Mastering English Relative Clauses and Reported Speech
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Relative Clauses in English
Relative clauses are used to provide additional information about a noun. They are divided into two main types: defining and non-defining.
Defining Relative Clauses
These clauses provide essential information to identify the noun.
| Example | Usage |
|---|---|
| The police can arrest anyone who/that commits a crime. | Who and that refer to people. |
| The boy spoke with an accent which/that sounded British. | Which and that refer to things. |
| This is the man whose identity can't be established. | Whose indicates possession (cuyo). |
| Summer is the season (when/that) people go on holiday. | When/that refer to time and can be omitted. |
| Paris is the city where they got married. | Where refers to a place. |
Non-Defining Relative Clauses
These clauses provide extra information and are set off by commas.
| Example | Usage |
|---|---|
| Emma, who was born in Canada, lived in Germany all her life. | Who refers to a person; that cannot be used. |
| The film, which is based on a novel, is a great success. | Which refers to a thing; it cannot be omitted. |
Reported Speech: Tense Changes
When moving from direct to indirect speech, verb tenses typically shift back.
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Present Simple: "Students go to class" | Past Simple: He said that students went to class. |
| Past Simple: "Students went to class" | Past Perfect Simple: He said that students had gone to class. |
| Future Simple: "Students will go to class" | Conditional (would): He said that students would go to class. |
| Present Continuous: "Students are going" | Past Continuous: He said that students were going. |
| Past Continuous: "Students were going" | Past Perfect Continuous: He said that students had been going. |
| Present Perfect Simple: "Students have gone" | Past Perfect Simple: He said that students had gone. |
| Present Perfect Continuous: "Students have been going" | Past Perfect Continuous: He said that students had been going. |
| Past Perfect Simple: "Students had gone" | Past Perfect Simple: He said that students had gone. |
| Past Perfect Continuous: "Students had been going" | Past Perfect Continuous: He said that students had been going. |