Non-defining relative clauses

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1 Non-defining relative clauses As the name suggests, non-defining relative clauses tell us more about someone or something, but the information in these clauses does not help us to define what we are talking about. Take for example the sentence: Gorillas, which are large and originate in Africa, can sometimes be found in zoos. In this sentence we are talking about all gorillas, not just some of them. The information in the non-defining relative clause tells us something more about gorillas in general. It does not define a small group of gorillas or an individual gorilla. If the non-defining relative clause were removed from the sentence, the sentence would still be gramatically correct and the meaning would not have changed, although we would have less detail. Non-defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun, a verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas or parentheses are always used to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence. Examples John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren. My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel. My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England. We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before. I've just come back from London, where John lives.. Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London. Relative pronouns The following relative pronouns are used in non-defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns appear at the start of the nondefining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the sentence. Person Thing Subject who which Object who/whom which Possessive whose Differences with defining relative clauses In defining relative clauses, the pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English. In non-defining relative clauses, you cannot replace other pronouns with that. You also cannot leave out the relative pronoun in non-defining relative clauses, in the way you sometimes can in defining relative clauses. The pronoun is required, even when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause. Finally, non-defining relative clauses are always separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, unlike defining relative clauses, which have no punctuation. Examples He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope. (non-defining clause: There was only one letter, it happened to be blue. You must use which) He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope. (defining clause: There were several letters of different colors and he gave me the blue one. Which may be replaced by that. The commas are removed.) He gave me the letter, which I read immediately. (non-defining clause: There was only one letter. which is the object of read, but it still must be included in the sentence.) Stratford-on-Avon, which many people have written about, is Shakespeare's birthplace. (Any preposition that appears is normally placed at the end of the clause.) Stratford-on-Avon, about which many people have written, is Shakespeare's birthplace. (In formal written English, you can also put the preposition before the pronoun.)

2 Relative Adverbs A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand. This is the shop in which I bought my bike. This is the shop where I bought my bike. relative adverb meaning use example when in/on which refers to a time expression the day when we met him where in/at which refers to a place the place where we met him why for which refers to a reason the reason why we met him Defining Relative Clauses Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas. Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean. Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom? Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions. A seaman is someone who works on a ship. Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.) The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice. Non-Defining Relative Clauses Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas. Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean. Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom? Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that. Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used. Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice. How to Shorten Relative Clauses? Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand. I told you about the woman who lives next door. I told you about the woman living next door. Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

3 Introduzione Utilizziamo la proposizione relativa quando vogliamo dare informazioni aggiuntive senza iniziare una nuova frase. In inglese si distinguono due tipi di relative: le relative indispensabili (non racchiuse tra virgole) e le relative non indispensabili (racchiuse tra due virgole). These are my friends who I spend a lot of time with. The boy who is wearing glasses is Tony. Phil, who I met at the summer camp, is very funny. I can still remember the day when I met him. We have a youth club in town where I often meet my friends. This is the reason why I go there. They often have a disco in the club, which is very popular. Linda, whose mother is a ballerina, can dance very well. Quando si usa? La proposizione relativa contiene informazioni aggiuntive che riguardano il soggetto o l'oggetto della frase. Normalmente si colloca direttamente dopo il soggetto o l'oggetto a cui si riferisce. The boy who is wearing glasses is Tony. The boy is Tony. Tony is wearing glasses. Come si forma? La proposizione relativa viene introdotta da un pronome relativo o da un avverbio relativo. Pronome relativo Pronome relativo Significato in italiano who che soggetto o oggetto per persone which che, il quale, la quale Referito a: soggetto o oggetto per animali o oggetti whose il cui, la cui appartenenza a persone, animali o oggetti whom that chi, che, cui che si usa in riferimento ad oggetto per persone soprattutto in relative non indispensabili, stile molto formale soggetto o oggetto per persone, animali e oggetti in proposizioni relative indispensabili defining clause (è possibile utilizzare anche who o which) Esempio the boy who is wearing glasses in the club, which is very popular the girl whose mother is a ballerina Phil, whom I met at summer camp the boy that is wearing glasses Pronome soggetto o pronome oggetto? Mentre in italiano il pronome soggetto viene spesso omesso e usato solo per sottolineare chi sta per svolgere l'azione della frase, in inglese si usa sempre. Pronomi soggetto e pronomi oggetto hanno la stessa forma (who, which, that). Per poterli distinguere però bisogna fare attenzione alle seguenti caratteristiche: se il pronome relativo precede il verbo, esso è anche pronome soggetto. Il pronome soggetto non può essere omesso.

4 the boy who is wearing glasses se il pronome relativo precede un nome o un pronome, esso è anche pronome oggetto. Il pronome oggetto può essere omesso nelle proposizioni relative indispensabili. In questo caso in inglese si parla di Contact Clauses. the boy (who) I met at the summer camp Il pronome relativo accompagnato da preposizione Quando il pronome relativo viene utilizzato insieme ad una preposizione, in inglese dobbiamo mettere la preposizione alla fine della frase relativa (e non come in italiano dove la preposizione precede il pronome relativo). These are my friends who I spend a lot of time with. Se invece utilizziamo la versione molto formale con whom, la preposizione sta all'inizio della proposizione relativa come in italiano. These are my friends with whom I spend a lot of time. Anche nella descrizione del posto, del tempo o della causa, la preposizione si trova all'inizio della frase relativa (in questi casi però si preferisce impiegare gli avverbi relativi, vedi sotto). I can still remember the day on which I met Phil. This is the youth club in which I meet my friends. This is the reason for which I go there. Gli avverbi relativi Gli avverbi relativi si riferiscono ad una frase intera o ad un indicazione di tempo, di luogo o di causa (in quest' ultimo caso sostituiscono una preposizione + which). I can still remember the day when I met Phil. (al posto di: I can still remember the day on which I met Phil.) which when Avverbio relativo Corrisponde a in/on which una frase intera Si riferisce a un indicazione di tempo che viene descritta nel dettaglio where in/at which un luogo che viene descritto nel dettaglio Esempio Linda dances well, which doesn t surprise me. I can still remember the day when I met Phil. This is the youth club where I meet my friends. why for which una causa che viene descritta nel dettaglio That s the reason why I go there. La proposizione relativa indispensabile e non indispensabile In inglese distinguiamo tra relativa indispensabile (restrittiva/defining) e relativa non indispensabile (non restrittiva nondefining). Indispensabile

5 In inglese le proposizioni indispensabili si chiamano defining relative clauses, identifying relative clauses oppure restrictive relative clauses e non vanno separate da virgole dal resto della frase. Sono indispensabili perchè forniscono indicazioni indispensabili per identificare qualcosa in modo esatto. The boy who is wearing glasses is Tony. Visto che l'immagine raffigura due ragazzi, senza le informazioni della frase relativa non sarebbe possibile identificare il ragazzo di cui si sta parlando. Non indispensabile Le proposizioni non indispensabili in inglese si chiamano non-defining relative clauses, non-identifying relative clauses oppure non-restrictive relative clauses e si separano con le virgole dal resto della frase. Esse non sono indispensabili perchè omettendole si capirebbe comunque di chi o di cosa si sta parlando. Phil, who I met at summer camp, is very funny. Nota bene Menzionando il nome una persona, essa viene già identificata. In questo caso la proposizione relativa contiene quindi soltanto delle informazioni aggiuntive. (Se invece i ragazzi si chiamassero entrambi Phil, la frase relativa sarebbe indispensabile per capire di quale Phil si sta parlando.) Nella proposizione relativa non indispensabile i pronomi relativi who/which non possono essere sostituiti da that. non: Phil, that I met at summer camp Contact Clauses Quando con una proposizione relativa indispensabile sostituiamo un complemento oggetto, possiamo omettere il pronome relativo who/which/that. Questo tipo di proposizone relativa si chiama Contact Clause. The boy and the girl are friends. I spend a lot of time with them. These are the friends (who) I spend a lot of time with. Attenzione! Non possiamo omettere il pronome relativo quando la relativa sostituisce un soggetto Tony is a boy. He is wearing glasses. The boy who is wearing glasses is Tony. (non: The boy is wearing glasses is Tony.) si tratta di una relativa non indispensabile Phil, who I met at summer camp, is very funny. (non: Phil, I met at summer camp, is very funny.)

6 Non-Defining Relative Clauses Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas. Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean. Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom? Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that. Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used. Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice. How to Shorten Relative Clauses? Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand. I told you about the woman who lives next door. I told you about the woman living next door. Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? Do you see the cat lying on the roof?