Relative clauses（送10點）

Relative Clauses 是很文法裡很重要的一環，因為它能讓我們表達某些較複雜的意思。例如我們要說: "那個正在打籃球的女生很漂亮" (The girl who is playing basketball is very pretty.)，或 "兇手用來殺死死者的槍不見了" (The gun with which the victim was shot has disppeared.)，這一類句子，不用 relative clauses 是很難表達的。

例句
Defining Relative Clause
1. The girl who is standing over there is my girlfriend.
2. The pen that I am using is very cheap.
3. The guy who speaks more eloquently is Alan Leong.

Non-defining Relative Clause
1. Mary, who is the prettiest girl in class, is my girlfriend.
2. Alan Leong, who is a barrister, is running for election.

Sentence patterns: Relative clauses
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that begins with a question word (e.g. who, which, where) or the word that. You can use it to modify a noun or pronoun (i.e. to identify or give more information about it).

Students who can develop independent learning skills often achieve good academic results.
There is a new book that investigates the controversy over political reforms in Hong Kong.
A university is a place where people pursue advanced knowledge in specific academic disciplines.
The lecture theatre in which the inauguration ceremony will be held is now being cleaned.
1. Relative pronouns
Words like who, that and when are often referred to as relative pronouns when they are used to introduce relative clauses. You use:

who for people, which for things, and that for both people and things.
whom as the object of a relative clause (in more formal English), though it is increasingly common to replace it with who.
whose to indicate possession, as a determiner before nouns.
For example:

What’s the name of the person who/that first landed on the moon?
This is Dr. Perkins, whom we met at a conference in Canada last year.
All students whose registration numbers begin with 374 should immediately go to the library for a tour.

2. Types of relative clause
There are two types of relative clause: defining and non-defining. You use a defining (or restrictive) relative clause to ‘identify’ or ‘restrict the reference of’ a noun. You do not separate it from the rest of the sentence by commas (in text) or pauses (in speech).

The student who achieves the highest GPA score in this department will be awarded a prize of $20,000.
Computer games that involve fighting and shooting apparently have a negative effect on young people.
You use a non-defining (or non-restrictive) relative clause to supply additional information about the noun, whose identity or reference is already established. You can also use it to comment on the whole situation described in a main clause.

Albert Einstein, who put forward the theory of relativity, is considered by many as the most intelligent person in human history.
The ELC, which provides language support to PolyU students, is located in the AG wing.
You should not use the relative pronoun that in non-defining relative clauses.

3. Reduction of relative clauses
You can sometimes reduce a defining relative clause to create a more concise style. You cannot reduce a non-defining clause.

Half of the training sessions (that are) arranged for the athletes have been cancelled due to bad weather.
The foreigner (who/whom) you saw at the party last night is Giorgio Armani!

(1) defining 與 non-defining 分別? 粗俗又簡單講就係你知不知佢係嘜誰?
知佢嘜誰(即名)如Mary Alan 就係non-defining,記得加comma
不知佢嘜誰如man,girl 就係defining,不用加comma

(2)什麼情況底下要加１個或２個既comma？
Relative Clause (non-defining - 知佢嘜誰) 係子句放入主句內你要描述的noun後面
(Mary) is my girlfriend. She is the prettiest girl in class.
Mary, who is the prettiest girl in class, is my girlfriend. (2 comma)
子句插係主句中間,要2 個comma
I love (Mary). She is the prettiest girl in class.
I love Mary, who is the prettiest girl in class. (1 comma)
子句插係主句尾,只要1 個comma
你不會寫I love Mary, who is the prettiest girl in class,.
因為第二句的comma 已經係full-stop(即無嘢寫), 第二句的comma不用寫

(3) 看番(1)知不知佢係嘜誰?

(4) 看例子 (描述的noun當做object時可以omit - 即冇佐)
She is my friend. Peter fight her today.
She (whom) Peter fight toady is my friend
= She Peter fight toady is my friend (relative pronoun當做object時可以omit即冇佐)
(醒人都知道不會有兩個noun She Peter, 好似不係好暢, 因為omit relative pronoun,
會考會出哪D題目,老師會考)

教多你一嘢樣
Ann is my friend. Peter fight her today.
She, (whom) Peter fight toady, is my friend.
當你知係嘜誰(non-defining), 不可以omit relative pronoun (做object時)
She, Peter fight toady, is my friend. (wrong／錯）

(5) 當(人)做possessive pronoun 用 whose, (死物)做possessive pronoun 用 of which？
　 例子(人) 用whose
I love Mary, Her hair is long
I love Mary, whose hair is long
例子(死物) 用of which
死物做形容詞時,你不能寫the table's leg 要寫 the leg of the table
　I buy a table, The leg of the table is broken
I buy a table the leg of which is broken

2007-11-03 14:56:09 補充：
(3)有加到comma同冇加到comma既non-defining clauses,在句子意思上面會唔會有分別？有加到comma就係non-defining clauses,無加comma就係defining clauses,non-defining clauses不可以無加comma