RELATIVE CLAUSES AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS FUNCTION

RELATIVE CLAUSES AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS
FUNCTION
ANTECEDENT
HUMAN
RELATIVE PRONOUN
D only
WHO
Here is the man who bought my motorcycle
My uncle, who lives in Paris, is coming tomorrow.
1a
1b
THAT
The man that lives next door is friendly.
WHICH
An idea which changed the world.
My English book, which is on the table, is old.
THAT
Where are the eggs that were on the table ?
WHO(M)
The boy who(m) I met yesterday is here again.
My mum, whom you wanted to see, is at the mall. (*)
THAT, Ø
The man that I wanted to see is on holiday.
The man I wanted to see is on holiday.
WHICH
The book which I bought is quite interesting
My car, which I bought last year, still looks good.
THAT, Ø
The house that I bought is quite big.
The house I bought is quite big.
WHO(M) ...prep
This is the woman who I was talking to you about.
This is Mrs Smith, whom I was talking to you about.(*)
9a
9b
prep WHOM
Mr Carter, to whom I spoke last night, is friendly.
10
THAT ... prep
Ø ... prep
The person that you are married to is a liar.
The person you are married to is a liar.
WHICH ... prep
The bed which I slept in last night is very comfortable
12
prep WHICH
This is the house about which I wrote to you.
13
THAT ... prep
Ø ... prep
The book that you talked about is no longer available.
The book you talked about is no longer available.
HUMAN
WHOSE
We saw some people whose car had broken down
15
NON-HUMAN
of WHICH
The table the leg of which was broken has been repaired.
16
WHOSE
They live in a house whose garden is like a park.
17
X
2
Subject
NON-HUMAN
HUMAN
3a
3b
X
4
5a
5b
X
X
6a
6b
Direct Object
NON-HUMAN
HUMAN
7a
7b
X
X
X
X
8a
8b
11a
11b
Indirect Object
NON-HUMAN
X
X
14a
14b
Genitive
D : defining
a defining clause defines and identifies the antecedent.
WHO(M) : WHO or WHOM
prep : preposition
REMARQUES
THAT, comme WHO ou WHICH est généralement sous-entendu ( Ø ) lorsqu'il est complément, surtout en anglais familer et lorsque la
proposition relative est définissante.
(*) in non-identifying relative clauses WHOM has to be used as an object.
WHOM is not often used in informal English.
WHO cannot be used as an object form immediately after a préposition.
In relative clauses, only WHO or WHICH can be used after a preposition, not THAT
Les subordonnées relatives déterminent ou complètent un nom, leur antécédent
Il existe 2 types de propositions relatives :
- les relatives déterminatives, ou restrictives (= définissantes), sont très fréquentes; elles déterminent l'antécédent,
apportent des informations indispensables au sens; il n'y a pas de virgule, pas de rupture intonative.
Ex: The silence which followed was meaningful (le silence qui s'ensuivit était riche de sens.)
- les relatives appositives, non restrictives (= non définissantes), qui sont très rares à l'oral et se trouvent plutôt
dans la langue écrite; elles ne sont pas indispensables au sens, et ne font qu'apporter un complément
d'informations; elles se trouvent entre virgules; il y a une pause, une rupture intonative, après l'antécédent.
Ex: The conversation, which has been recorded, is essential in the case. (la conversation, qui a été enregistrée, est
essentielle dans le procès.)
Emploi de THAT :
- Il ne peut se trouver que dans les relatives déterminatives (= définissantes).
- Il est obligatoirement utilisé après un superlatif, et très fréquemment après : all, the first, the last, the only,
everything, something, anything, nothing, few, little. (It's the best book that I have ever read. All that I need is a few
days' rest.)
Traduction de "dont" :
a) complément du nom
- il indique la possession : on emploie WHOSE si l'antécédent est animé, WHOSE ou OF WHICH si l'antécédent est
inanimé.
- il indique la partie d'un groupe : two of whom (dont deux), one of which (dont l'un), some of which (dont
certains), most of which (dont la plupart), several of which (dont plusieurs)...
b) complément du verbe ou adjectif avec préposition : le relatif est souvent omis, et la préposition reste après le
verbe.
The man Ø you told me about yesterday. This is a work of art Ø I am very proud of.
Autres pronoms relatifs :
Where, when, why, how peuvent aussi être des pronoms relatifs et introduire des propositions subordonnées
relatives.
(Here is the place where I was born. Do you remember the day when my car broke down? That is probably [the
reason] why he refused.)
Whoever (qui que ce soit), whichever (n'importe lequel), whatever (quoi que ce soit), whenever (à quelque moment
que ce soit, à chaque fois que), wherever (où que ce soit) peuvent aussi être des pronoms relatifs. (You can go
wherever you want, I don't care!)
Les subordonnées relatives complètent une phrase
Elles contiennent leur antécédent, et sont introduites par
- what (ce que), qui annonce ce qui suit (I don't understand what you're saying) [valeur cataphorique]
- which (ce qui, ce que), qui reprend ce qui précède, ce qui a été dit avant, toute une proposition, et qui est
obligatoirement précédé d'une virgule.
(He punished all his pupils, which surprised everybody.) [valeur anaphorique]
traduction de "tout ce que" : all [that]. (I told him all [that] I knew.