RELATIVE CLAUSES

I. Meänh ñeà quan heä

Meänh ñeà tính töø hay meänh ñeà quan heä ñöôïc ñaët sau danh töø noù phuï
nghóa, ñöôïc noái baèng caùc ñaïi töø quan heä: WHO, WHOM, WHICH, THAT,
WHOSE, vaø traïng töø quan heä: WHERE, WHY, WHEN.
1. WHO: thay theá cho ngöôøi, laøm chuû töø trong MÑQH.
Ex: - I need to meet the boy. The boy is my friend’s son.
 I need to meet the boy who is my friend’s son.
- The woman is standing over there. She is my sister.
The woman who is standing over there is my sister.
2. WHOM: thay theá cho ngöôøi, laøm tuùc töø trong MÑQH.
Ex: - I know the girl. I spoke to this girl.
 I know the girl whom I spoke to.
- The man is my teacher. Your father is talking to him.
 The man whom your father is talking to is my teacher.
3. WHICH: thay theá cho vaät, ñoà vaät; laøm chuû töø, tuùc töø trong MÑQH.
Ex: - She works for a company. It makes cars
 She works for a company which makes cars.
- The elephants are big. People keep the elephants in iron cages.
 The elephants which people keep in iron cages are big.
4. THAT: thay theá cho ngöôøi, vaät; laøm chuû töø, tuùc töø trong MÑQH.
Ex: - I need to meet the boy that is my friend’s son.
- The woman that is standing over there is my sister.
- I know the girl that I spoke to.
- The man that your father is talking to is my teacher.
- She works for a company that makes cars.
- The elephants that people keep in iron cages are big.
5. WHOSE (OF WHICH): thay theá cho sôû höõu cuûa ngöôøi, vaät (his-, her-,
its-, their-).
Ex: - John found the cat. Its leg was broken.
 John found the cat whose leg/(the leg of which) was broken.
- This is the student. I borrowed his book.
This is the student whose book I borrowed.
6. WHERE: thay theá cho cuïm töø chæ nôi choán: there, at that place.
Ex: - The movie theater is the place. We can see films at that place.
 The movie theater is the place where we can see films.
7. WHY: thay theá cho cuïm traïng töø chæ lí do: for that reason,
Ex: - Tell me the reason. You are so sad for that reason.
 Tell me the reason why you are so sad.
8. WHEN: thay theá cho cuïm töø chæ thôøi gian: then, at that time, on that
day.
Ex: - Do you remember the day. We first met on that day.
 Do you remember the day when we first met?
DANH TÖØ CHUÛ TÖØ TUÙC TÖØ SÔÛ HÖÕU
Ngöôøi WHO/THAT WHO(M)/THAT WHOSE
Vaät/Ñ.vaät WHICH/THAT WHICH/THAT WHOSE/OF WHICH
Nôi choán WHERE
Lyù do WHY
Thôøi gian WHEN
II. Giôùi töø ñaët tröôùc meänh ñeà tính töø: (WHOM/WHICH)
Ex: - The man speaks English very fast. I talked to him last night.
 The man to whom I talked last night speaks English very fast.
- The house is for sale. I was born in it.
 The house in which I was born is for sale.
* LÖU YÙ: KHOÂNG duøng THAT sau giôùi töø.
III. OF WHICH / OF WHOM:
Ex: - Daisy has three brothers. All of them are teachers.
 Daisy has three brothers, all of whom are teachers.
- He asked me a lot of questions. I couldn’t answer most of them.
 He asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer.
*Nhöõng töø chæ soá löôïng sau ñaây coù theå duøng vôùi “of
whom /which”
All/most/some/a
few/many/much/none/neither/any/either/both/half/each/one/two/three
….
Ex: Two men came to visit me. I had met neither of them before.
 Two men, neither of whom I had met before, came to visit me.

EXERCISES
I. Circle the letter of the correct answer to complete the sentence
1. That’s my friend_______________ comes from Japan.
A. which B. who C. whom D. where.
2. The plants which______________ in the living room need a lot of water.
A. are B. be C. is D. was
3. She’s the woman_______________ sister looks after the baby for us.
A. who B. which C. that’s D. whose
4. That’s the doctor for________________ Cliff works.
A. that B. which C. whom D. whose
5. Marie, ______________ I met at the party, called me last night.
A. that B. whom C. which D. whose
6. I remember Alice, ______________ rode the bus to school with.
A. I B. whom I C. which I D. who
7. I used to enjoy the summer, ______________ we had a big family picnic.
A. where B. when C. which D. that
8. Tell me about the city ______________ you grew up.
A. that B. where C. which D. ø
9. Anna found the book that ________________ wanted at the bookshop.
A. ø B. where C. she D. which
10. Please remember to take back to the library all the books _____________ are due this week.
A. ø B. that C. when D. they
II. Complete the sentences, using a relative pronoun.
1. The girl chatted with him yesterday. She arrived here at 6:30.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
2. The man is talking to my father. He spent 15 minutes measuring our kitchen
………………………………………………….……………………………..
3. The architect designed these flats. He has moved to HCM City.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
4. The young man lives in the corner. He rides an expensive motorbike.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
5. I’m reading the book. I bought it in 1996.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
6. I will introduce the man to you. He is sharing the flat with me.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
7. The young man is talking to our teacher. He is Ba’s brother.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
8. We visited the monument. It was built a hundred years ago.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
9. The boys are interested in football. It is a popular game all over the world.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
10. The boy gave his parents big hugs before he left. He went abroad to study.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
11. My friends had so much fun at the festival. They wanted to go there again.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
12. Children like to eat ice-cream. It can cause toothache.
………………………………………………….……………………………..

RESTRICTIVE & NON-RESTRICTIVE RELATIVE

CLAUSES
I. Restrictive Relative Clauses
Duøng ñeå boå nghóa cho danh töø ñöùng tröôùc chöa ñöôïc xaùc ñònh roõ.
Neáu boû ñi meänh ñeà chính seõ khoâng roõ nghóa.
Ex: - I saw the girl. She helped us last week.
 I saw the girl who/that helped us last week.
Trong meänh ñeà quan heä xaùc ñònh, khi ñaïi töø quan heä giöõ vai troø laø
tuùc töø, ñaïi töø quan heä coù theå ñöôïc löôïc boû
Ex: Do you know the man? Ted shares a room with him.
 Do you know the man Ted shares a room with?
II. Non-restritive Relative Clauses
Duøng ñeå boå nghóa cho danh töø ñöùng tröôùc ñaõ ñöôïc xaùc ñònh roõ,
laø phaàn giaûi thích theâm. Neáu boû ñi meänh ñeà chính vaãn roõ nghóa.
Meänh ñeà naøy thöôøng ñöôïc taùch khoûi meänh ñeà chính baèng daáu
phaåy “,”.
Ta duøng meänh ñeà quan heä khoâng haïn ñònh khi:
- Tröôùc danh töø quan heä coù: this/that/these/those/my/her/his/…
- Töø quan heä laø teân rieâng hoaëc danh töø rieâng.
Ex: - My father is a doctor. He is fifty years old.
 My father, who is fifty years old, is a doctor.
- Mr Brown is a very nice teacher. We studied English with him.
 Mr Brown, who we studied English with, is a very nice teacher.
* LÖU YÙ: KHOÂNG duøng THAT trong MÑQH khoâng haïn ñònh.
III. Relative Pronoun THAT
* Nhöõng tröôøng hôïp thöôøng duøng THAT:
a. Sau cuïm töø quan heä vöøa chæ ngöôøi vaø vaät:
Ex: He told me the places and people that he had seen in London.
b. Sau ñaïi töø baát ñònh: something, aynyone, nobody,…….
Ex: I’ll tell you something that is very interesting.
c. Sau caùc tính töø so saùnh nhaát, ALL, EVERY, VERY, ONLY:
Ex: - This is the most beautiful dress that I have.
- All that is mine is yours.
- You are the only person that can help us.
d. Trong caáu truùc It + be + … + that … (chính laø …)
Ex: It is my friend that wrote this sentence.
(Chính laø baïn toâi ñaõ vieát caâu naøy.)
* Nhöõng tröôøng hôïp khoâng duøng THAT:
- Trong meänh ñeà tính töø khoâng haïn ñònh
- Sau giôùi töø

EXERCISES
I. Underline the relative clauses in the sentences. Then add commas to separate the Non-
restrictive relative clauses.
1. The man who is talking to the principal is our form teacher.
2. The boys who are sitting in the first row will receive the medals.
3. The students who are in the grade 10th are going to clean the school yard.
4. The animals which are kept in iron cages will be carried back to the forest
5. Mr Tan who is our gymaster is very thin and tall.
6. The book which we borrowed from the library must be returned by Monday
7. The little boy who is crying over there lost his way.
8. Mrs Van who lives next door to Hoa works at the television station.
9. The dog which has some black spots is Ba’s.
10. My mother bought the shoes which were made from Hong Kong.
II. Combine the two sentences by using a relative clause. Some clauses need commas, some do
not:
1. The lady is a famous writer. You met her at the party last night.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
2. The child enjoyed the chocolates. Her mother bought them from France.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
3. Dr Oley is our family’s dentist. He is a popular dentist in the city.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
4. They drank a lot of Coke. It is diet Coke.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
5. The river is the Sai Gon River. It flows through Ho Chi Minh City.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
6. The girls are performing the play. They rehearsed it yesterday.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
7. Their parents are anxious about their children. The children come back late
………………………………………………….……………………………..
8. The lecturer is my uncle. He gave an interesting talk on TV last night.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
9. The student kept talking about the project. It was done last week.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
10. Mr Phong hasn’t come yet. He is supposed to be at the meeting.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
11. Lan went back home. She forgot to turn off the faucet.
………………………………………………….……………………………..

REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

@. Ruùt goïn meänh ñeà tính töø thaønh cuïm tính töø:
I. Duøng V-ing hoaëc boû BE
Khi ñoäng töø chính trong meänh ñeà tính töø ôû theå CHUÛ ÑOÄNG hoaëc
laø BE.
Ex: - Those people who are taking photos over there come from Sweden.
 Those people taking photos over there come from Sweden.
- Fans who want to buy tickets started queuing early.
 Fans wanting to buy tickets started queuing early.
- The books which are on that shelf are mine.
 The books on that shelf are mine.
II. Duøng V3/ed
Khi ñoäng töø chính trong meänh ñeà tính töø ôû theå BÒ ÑOÄNG.
Ex: - The books which were written by To Hoai are interesting.
 The books written by To Hoai are interesting.
- Most students who were punished last week are lazy.
 Most students punished last week are lazy.
@. Thay meänh ñeà quan heä baèng cuïm ñoäng töø nguyeân maãu
1. Duøng to-infinitive sau caùc tieàn ngöõ coù caùc cuïm töø: “the first,
the second, …the last, the only…”
Ex: Andrew was the only student who gave the correct answer.
 Andrew was the only student to give the correct answer.
 2. Duøng to-infinitive sau caùc tieàn ngöõ laø: tính töø so saùnh nhaát +
danh töø
Ex: Mr Forbes was the oldest man who flew a balloon.
 Mr Forbes was the oldest man to fly a balloon.
3. Duøng to-infinitive ñeå thay theá khi meänh ñeà quan heä coù yù nghóa
chæ muïc ñích hoaëc söï cho pheùp
Ex: I think she had something that she wanted to say.
 I think she had something to say.
I can’t go out now. I have a lot of work that I must do
 I can’t go out now. I have a lot of homework to do.
The children really need a garden which they can play in.
 The children need a garden to play in.

EXERCISES
I. Use reduced relative clauses in place of the relative clauses
1. Be sure to follow the instructions that are given at the top of the page.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
2. Students who arrive late will not be permitted to enter the classroom.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
3. John, who was taken by surprise, hardly knew what to say.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
4. The people who are waiting for the bus in the rain are getting wet.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
5. We drove along the road that was still flooded after the heavy rain.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
6.The scientists who are researching the causes of cancer are making progress
………………………………………………….……………………………..
7.The wild ox which is kept at Nam Cat Tien National Park is of a special kind
………………………………………………….……………………………..
8. The helicopter which was flying toward the lake made a low droning sound.
…………………………….………………………….……………………………..
9. The winner of the marathon, who was breathing deeply and smiling at the crowd, raised her right
hand and waved.
………………………………………………….…………………………………………………
10. Any student who does not want to go on the trip should inform the office.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
II. Combine each pair of sentences into one sentence. Change the second sentence of the pair
into a reduced relative clause.
1. Our solar system is in a galaxy. The galaxy is called the Milky Way.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
2. I come from a city. This city is located in the southern part of the country.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
3. Anyone must take an entrance examination. Anyone applies to that school.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
4. The boy drew pictures of people at the airport. The people were waiting for their planes.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
5. Sunlight wakes me up early in the morning. It comes through the window.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
6. Only a few of the movies are suitable for the children. The movies are shown on Channel 15.
………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
7. I was wakened by the sound of the laughter. It comes from the room next door to mine.
……………………………………………………………………………….……………………
8. The students have become quite proficient in their new language. They attend class five hours per
day.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. Disney World is a famous amusement park. It is located in Orlando, Florida, USA, and covers a
large area of land.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Do you know the policeman? He is coming toward us.
………………………………………………….……………………………..
III. Replace the relative clause with to-infinitive.
1. I have some letter that I must write.
2. Here are some accounts that you must check.
3. Who was the first person who left the office yesterday.
4. Edward’s wife was the only person who realized the danger.
5. We had a bottle of wine, but we didn’t have anything that we could open it with.
6. She simply loves parties. She’s always the first who comes and the last who goes.
7. They had to eat standing up because they didn’t have anything that they could sit on.
8. Your son was the second child who was kidnapped in this way.
9. Your files are over the place. You should have a box that you can keep them in.
10. Who was the last person who saw the detective alive?
11. He didn’t buy any cards because he didn’t have anyone to whom he could send cards.
12. Brad was the only person who discovered her secret.
13. Mr Carlos, aged 81, was the oldest person who climbed the mountain.
14. Do you have a wallet in which you can keep your money and important papers?
15. Laura was the quickest candidate who found the correct answer.
IV. Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence
1. The students are reading some books____________ are on disasters.
A. who B. whom C. which D. whose
2. The children__________are playing in the yard are Mr Brown’s nephews.
A. whom B. that C. which D. where
3. They are reading the newspapers_____________have just been published
A. who B. which C. when D. whom
4. Hoa and her dog______________ are standing over there go to the park.
A. that B. who C. whom D. which
5. My father will fly to Ha Noi, ____________is the capital city of Viet Nam.
A. who B. whom C. which D. where
6. My classmates dislike postcards__________show rough sea and cloud sky
A. who B. which C. where D. when
7. Neil Armstrong, _______________ was the first man walking on the moon, is an American.
A. who B. which C. whom D. that
8. They called their friends, __________have lived in the city for a long time
A. who B. which C. whose D. that
9. They ran out of the house________almost collapsed after the strong wind
A. who B. whose C. which D. where
10. She often plays the music______________ was composed by Chopin.
A. who B. that C. which D. B&C are correct
V. Use appropriate relative pronouns to combine the two sentences into one.
1. Mary thought it would be quite safe to climb mountains alone. She didn’t know anything about
mountains.
2. He gave orders to the manager. The manager assed them on to the foreman.
3. The matter was reported to the chief of police. He ordered us all to be arrested.
4. The doctor is with the patient. The patient’s leg was broken in an accident.
5. Jane is a woman. She is going to China next year.
6. Janet wants a typewriter. The typewriter self corrects.
7. I found this book last week. It contains some useful information.
8. Mr. Bryant’s team has lost the game. He looks very sad.
9. James wrote an article. It indicated that he disliked the President.
10. The director of the program is planning to retire next year. He graduated from Harvard
University.
11. This is the book. I’ve been looking for it all year.
12. William wants to become a judge. His brother is a lawyer.
13. The last record became a gold record. It was produced by this company.
14. Checking accounts is very common now. It requires a minimum balance.
15. Felipe bought a camera. The camera has three lenses.
16. Frank is the man. We are going to nominate him for the office in the school.
17. She’ the woman. I wrote to her.
18. They’re the people. I was talking about them.
19. John received a scholarship. His grades are the highest in the school.
20. That is the dog. I was afraid of it.