In English, there are eleven kinds of pronouns. A common property of all pronouns is that they are all used as a substitute for other parts of speech.
Next will be considered one of the varieties of pronouns in the English language - relative and allied.
Common features and differences
These pronouns, as a rule, are combined into one group, since both subgroups are represented by the same words: Who (Whom), Whose, Which, What, That.
Their belonging to a particular subgroup depends on their role in the complex proposal.
1. Relative pronouns always indicate a specific word in the main sentence.
I see a person who is smiling.
The man who gave me the apple has gone (The man who gave me the apple has already left).
There was nobody who asked about you.
2. Allied pronouns are used to introduce a secondary sentence.
Who has written it is famous.
I know who was it.
Their common function is the connection of parts of a complex sentence, namely the connection of side sentences with the main one. Unlike unions, they serve as independent members of the proposal. The Union, as you know, is not such.
Next, each of the five words that can fulfill the function of relative pronouns will be examined in detail.
The properties
Relative pronouns in English are easy to remember: four of them coincide with interrogative words. The only exception is the word That, which is the most universal of the listed pronouns. It can replace any other pronoun in this group. That pronoun can refer to people and representatives of the animal world, as well as to inanimate objects, numerals and pronouns.
Relative pronouns in English are usually translated into Russian with the words โwhichโ, โwhichโ, โthe one that ...โ, โthe one thatโ. Also, many of the pronouns in this category may be omitted.
Pronoun Who / Whom
It is used exclusively to refer to living beings and appears in the secondary sentence as a subject or direct addition (Whom).
The boy who has just come is my brother (The boy who just came in is my brother).
The woman whom you see in the street is our grandmother (The woman you see on the street is our grandmother).
There is the girl whom we saw in the theater last week (Here is the girl we saw at the theater last week).
He is the only man whom I can believe (He is the only person I can believe).
Whose
Used as a reference to nouns and pronouns from the main sentence, which designate living beings, in rare cases - objects.
The relative pronoun Whose cannot be omitted.
That's the woman whose car has been broken (This is the woman whose car broke down).
Do you know the policeman whose photo we saw last month? (Do you know the policeman whose photo we saw last month?).
Occasionally, whose can be associated with inanimate objects, speaking instead of the phrase of which.
For instance:
In the sky there were already a lot of stars the light of which (whose light) was very bright (There were already many stars in the sky whose light was very bright).
Which
Always applies only to inanimate objects or representatives of the animal world. The relative pronoun Which is an attribute of the book vocabulary. In colloquial English, this pronoun is used extremely rarely, mainly for intentional surrender to the phrase of excessive pretentiousness.
The house which you saw is mine (The house you saw is mine).
In a secondary sentence, a given pronoun may be a subject or direct addition. This pronoun is a prime example of a relative pronoun in English that may be omitted.
He opened the door (which) he had come to (He opened the door he approached).
This is the game (which, that) I played yesterday (This is the game I played yesterday).
Also, this relative pronoun in English may refer to the main sentence as a whole.
My friend left the town, which made me sad (My friend left town, and it upset me).
What
As a relative pronoun in English, it is used only in colloquial language.
Relative adverbs in English
Relative pronouns are often confused with relative adverbs.
There are three such adverbs: Why, When, Where. Their difference from relative pronouns in the English language is that these adverbs cannot be independent members of a sentence, but perform the function of entering the subordinate clause.
These adverbs are used to clarify details when it comes to specific places (Where), specific time (When), or the reasons for an event (Why). As a rule, in English, relative pronouns (usually That or Which) can be used instead of relative adverbs. Relative adverbs may also be omitted.
The house (which / that) we lived at was great (The house where we lived was magnificent).
I remember the time (when) I got married. = I remember the time that I got married (I remember the time when I got married).
The reason (why) he can't play football is that he`s busy at work. = The reason that he can't play football is that he`s busy at work. (He cannot play football because he is busy at work).
English relative pronoun exercises
1. Insert a suitable pronoun.
That was the hat ... he had stolen.
2. Translate using relative pronouns in English.
He came to visit a friend whom he had known for a long time.
3. Tell about your friend using constructions with relative pronouns in English in the story.
4. Make a dialogue on the given situation: you are in the store and explain to the seller what kind of clothes you want to buy. Use constructs with pronouns of the studied group in the dialogue.
5. Answer the following questions on the topic studied:
- What is the difference between relative and union pronouns?
- Explain the difference between relative pronouns and adverbs.
- List the five pronouns of the studied group.
- Which of these pronouns is the most universal? Confirm your answer with examples.
This topic is important in the study of English, because for reading and writing literary texts, business correspondence, texts of the journalistic genre, it is necessary to understand complex sentences and be able to correctly compose and use them in colloquial and written speech.