UNIT 30: Relative clauses (mệnh đề quan hệ)

1.  Grammar

1.  Usage

Giving necessary information to define or identify people or things. (cho biết thông tin cần thiết để định nghĩa hoặc nhận biết người hay vật)

• Examples:
• Lan is Tom’s girlfriend. I met her yesterday.
• Lan who I met yesterday is Tom’s girlfriend. (Lan, cô gái mà tôi gặp hôm qua là bạn gái Tôm).

2.  Relative pronouns (các đại từ quan hệ)

• Person + animals: who/that (subject), who/whom/that (object), whose (possessive)
• Thing: which/that (subject, object), whose (possessive)
• Place: where
• Time: when
• Reason: why

a)  “Who” is after a noun referring to people and is the subject of relative clause(“who” đứng sau danh từ chỉ người và là chủ ngữ của mệnh đề quan hệ)

• Examples:
• The little girl is Leo’s friend. She sat next me yesterday.
• The little girl who sat next me yesterday is Leo’s friend. (cô gái nhỏ ngồi cạnh tôi ngày hôm qua là bạn Leo.

b)  ‘Whose’ is after a noun referring to things and people, show the possession(“whose” đứng sau một danh từ chỉ vật hoặc con người, chỉ sự sở hữu)

• Examples:
• That man is my friend. His car was stolen.
• That man whose car was stolen is my friend. (người đàn ông có chiếc xe bị lấy trộm là bạn tôi)
•  “whose car” means “his car” here (ở đây “whose car” có nghĩa là “his car”)

• Examples:
• At the corner is a building. Its windows were all broken.
• At the corner is a building whose windows were all broken. (ở góc đường là một ngôi nhà  mà tất cả cửa sổ bị vỡ)
•  “whose windows” means “its windows” here. (ở đây “whose windows” có nghĩa là “its windows”.

c)  “Whom” is after a noun referring to people and the object of relative clause(“whom” đứng sau danh từ chỉ người, là tân ngữ của mệnh đề quan hệ).

• “Whom” is very formal and only used in written English. (“whom” rất trang trọng và chỉ dùng trong văn viết Tiếng Anh)

Examples: Mady is the girl whom I met last week. (Lan là cô gái, người mà tôi gặp tuần trước)

• “whom” is after “the girl” and is object of the relative clause. (“whom” đứng sau “the girk”, là tân ngữ của ngữ của mệnh đề quan hệ.

d)     “What”: is used without a noun in front of it (“what” dùng không có danh từ đứng trước nó)

•      Examples:
• The shop didn’t have what I want. (cửa hàng không có cái mà tôi muốn)
• What Vicky is looking for is a good job. (cái mà Vicky đang tìm kiếm là một công việc tốt).

e)  “It + be + a relative clause to give emphasis.(“it + be + mệnh đề quan hệ để nhấn mạnh)

• Examples:
• Tom had an accident yesterday.
• It was Tom who had an accident yesterday. (đó là Tôm người mà bị tai nạn hôm qua).
• Mike’s father died on Thursday.
• It was on Thursday that Mike’s father died. (đó là thứ năm ngày mà bố Mike qua đời).

f)  “Which” is used for things (“which” dùng cho vật)

• Examples:
• There are several restaurants at the end of this street. They are cheap and delicious.
• There are several restaurants at the end of this street, which are very cheap and delicious. (có vài quán ăn rất ngon và rẻ ở cuối con đường này).
•   Watch out!
• ‘Who, whom, which’ can be replaced by ‘that’. This is very common in spoken English. (“who, .whom, which” có thể thay thế bằng “that”. Điều này rất phổ biến trong tiếng Anh giao tiếp).
• ‘That’ normally follows words like “something, anything, everything, nothing, all” and superlatives. (“that” thường theo sau những từ như: something, anything, everything, nothing, all” và so sánh hơn nhất).

Examples:

There's something that you should know. (có một vài điều cái mà bạn nên biết).

It was the best film that I've ever seen. (đó là bộ phim hay nhất mà tôi từng được xem).

• When relative pronoun is the object of the clause, we can delete it. (khi đại từ quan hệ là tân ngữ của câu văn, chúng ta có thể bỏ nó đi)

Examples:

The doctor, whom/who/that I was hoping to see wasn't on duty.

OR you can say „ the doctor I was hoping to see wasn’t on duty”

II.        Exercises

1. Complete the sentences with “who, which, that”

a. The man...shot 2 policemen has gone to prison.

b. A bomb... went off this morning caused a lot of damage.

c. The story....upset everyone was untrue.

d. He is a film director ... interviewed me.

e. The accident... I saw wasn’t very serious.

2. Complete the sentences with a relative pronoun.

a. The woman … lives next door is a doctor.

b. The boy … Mary likes is my son.

c. The boy … eyes are brown is my son.

d. The book … is on the table is interesting.

e. The book … you bought yesterday is interesting.

f. The table … legs are broken should be repaired.

g. This is the room … the man was killed.

h. Mui Ne is a beautiful beach … I used to sunbath.

i. Dec 26th, 2005 is the day … the terrible tsunami happened.

j. Sunday is the day … I go to the Water Park with my friends.

k. Do you know the reason … the man was killed?

l. That was the reason … she didn’t marry him.

m. An architect is someone … designs buildings.

n. What was the name of the girl … phoned you last night?

o. What was the name of the girl … you phoned last night?

p. The bed in … I slept was too soft.

q. I didn’t get the job … I applied for.

r. The man … she is married to, has been married twice before.

s. The party … we went to last night, wasn’t very enjoyable.

t. I enjoy my job, because I like the people … I work with.

3. Combine the following sentences into one sentence with relative clauses.

a. Frank is a man. We are going to invite Frank for the party tonight.

b. Jane is the woman. Jane is going to China next year.

c. The professor is not here today. You spoke to the professor yesterday.

d. John has received a scholarship. John’s grades are the highest in the school.

e. Jack has bought a new camera. The camera has three lenses.

f. The doctor is with a patient. The patient’s leg was broken in an accident.

g. The Sales Manager is a young woman. We have great confidence in her.

h. This book contains some useful information. I found the book last week.

i. Religion is a subject. People hold very firm opinions on religion.

j. Dr. John is the only doctor. I have seen Dr. John about my problem.

k. James wrote an article. The article indicated that he disliked the president.

l. This is the book. I have been looking for the book all year.

m. John found a cat. The cat’s leg was broken.

n. The men are angry. The woman is talking to the men.

4. Complete the following sentences using relative clauses.

a. I work for a company …

b. I have a friend …

c. I am living in a city …

d. I sometimes have to do things …

e. The birthday is the day …

f. I dislike subjects …

g. In my free time, I like doing things …

h. I wish to have a job …

i. I like movies …

j. When travelling, I often buy things …

k. My parents are those …

l. I have always been interested in the games …

m. Sports are something …

o. Police are those …

p. For me, money is just the thing …

q. I am looking for a book …

r. English is a language …

s. I don’t know the reason …