reported

MỆNH ĐỀ QUAN HỆ
(RELATIVE CLAUSES)

Mệnh đề quan hệ là mệnh đề được bắt đầu bằng các đại từ quan hệ (relative pronouns) nhö : who, whom, which, whose,
that.
- The man who met me at the airport gave me the money.
(Người đàn ông đã gặp tôi tại sân bay đã trao cho tôi số tiền này.)
Trong câu trên, mệnh đề “who met me at the airport” là mệnh đề quan hệ trong đó “who” là đại từ quan hệ được dùng để
thay thế tiền vị từ (antecedent) “the man” và mệnh đề còn lại “The man gave me the money” là mệnh đề chính.
1/ Hãy xem các ví dụ :
- The man gave me the money. He met me at the airport.
à The man who met me at the airport gave me the money.
(Người đàn ông đã gặp tôi tại sân bay đã trao cho tôi số tiền này.)
- This is the man. We saw him at the party yesreday.
à This is the man whom we saw at the party yesterday.
(Đây là người đàn ông mà tôi đã gặp tại bửa tiệc ngày hôm qua.)
- The pencil belongs to me. It is in your pocket.
à The pencil which is in your pocket belongs to me.
(Cây viết ở trong túi bạn là của tôi.)
- The car is very expensive. He bought it.
à The car which he bought is very expensive.
(Chiếc xe hơi mà anh ấy đã mua thì rất đắt.)
- That is the man. His wallet was stolen.
à That is the man whose wallet was stolen.
(Đó là người mà cái bóp của người dó bị ăn cắp)
- The tree should be cut down. The branches of the tree are dead.
à The tree whose branches are dead should be cut down.
(Cái cây mà nhiều nhánh của nó bị chết nê được đốn xuống )
2/ Cách dùng đại từ quan hệ:
Chủ từ (subject)
For people

(Chỉ người)
For things, animals
(chỉ vật, thú vật)

Túc từ (object)

Sở hữu (possessive)

Who / that

whom / who / that

whose

Which / that

which / that

whose

Thoâng thường ta có thể dùng that để thay thế cho who, whom hoaëc which.
- The man that met me at the airport gave me the money.
- This is the man that we saw at the party yesterday.
- The pencil that is in your pocket belongs to me.
- The car that he bought is very expensive.
3/ Phân loại : Ta cần phân biệt mệnh đề quan hệ làm hai loại : mệnh đề xác định (defining relative clause) và mệnh đề
không xác định (non-defining relative clause) :
(*) Defining clause : (hoặc Restrictive clause)
- The man who met me at the airport gave me the money.
Ta gọi mệnh đề who met me at the airport là mệnh đề quan hệ xác định vì nó rất cần thiết để định nghóa hoặc giải thích

cho tiền vị từ the man. Nếu không có nó, từ the man sẽ rất mơ hồ và ta không biết người đàn ông đó là ai.
- The book (which / that) you lent me is very interesting.
(Quyển sách mà bạn cho tôi mượn thì rất là hay.)
- The man (whom / that) you met yesterday is coming to my house for dinner.
(Người mà hôm qua bạn gặp sẽ đến nhà tôi ăn cơm tối.)


(*) Non-defining clause : (hoaëc Non-restrictive clause)
- Shakespeare, who wrote “Romeo and Juliet”, died in 1616.
(Shakespeare, người đã viết “Romeo & Juliet”, mất năm 1616.)
Ta gọi mệnh đề who wrote “Romeo and Juliet” là mệnh đề quan hệ không xác định vì nó chỉ bổ túc thêm nghóa cho tiền
vị từ Shakespeare nên dù có bỏ đi mệnh đề này thì nghóa của câu văn vẫn rõ ràng. Mệnh đề quan hệ không xác định thường
được ngăn cách bởi dấu phẩy (trước và sau mệnh đề) và không được dùng that để thay thế cho who, whom hay which.
- My brother Jack, who came here last night, is an engineer.
(Jack, anh trai của tôi, người đến đây tối hôm qua, là một kỹû sư.)
- That house, which was built a few months ago, doesn’t look modern.
(Căn nhà kia, mà nó được xây cách đây một vài tháng, trông không hiện ñaïi.)
- Vietnam, which lies in Southeast Asia, is rich in coal.
(Việt Nam, mà nó nằm ở Đông Nam Á, có rất nhiều than.)
Mệnh đề quan hệ không xác định được dùng khi tiền vị từ là tiếng được xác định : thường là danh từ riêng chỉ người hay địa
danh (Mr. Brown, Vietnam…), hoặc danh từ đi với các tính từ chỉ định (this, that…) hay tính từ sở hữu (my, his, her, their…) hoặc
do ta tự qui định lấy.
-A man, who said he knew my father, asked me for money.
(Có một người mà người đó nói rằng biết ba tôi hỏi xin tiền tôi.)
4/ where, when và why trong mệnh đề quan hệ :
- That is the village in which I used to live.
à That is the village where I used to live.
- Sunday is the day on which most people rest.
à Sunday is the day when most people rest.
- There must be a reason for which you said that.

à There must be a reason why you said that.
In (on / at) which --- (place)-- à where
On (in / at) which ---(time )-- à when
For which
--(reason)-- à why
Where vaø when có thể được dùng để giới thiệu mệnh đề xác định và mệnh đề không xác định.
- We visited the town where I was born. (defining)
(Chúng tôi đến thăm thành phố nơi tôi đượcsinh ra.)
- I bought them at the supermarket, where I met Mrs.Brown. (non-defining)
(Tôi mua chúng tại siêu thị kia, nơi mà tôi gặp bà Brown.)
- I saw the film last year, when I was in Paris. (non-defining)
(Tôi đã xem bộ phim đó hồi năm ngóai khi tôi đang ở Paris.)
-I think that was the time when I lost all my money. (defining)
(Tôi nghó đó là lúc mà tôi làm mất hết số tiền của mình.)
Why thường được dùng trong mệnh đề xác định và thường theo sau a reason hay the reason.
- That is the reason why I didn’t come to the party yesterday.
(Đó là lý do tại sao hôm qua tôi không đi dự tiệc.)
Where, when và why được gọi là trạng từ quan hệ (relative adverbs)
EXERCISE I : Write who, that, which, or nothing to complete these sentences :
1/ Have you got the money ___________ I lent you yesterday ?
2/ Peter, ___________ I had seen earlier, wasn’t at the party.
3/ This is the machine ___________ cost half a million pounds.
4/ Mary, ___________ had been listening to the conversation, looked angry.
5/ Have you read the book ___________ I gave you ?
6/ The house, ___________ they bought three months ago, looks lovely.


7/ Mrs.Jackson, ___________ had been very ill, died yesterday.
8/ Is this the person ___________ stole your handbag ?
9/ The dog, ___________ had been very quiet, suddenly started barking.

10/ I didn’t receive the letters ___________ she sent me.
11/ My mother, ___________ hadn’t been expecting visitors, looked surprised.
12/ The old man, ______ had been talking to them earlier, knew that they were in the building.
13/ The horse, _________ had been injured by the flying stones, was very frightened.
14/ We didn’t like the secetary ___________ the agency sent.
15/ I didn’t find the money ___________ you said you’d left.
EXERCISE II : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns :
1/ This is the man. I met him in Paris.
- ________________________________________________
2/ I wanted the painting. You bought it.
- ________________________________________________
3/ This is the chair. My parents gave it to me.
- ________________________________________________
4/ She’s the woman. She telephoned the police.
- ________________________________________________
5/ He’s the person. He wanted to buy your house.
- ________________________________________________
6/ We threw out the computer. It never worked properly.
- ________________________________________________
7/ This is the lion. It’s been ill recently.
- ________________________________________________
8/ The man was badly injured. He was driving the car.
- ________________________________________________
9/ The children broke the window. They live in the next street.
- ________________________________________________
10/ That’s the woman. I was telling you about her.
- ________________________________________________
EXERCISE III : Combine these pairs of sentences using relative pronouns:
1/ There’s the lady. Her dog was killed.
- ________________________________________________

2/ That’s the man. He’s going to buy the company.
- ________________________________________________
3/ He’s the person. His car was stolen.
- ________________________________________________
4/ She’s the new doctor.The doctor’s coming to the hospital next week.
- ________________________________________________
5/ She’s the journalist. Her article was on the front page of The Times.
- ________________________________________________
6/ They’re the people. Their shop burned down last week.
- ________________________________________________


7/ That’s the sales director. He’s leaving in March.
- ________________________________________________
8/ I’m the person. You stayed in my flat.
- ________________________________________________
9/ That’s the boy. He’s just got a place at university.
- ________________________________________________
10/ I’m the one. My flat was broken into.
- ________________________________________________
EXERCISE IV : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns :
1/ The man didn’t come back again. I shouted at him.
- ________________________________________________
2/ The television never worked again. I dropped it.
- ________________________________________________
3/ The machine was broken. I hired it.
- ________________________________________________
4/ The clothes were beautiful. She bought some clothes.
- ________________________________________________
5/ The wall fell down after three weeks. They built the wall.

- ________________________________________________
6/ The policeman wasn’t very helpful. I asked him.
- ________________________________________________
7/ I didn’t really like the car. We bought it.
- ________________________________________________
8/ I lost the money. I borrowed it from John.
- ________________________________________________
9/ I really liked the new teacher. They sent the new teacher.
- ________________________________________________
10/ I sacked a sales assistant. I had a terrible argument with him.
- ________________________________________________
EXERCISE V : Write where, when, or why to complete these sentences.
1/ We visited the school ___________ my father taught.
2/ I met her last month, ___________ she came to our house.
3/ We all looked at the place ___________ the fire had started.
4/ Did they tell you the reason ___________ they were late?
5/ The cat sat on the wall ___________ it had a good view of the birds.
6/ They arrived in the evening, at a time ___________ we were all out.
7/ I couldn’t understand the reason ___________ they were so rude.
8/ I met him in the cafeù ___________ he was working as a waiter.
9/ I listen to music late at night, ___________ the children have gone to bed.
10/ I bought them in August, ___________ I was in France.
EXERCISE VI : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns or adverbs.
1/ We need a room. We can study in that room.
- ________________________________________________
2/ Swimming makes people strong. It is a good sport.
- ________________________________________________


3/ This is Mrs.Jones. Her son won the championship last year.

- ________________________________________________
4/ The Smiths were given rooms in the hotel. Their house had been destroyed in the explosion.
- ________________________________________________
5/ He invited her to eat out on a day. It rained heavily on that day.
- ________________________________________________
6/ The house was built in 1945. They are living in that house.
- ________________________________________________
7/ The reason was that he didn’t want to make her worried. He didn’t tell the truth for that reason.
- ________________________________________________
8/ The day was sunny. She arrived on that day.
- ________________________________________________
9/ I know the woman. You bought the car from her son.
- ________________________________________________
10/ Are you the man ? The man won the first prize.
- ________________________________________________
EXERCISE VII : Join each pair of sentences, using a relative pronoun.
1/ She’s the one. I told you about her.
- She’s the one whom I told you about.
2/ I don’t like the people.They are staying with the Browns.
- ____________________________________________________________________
3/ I like books.They make you think about things.
- ____________________________________________________________________
4/ I’m looking for the person.I’ve just hit his car.
- ____________________________________________________________________
5/ Most of the books are still popular today. I read them as a child.
- ____________________________________________________________________
6/ You can buy a pasta from that Italian shop. It has just opened in the High Street.
- ____________________________________________________________________
7/ The woman is coming back soon.I’m doing her job.
- ____________________________________________________________________

8/ Is she the new television presenter? Everybody’s talking about her.
- ____________________________________________________________________
9/Is Technico the company? Sarah works for the company.
- ____________________________________________________________________
10/ This is the job. I’ve always wanted it.
- ____________________________________________________________________
11/ The swimming pool is only open to the public in the mornings. I use it.
- ____________________________________________________________________
12/ We’ve just bought a computer package. It teaches you how to play the piano.
- ____________________________________________________________________
13/ My favourite holiday is the one. We spent it in a cottage in the mountains.
- ____________________________________________________________________
14/ We haven’t seen the friends for ten years.They are coming to visit us this weekend.


- ____________________________________________________________________
EXERCISE VIII : Combine each pair of sentences, using a relative pronoun.
1/ When I was in town , I met your sister.She was shopping for some clothes.
- When I was in town, I met your sister, who was shopping for some clothes.
2/ Their house needs a lot of work doing to it.It is near the beach.
- ____________________________________________________________________
3/ Sandra’s just got a new job with Capital Insurers. It’s a much better company than the last one she worked for.
- ____________________________________________________________________
4/ That new manager seems to be a very capable woman. I met her last week.
- ____________________________________________________________________
5/ This case is full of books. I carried it all the way from the station.
- ____________________________________________________________________
6/ Her latest novel is good. I read it on holiday.
- ____________________________________________________________________
7/ This sales manager is planning a new advertising compaign. I support her idea.

- ____________________________________________________________________
8/ My parents send their best wishes. You met them last month.
- ____________________________________________________________________
9/ Maria is my sister’s friend. I introduced you to Maria last night.
- ____________________________________________________________________
10/ The book is about Dannis Thatcher. His wife became Prime Minister.
- ____________________________________________________________________
11/ Robert Gibbs has been recaptured. He escaped from prison last Friday.
- ____________________________________________________________________