Relative clauses · 定语从句
Adding extra information
- A relative clause gives more information about a noun.
- The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
- It comes right after the noun it describes.
The student who borrowed my pen has become its permanent guardian.
补充更多信息
- 定语从句 (relative clause) 用来补充说明一个名词。
- （冠词）The 女人woman （关系代词）who 住lives 隔壁next door 是is 一名a 医生doctor.(住在隔壁的那位女士是医生。)
- 它紧跟在所描述的名词后面。
借走我笔的那位同学，似乎成了它的终身监护人。
who, which, that
- who for people: the man who called.
- which for things: the book which won.
- that works for both, and is common in speech.
who、which、that
- who 指人:the man who called。
- which 指物:the book which won。
- that 人和物都行,口语常用。
Choose: The man ___ called you is my uncle. · 选一选:The man ___ called you is my uncle。
“The man” is a person → who. · The man 是人 → who。
Translate into English: 住在隔壁的那位女士是医生。 · 翻译成英语:住在隔壁的那位女士是医生。
Person + relative clause: “The woman who lives next door is a doctor.” · 人 + 定语从句:The woman who lives next door is a doctor。
where, when, whose
- where for places: the town where I grew up.
- when for times: the day when we met.
- whose for belonging: the writer whose books I love.
where、when、whose
- where 指地点:the town where I grew up。
- when 指时间:the day when we met。
- whose 表示所属:the writer whose books I love。
Which relative pronoun? · 用哪个关系代词?
who = people, which = things, where = places, whose = belonging. · who = 人,which = 物,where = 地点,whose = 所属。
Complete: That's the girl ___ bag was stolen. (belonging) · 填空:That's the girl ___ bag was stolen。(表示所属)
Belonging → whose: “the girl whose bag …”. · 表示所属 → whose:the girl whose bag …。
Leaving out the pronoun
- When the pronoun is the object, you can drop it.
- The film (that) we saw was great.
- But keep it when it's the subject: the man who called.
省略关系代词
- 当关系代词作宾语时,可以省略。
- The film (that) we saw was great.(我们看的那部电影很棒。)
- 作主语时要保留:the man who called。
Can we drop “that” here? “The film (that) we saw was great.” · 这里能省略 that 吗? “The film (that) we saw was great.”
Yes — “that” is the object here (we saw it), so it can be left out. · 能 —— 这里 that 作宾语(we saw it),可以省略。
Common mistakes
- ❌ The man which called… → ✓ The man who called… — people take who.
- ❌ The book what I read… → ✓ The book that I read… — what is never a relative pronoun.
- ❌ The friend who I met him… → ✓ The friend who I met… — drop the extra him.
常见错误
- ❌ The man which called… → ✓ The man who called…—— 指人用 who。
- ❌ The book what I read… → ✓ The book that I read…—— 英语没有 what 作关系代词。
- ❌ The friend who I met him… → ✓ The friend who I met…—— 从句里不能再重复 him(中文"我见他的那个朋友"带进来的习惯)。
Match the noun to its relative word. · 把名词和对应的关系词配对。
who for people, which for things, where for places, when for times — that covers people and things. · who 指人,which 指物,where 指地点,when 指时间;that 可以代 who / which。
Is this correct? “That's the town where I grew up.” · 这句对吗? “That's the town where I grew up.”
Yes — where replaces in the town, so no extra preposition is needed. · 对——where 已经包含了 in the town 的意思,不用再加介词。
- who (people), which (things), that (both).
- where / when / whose for place / time / belonging.
- Drop the pronoun when it's the object, keep it when it's the subject.
- who(人)、which(物)、that(两者)。
- where / when / whose 表示地点 / 时间 / 所属。
- 作宾语时可省略,作主语时保留。
Describe a person or thing in one sentence, using a relative clause (who / which / that). · 用一个定语从句(who / which / that)描述一个人或物,写一句话。
Example: “I have a friend who speaks four languages.” · 例如:I have a friend who speaks four languages。