seen Nessie.
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20. The day was really hot. I arrived then.
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21. Mary works in the office. Her husband works there too.
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22. I’ve spoken to the person. He bought that mansion.
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23. That's the boy. I told you about him last night.
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24. They've sold the grocery. I used to go shopping there.
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25. The bag was yellow. It contained the money.
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26. The boy is in hospital He had an accident.
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27. He has talking on the phone. I arrived at that moment.
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28. The police officer took down my information. I gave him my passport.
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29. The car was orange. The bank robbers used that car.
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30. This is the hospital. My aunt works here.
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31. Where is the book? It was here one minute ago.
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32. Sally is a lucky girl. She won the lottery last summer.
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33. The robber stole the car. The woman parked it in front of the supermarket.
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34. The person was locking the door. I asked her a question.
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35. She got married last year. She was 28 then.
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36. The Indian restaurant is really cheap. It is near the square.
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37. This is the man. He is going to help me.
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38. The library is always empty. I usually go there in the summer.
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39. Spring is a season. Flowers blossom then.
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40. The lady was on holiday. I wanted to see her.
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