文法ガイド

英文法:関係代名詞節

関係詞節は複雑な英語文の骨格です。このガイドでは、基本的な限定用法の節から、IELTSライティングや学術論文で使われる前置詞前置の形式的構文まで、すべての種類を実例付きで解説します。

48 items · 6 topics

限定用法の関係詞節

"the man who called"

identifies which man — the one who made the call

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

限定用法の関係詞節

"the book that I read"

specifies which book — the one I read

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

限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

限定用法の関係詞節

"the reason why she left"

specifies the particular reason for her departure

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

限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"the contract, which both parties signed"

adds information about the contract — it was mutually signed

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

非限定用法の関係詞節

"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."

非限定用法の関係詞節

"her grandfather, who fought in the war"

extra biographical detail about her grandfather

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

非限定用法の関係詞節

"the decision, which surprised everyone"

adds a reaction detail to an already-named decision

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"the student who passed"

"who" = subject — the student performed the action

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"the teacher whom we admire"

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

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"the author whose novel won"

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

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"the child who is crying"

"who" identifies the specific child currently crying

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"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."

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"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."

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"anyone who disagrees"

"who" refers to any person in the disagreeing group

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

関係代名詞:who, whom, whose

"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."

関係代名詞:which と that

"the report that was submitted"

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

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

関係代名詞:which と that

"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."

関係代名詞:which と that

"something that worries me"

"that" after indefinite pronoun — identifies the concern

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

関係代名詞:which と that

"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."

関係代名詞:which と that

"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."

関係代名詞:which と that

"the bridge which connects them"

"which" defines the bridge by its connecting function

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

関係代名詞:which と that

"the only solution that works"

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

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

関係代名詞:which と that

"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."

短縮型関係詞節

"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."

短縮型関係詞節

"documents required for the visa"

reduced from "that are required" — passive past participle

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

短縮型関係詞節

"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."

短縮型関係詞節

"the theory proposed by Einstein"

reduced from "that was proposed" — passive attribution

"The theory proposed by Einstein revolutionised modern physics."

短縮型関係詞節

"anyone wishing to enrol"

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

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

短縮型関係詞節

"the package delivered yesterday"

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

"The package delivered yesterday contained fragile medical equipment."

短縮型関係詞節

"the bridge being constructed"

reduced from "that is being constructed" — passive continuous

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

短縮型関係詞節

"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."

上級・学術用法

"the context in which it arose"

preposition fronted before "which" — formal academic style

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

上級・学術用法

"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."

上級・学術用法

"a phenomenon whereby prices fall"

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

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

上級・学術用法

"the extent to which it applies"

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

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

上級・学術用法

"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."

上級・学術用法

"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."

上級・学術用法

"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."

上級・学術用法

"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."

よくある質問

限定用法と非限定用法の関係詞節の違いは何ですか?

限定用法の関係詞節は、どの人や物について話しているかを特定し、取り除くと意味が変わります(例:"the book that I read")。非限定用法の節は、すでに特定された事柄に補足情報を加え、常にコンマで区切られます(例:"her first novel, which won the prize")。非限定用法の節を取り除いても主文の核心的な意味は変わりません。

"which" や "who" の代わりに "that" を使えますか?

"that" は限定用法の関係詞節でのみ "which" や "who" の代わりに使えます。非限定用法(コンマの後)や前置詞の直後では使えません。"The city in which I was born" は正しいフォーマルな英語ですが、"the city in that I was born" は誤りです。口語では "that" は限定節で人と物の両方に非常によく使われます。

"who" の代わりに "whom" を使うのはいつですか?

"whom" は関係代名詞が節内で動詞や前置詞の目的語として機能する場合に使います:"the person whom we hired" や "the director to whom I reported"。フォーマルな文章や IELTS・TOEFL などの試験では "whom" が推奨されます。日常会話では多くの人がすべての位置で "who" を使い、これも広く受け入れられています。

短縮型関係詞節はどのように作りますか?

能動態の関係詞節を短縮するには、関係代名詞と助動詞を削除し、現在分詞(-ing)を使います:"the man who is waiting" → "the man waiting"。受動態の節では、関係代名詞と be 動詞を削除し、過去分詞を使います:"the form that was completed" → "the form completed"。短縮型の節はフォーマル・学術的な文章でよく使われます。

文全体を修飾する関係詞節(sentential relative)とは何ですか?

文全体を修飾する関係詞節(「接続的関係詞節」とも呼ばれます)は、名詞だけでなく前の節全体を "which" で指します。例:"She passed her exam, which surprised her parents."(ここで "which" は試験に合格したという事実全体を指します)。このような構造はフォーマルな文章でよく使われ、"that" は使えず、常にコンマで主節と区切られます。

関係詞節を自然に身につける最善の方法は、本物の英語を大量にリスニングすることです。

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