15 – 25.01.12

when we use 'the'

EXAM:

Be able to do whatever what tested (especially difference between) plus:

• to explain 'what do we mean by pre-determiner'

• make examples or make a list of most important pre-determiner

• example illustrating sth 'give example of double genitive structure'

• gap filling – sentences about grammar to finish 'central determiners are mutually exclusive so you can use ONLY ONE central determiner'

• true/false

• no trees

next semester:

contrastive grammar

books in the library

for each class handouts 'contrastive grammar'

'matematycy' webpage

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Relative pronoun in Genitive case: whose

Whose with personal and impersonal nouns

The man [whose daughter was the competition] is my proud.

The house [whose roof is not belongs] to Tom

[]relative clause

Genitive case functions as determiner(?)

The man is very proud. [His daughter] won the competition.

whose

His – is in possessive case, det of daughter

Whose after not animate noun is not accepted by everyone.

which

The roof of the house is red.

The house belongs to Tom

Its roof is red.

Whose

The house the roof of which is red belongs to Tom

Adverbial function

Adverbial – element which answers specific question

of place, manner, reason,

The town is big. I was born in this town.

Which

The town in which I was born is big. ← pied-piping

The town which I was born in is big ← preposition stranding

The town is big. I was born there.

There refers to place → relative pronoun 'where'

The town where I was born is big.

Adverbial of place

Adverbials of time

The season when flowers bloom is spring.

Restrictive & non-restrictive relative clauses

restrictive – necessary to understand sentence

non-restrictive – gives additional information

Difference in punctuation

commas to separate what is essential from what is additional.

Restrictive relative clauses – no commas – they are very important

non-restrictive relative clauses – with commas, additional information

commas are reflected in pronunciation, intonation.

in restrictive relative clauses instead of who & which we can use the pronoun that

who, whom, which → that

^only these

The man who teaches physics is handsome

The man that teaches physics is handsome

Mr Smart, who teaches maths, is ugly ← non-restrictive

that

That can be omitted in all relative clauses apart from relative clauses in which it is a subject.

if that does not function as the subject it is optional

What to do:

1. check if you can use that

The man who John beat up yesterday is a famous footballer

that ← can be omitted

the man John beat up yesterday is a famous footballer

The man who teaches physics is handsome

that

that cannot be omitted here

A relative pronoun cannot be omitted in pied-piping.

The team about which I am thinking will win tonight

that ← pied-piping

We cannot omit anything there^

The team which I am thinking about will win tonight

that

Sentential relatives

My favourite team will win, which will prove that it is the best.

^sentential relative clause – it refers to the whole previous sentence

Sentential relatives

• always non-restrictive

  • can be omitted

  • comma

• must be introduced by which, cannot be introduced by that

• 'what' is not used!

He was smoking cigarette which surprised me

what

who/which functions as subject when it is in front of the verb, and as object when it's after the verb