Gramática Inglesa: Oraciones de Relativo

"the man who called"

identifies which man — the one who made the call

"The man who called yesterday left a message for you."

"the book that I read"

specifies which book — the one I read

"The book that I read last summer changed my perspective completely."

"the house where I grew up"

identifies the specific place — my childhood home

"The house where I grew up has now been converted into flats."

"the reason why she left"

specifies the particular reason for her departure

"Nobody knows the reason why she left so suddenly."

"the car which broke down"

identifies the specific car — the one that stopped working

"The car which broke down on the motorway belongs to my uncle."

"people whose jobs are at risk"

identifies the group — those with endangered employment

"People whose jobs are at risk often experience high levels of stress."

"the day when we met"

specifies the exact day our meeting occurred

"I will never forget the day when we met for the first time."

"a device that saves time"

identifies the category — devices with a time-saving function

"A device that saves time is invaluable in a busy office environment."

"my sister, who lives in Rome"

extra fact about my sister — her location is Rome

"My sister, who lives in Rome, is visiting us next month."

"the Eiffel Tower, which was built in 1889"

additional historical detail about the Eiffel Tower

"The Eiffel Tower, which was built in 1889, attracts millions of visitors."

"Professor Chen, whose research is renowned"

adds a detail about Professor Chen — her research fame

"Professor Chen, whose research is renowned worldwide, will give the keynote."

"last Friday, when the storm hit"

provides context about last Friday — the storm occurred then

"We lost power last Friday, when the storm hit the coastal region."

"the contract, which both parties signed"

adds information about the contract — it was mutually signed

"The contract, which both parties signed, takes effect immediately."

"New Zealand, where the film was shot"

gives the filming location of a previously named film

"The movie was filmed in New Zealand, where the scenery is breathtaking."

"her grandfather, who fought in the war"

extra biographical detail about her grandfather

"She always admired her grandfather, who fought in the war bravely."

"the decision, which surprised everyone"

adds a reaction detail to an already-named decision

"They cancelled the project, which surprised everyone on the team."

"the student who passed"

"who" = subject — the student performed the action

"The student who passed the exam celebrated with her friends."

"the teacher whom we admire"

"whom" = object of admire — formal, correct usage

"The teacher whom we admire most retired last year after thirty years."

"the author whose novel won"

"whose" = the author's novel — shows possession

"The author whose novel won the Booker Prize gave a moving speech."

"the child who is crying"

"who" identifies the specific child currently crying

"Please comfort the child who is crying near the entrance."

"the colleague with whom I work"

formal "whom" after preposition — the person I work with

"The colleague with whom I work most closely is transferring to Berlin."

"a country whose culture is rich"

"whose" shows the country's possession of a rich culture

"France is a country whose culture and cuisine are known worldwide."

"anyone who disagrees"

"who" refers to any person in the disagreeing group

"Anyone who disagrees with the policy should raise the issue formally."

"the director to whom we reported"

formal "whom" after preposition — our reporting line

"The director to whom we reported has now been promoted to CEO."

"the report that was submitted"

"that" in a defining clause — the specific submitted report

"Please review the report that was submitted on Friday afternoon."

"the app which tracks spending"

"which" defines the app by its function — spending tracker

"The app which tracks spending has over ten million active users."

"something that worries me"

"that" after indefinite pronoun — identifies the concern

"There is something that worries me about this financial projection."

"the update, which fixed the bug"

"which" in non-defining clause — extra info about the update

"We installed the update, which fixed the bug causing data loss."

"everything that can go wrong"

"that" after "everything" — refers to all possible problems

"Murphy's Law says that everything that can go wrong will go wrong."

"the bridge which connects them"

"which" defines the bridge by its connecting function

"The bridge which connects the two islands was built in 2005."

"the only solution that works"

"that" after superlative/restrictive "only" — the sole effective option

"Patience is the only solution that works in this situation."

"the data, which was encrypted"

"which" non-defining — adds the encryption detail to known data

"They recovered the data, which was encrypted and required a special key."

"the woman standing by the door"

reduced from "who is standing" — active present participle

"The woman standing by the door is our new department head."

"documents required for the visa"

reduced from "that are required" — passive past participle

"Make sure you have all documents required for the visa application."

"the student sitting next to me"

reduced from "who is sitting" — active present participle

"The student sitting next to me kept asking me helpful questions."

"the theory proposed by Einstein"

reduced from "that was proposed" — passive attribution

"The theory proposed by Einstein revolutionised modern physics."

"anyone wishing to enrol"

reduced from "who wishes" — active present participle for condition

"Anyone wishing to enrol must submit the application by Friday."

"the package delivered yesterday"

reduced from "that was delivered" — passive with time marker

"The package delivered yesterday contained fragile medical equipment."

"the bridge being constructed"

reduced from "that is being constructed" — passive continuous

"The bridge being constructed will cut commuting time in half."

"the files stored on the server"

reduced from "that are stored" — passive location

"Please back up all the files stored on the server before the update."

"the context in which it arose"

preposition fronted before "which" — formal academic style

"We must consider the historical context in which the conflict arose."

"by which point the damage was done"

"by which point" = by that time — sequential discourse marker

"They waited too long, by which point the damage was already done."

"a phenomenon whereby prices fall"

"whereby" = by which means — formal cause-and-effect structure

"Deflation is a phenomenon whereby prices fall across the economy."

"the extent to which it applies"

"to which" after "extent" — formal degree expression

"Researchers debated the extent to which genetics influences behaviour."

"which is why she succeeded"

sentential relative — "which" refers to the whole preceding clause

"She practised every day for a year, which is why she succeeded so well."

"a field in which little is known"

fronted preposition + "which" for formal academic statements

"Consciousness remains a field in which very little is definitively known."

"the company, at whose helm he stood"

"at whose helm" — complex possessive with fronted preposition

"He transformed the company, at whose helm he stood for two decades."

"whichever option proves best"

"whichever" = free relative — refers to any option that turns out best

"The committee will adopt whichever option proves most cost-effective."