themes & topics RELATIVE CLAUSES
PROPOSITIONS RELATIVES
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themes & topics RELATIVE CLAUSES PROPOSITIONS RELATIVES |
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1.NON-RESTRICTIVE CLAUSES - Propositions appositives |
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Contrary to a restrictive relative clause , a non-restrictive, or "non-defining" relative clause, is used not to narrow the reference of the antecedent, but to add further information, e.g. He carried the suitcase, which had lost its handle, on one shoulder. Here the suitcase is already identified, and the relative clause adds explanatory information. NB When a non-restrictive clause comes in the middle of a sentence, it is marked off by a comma at each end. In English, the restrictive clauses, particularily those beginning with WHOM, are not much in use in oral speech. They are generally replaced by independant clauses. Compare, for example the following sentences : a) "Thelonious Monk, who was one of the most creative artists in Jazz, came from New York"(written language) b) "Thelonious Monk was one of the most creative artist in Jazz music. He came from New York." (oral speech).
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PRONOUNS |
Person | Object |
EXAMPLES |
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SUBJECT
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who |
that
which |
Thelonious Monk,
who was one of the most creative artists in Jazz
music, came from New York. The phrase "Bed is the poor man's opera", which is an Italian
proverb, is often used by the wealthy. L'expression "le lit est l'opéra du
pauvre", qui est un proverbe italien, est souvent utilisée par les riches. |
| OBJECT | who |
whom
which |
S. L. Clemens, who
(whom) we know under the
name of Mark Twain, wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. My
sister, whom he met in Cambrige, married him 10 years ago. Ma soeur, qu'il a
rencontrée à Cambridge, l'a
épousé il y a 10 ans. |
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POSSESSIVE |
whose |
whose
of which |
Athena,
whose name was changed into Minerva by the Romans, was the
goddess of Athens. The writer, whose most recent book has had much success, will go down to posterity. The book, the
name of which he could not remember, was
one of the best he had ever read. |
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A restrictive relative clause serves to restrict the reference of the antecedent, e.g. A suitcase which has lost its handle is useless. Here the antecedent suitcase is defined or restricted by the clause. No commas are used to mark off a restrictive relative clause from the rest of the sentence. In restrictive relative clauses, that is often used to replace who and which.
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| PRONOUNS | Person | object | examples |
| subject | who |
that
which
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The actor who
played
the lead in the film was a revelation. L'acteur
qui a joué dans le rôle principal fut une révélation. The secret that
was
kept was a very important one. Le
secret qui a été gardé était très important. |
| object |
that
whom
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that |
The singer that/whom
you
have just heard is Johnny Cash. Le chanteur que vous venez d'entendre est Johnny
Cash. The film that we have been watching is a load of rubbish. Le film que nous venons de regarder est un navet. |
| possessive | whose |
whose
of which
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Here lies one whose
name
was written in water. (Epitath
for himself, J. Keats) Ci-gît
un homme dont le nom était écrit dans l'eau. She lives in a street the name of which I can't remember. Elle habite une rue don’t je ne me rappelle pas le nom.
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3.SENTENTIAL RELATIVE CLAUSES - Relatives de commentaire. |
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In non-restrictive relative clauses, which can be used to refer to an entire clause. The antecedent is not a noun but a whole clause. "He loved her in spite of all the nasty things she had said about him, which was rather surprising." Which = and this, and the relative clause : ", which was arather surprising" is a sentential relative clause used for commenting upon the preceding clause (He loved her...him) Which = and this and the French gloss CE QUE ou CE QUI refers to the entire preceding clause.
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