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Les relative clauses en anglais : who, which, that et plus

Les relative clauses en anglais : who, which, that et plus

Une relative clause ajoute une information sur un nom. Dans "I met a student who speaks three languages.", "who speaks three languages" décrit student. Sentence structure guide.

Qu’est-ce qu’une relative clause ?

"who" renvoie aux personnes, "which" aux choses, "whose" à la possession, "where" aux lieux et "when" aux moments.

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Defining et non-defining clauses

Une defining clause apporte une information essentielle sans virgules : "The student who sits next to me is from Brazil." Une non-defining clause ajoute une précision, prend des virgules et exclut "that".

CWC student in The Last Bookstore tunnel fr

Quand omettre le pronom

On peut omettre un objet : "The book I bought is useful." On ne peut pas omettre le sujet : "The student who called me is my classmate.". Pronoun guide.

Erreurs et entraînement

Évitez le double pronom "The book that I bought it is useful.". La forme correcte est "The book that I bought is useful.". This also strengthens writing skills.

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Dans la communication réelle

Describe people, places and experiences with "who", "where" and "that". CWC connects Grammar, Speaking and Reading & Writing. ESS uses Connection Questions and weekly presentations for meaningful practice. Review grammar rules.

CWC students at a MOCA audio exhibit fr

Who, whom, which et that

Utilisez "who" quand la personne est sujet. "whom" est la forme objet soutenue, même si "who" domine à l’oral. "which" renvoie aux choses ou aux animaux et "that" aux personnes ou aux choses dans une defining clause.

  • "She is the student who asked the question."
  • "The teacher who explained the rule was clear."
  • "The professor whom I contacted replied quickly."
  • "The professor who I contacted replied quickly."
  • "The person to whom I spoke was helpful."
  • "The person who I spoke to was helpful."
  • "This is the book which helped me understand grammar."
  • "The exercise, which took 20 minutes, was useful."
  • "The class that starts at 9:00 a.m. is full."
  • "The student that won the award gave a speech."

Non-defining relative clauses

Elles ajoutent une précision sur un nom déjà identifié, sont encadrées de virgules et excluent "that". La proposition principale reste complète si on les retire.

  • "CWC, which is located in Los Angeles, welcomes English learners from many backgrounds."
  • "My classmate Ana, who speaks Spanish, helped me with the activity."
  • "The museum, which we visited on Friday, had a new exhibition."
  • "My notebook, that is blue, is on the desk."
  • "My notebook, which is blue, is on the desk."

Whose, where et when

"whose" exprime la possession, "where" renvoie au lieu et "when" au temps. Dans un registre formel, on peut employer "in which" ou "on which".

  • "I met a student whose pronunciation improved quickly."
  • "She is the writer whose essay won the contest."
  • "We visited a school whose programs serve international learners."
  • "in/at that place."
  • "This is the café where we studied."
  • "Los Angeles is a city where people use many languages."
  • "the café where we studied at."
  • "I remember the day when I gave my first presentation."
  • "Summer is a season when many students travel."
  • "This is the café in which we studied."
  • "I remember the day on which we met."

Quantifieurs et idées complètes

Des structures comme "many of whom" et "two of which" décrivent une partie d’un groupe. Dans une non-defining clause, "which" peut aussi reprendre toute l’idée précédente.

  • "none of which."
  • "The class has 15 students, many of whom speak more than one language."
  • "We completed five activities, two of which involved speaking."
  • "She completed her presentation early, which reduced her stress."

Reduced relative clauses

Une proposition active peut parfois devenir un groupe en -ing et une proposition passive un participe passé. Gardez la forme complète si le sens manque de clarté.

  • "Students who attend the workshop should arrive early."
  • "Students attending the workshop should arrive early."
  • "The assignments that were submitted yesterday have been graded."
  • "The assignments submitted yesterday have been graded."
  • "The students who are in Room 4 are taking a test."
  • "The students in Room 4 are taking a test."

Comment pratiquer les relative clauses

Combinez deux phrases courtes et reliez la clause à son antecedent. Décidez si l’information est essentielle ou complémentaire, puis vérifiez les virgules.

  • "I met a classmate. The classmate lives near campus."
  • "I met a classmate who lives near campus."

Questions fréquentes

Can "that" refer to people?

Yes in defining clauses, although "who" is often more natural. It cannot introduce a non-defining clause.

Relative clauses connect information precisely. Contact Columbia West College to apply grammar in real communication at CWC.