Relative clauses no definidas + reduced relatives
Las relative clauses no definidas añaden información extra entre comas, y las reduced relatives te permiten acortar esas cláusulas para sonar más natural: My sister, who lives in Canada, → My sister, living in Canada, …
1) Mapa rápido
Non-defining: My boss, who is very strict, never arrives late.
Reduced: My boss, being very strict, never arrives late.
Si quitas la parte entre comas, la oración sigue teniendo sentido (solo pierdes información extra).
Piensa: “¿Esta información identifica a la persona/cosa o solo la describe?” → Si solo describe, normalmente es no definida.
2) Non-defining relative clauses: forma y uso
Una non-defining relative clause va entre comas y solo añade información extra sobre el nombre.
| Tipo | Forma | Ejemplo | Comentario |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persona | nombre, who + verbo,… | My uncle, who lives in Mexico City, is a doctor. | “who lives in Mexico City” es extra, no identifica qué tío. |
| Cosa / idea | nombre, which + verbo,… | The book, which I bought yesterday, is excellent. | Hablas de un libro ya identificado; solo añades detalle. |
| Posesión | nombre, whose + nombre,… | My friend, whose car was stolen, is very upset. | whose car = “cuyo coche”. |
| Oración completa | , which… al final | He failed the exam twice, which surprised everyone. | which se refiere a toda la oración anterior. |
En non-defining clauses casi siempre se usa who / which / whose. That normalmente no se usa en este tipo de relativa.
3) Defining vs non-defining (contraste rápido)
Las defining identifican exactamente de quién o de qué hablas; las non-defining solo añaden información extra.
| Tipo | Ejemplo | Sentido |
|---|---|---|
| Defining | The students who study a lot usually get good grades. | Hablas solo de los estudiantes que estudian mucho (grupo específico). |
| Non-defining | The students, who study a lot, usually get good grades. | Hablas de todos los estudiantes; añades que estudian mucho (info extra). |
| Defining | The car that I bought last week is very fast. | Especifica qué coche (no cualquier coche). |
| Non-defining | My car, which I bought last week, is very fast. | Ya sabes de qué coche hablo; añado el detalle de “last week”. |
Truco: si quitar la cláusula cambia qué persona/cosa estás describiendo, es defining. Si solo pierdes información adicional, es non-defining.
4) Reduced relatives: conceptos básicos
Una reduced relative clause es una versión más corta de una relative clause, sin who/which/that ni el verbo be, usando V-ing o V-ed/V3.
A) De “who/which + be + V-ing” a V-ing
| Forma completa | Reduced relative | Comentario |
|---|---|---|
| The man who is standing by the door is my boss. | The man standing by the door is my boss. | Mismo sujeto: elimina who is → usa standing. |
| The students who are waiting outside are my class. | The students waiting outside are my class. | “who are waiting” → “waiting”. |
| The companies which are investing in AI are growing fast. | The companies investing in AI are growing fast. | “which are investing” → “investing”. |
B) De “who/which + be + V-ed/V3” a V-ed/V3
| Forma completa | Reduced relative | Comentario |
|---|---|---|
| The house which was built in 1920 is very old. | The house built in 1920 is very old. | “which was built” → “built” (participio pasado). |
| The documents that were sent yesterday are important. | The documents sent yesterday are important. | “that were sent” → “sent”. |
| The people who were invited to the meeting are managers. | The people invited to the meeting are managers. | “who were invited” → “invited”. |
Solo puedes reducir cuando el sujeto de la cláusula de relativo es el mismo que el del participio, y normalmente cuando el verbo es be.
5) Reduced relatives en non-defining clauses
También puedes reducir cláusulas no definidas, manteniendo las comas.
Forma completa:
My sister, who lives in Canada, is coming to visit.
Reduced:
My sister, living in Canada, is coming to visit.
Forma completa:
The museum, which was built in the 19th century, is very famous.
Reduced:
The museum, built in the 19th century, is very famous.
Observa que las comas siguen ahí: la información sigue siendo extra, solo está más compacta.
Reduced relatives hacen que la frase sea más “pesada” y formal. Úsalas con moderación; en exámenes y writing B2 dan un toque más avanzado.
6) Errores comunes
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *My brother who lives in Madrid, is a lawyer.* | My brother, who lives in Madrid, is a lawyer. | Non-defining → lleva comas a ambos lados. |
| *My brother, which lives in Madrid, is a lawyer.* | My brother, who lives in Madrid, is a lawyer. | Para personas se usa who, no which. |
| *The movie, that I saw yesterday, was great.* | The movie, which I saw yesterday, was great. | En non-defining se prefiere which, no that. |
| *The man standing is my boss, who is near the door.* | The man standing near the door is my boss. | La reduced relative debe ir completa junto al nombre que modifica. |
| *The house built in 1920, is very old.* | The house built in 1920 is very old. The house, which was built in 1920, is very old. | O es defining (sin comas) o non-defining con which was built + comas. |
Cuida la puntuación: en inglés las comas cambian el sentido. No pongas comas al azar, piensa si la info define o solo añade.
7) Mini-práctica
- Marca si la cláusula es defining (D) o non-defining (ND):
a) My cousin who lives in London is a doctor.
b) My cousin, who lives in London, is a doctor.
c) The car that I bought last year is very fast.
d) My car, which I bought last year, is very fast.
e) Our teacher, who is very strict, never lets us use our phones. - Une y transforma en oraciones con non-defining relative clauses:
a) Maria is my best friend. She lives in Barcelona.
b) My laptop is very old. It was made in 2012.
c) My English teacher is from Canada. He speaks Spanish very well.
d) The museum is free on Sundays. It’s in the city centre.
e) My brother is an engineer. He works in Germany. - Convierte estas oraciones con relative clauses completas en reduced relatives (si es posible):
a) The woman who is talking to John is our manager.
b) The books that were written by this author are very famous.
c) The students who are sitting near the window are from Brazil.
d) The house which was destroyed in the fire has been rebuilt.
e) The people who were invited to the conference are experts. - Corrige si es necesario:
a) My sister, that lives in Paris, is coming next week.
b) The man, who standing at the corner, looks suspicious.
c) The film, what I saw yesterday, was amazing.
d) The documents sent yesterday, are on your desk.
e) The city which I was born in, is very small. - (Producción guiada) Escribe 4 oraciones sobre tu vida usando:
• 2 con non-defining clauses (personas o lugares importantes).
• 2 con reduced relatives (V-ing o V-ed).
Ejemplo modelo: My best friend, who lives in another city, calls me every day.
The projects done last year helped me get a better job.
Respuestas ejemplo (orientativas):
1) a) D · b) ND · c) D · d) ND · e) ND.
2) a) Maria, who lives in Barcelona, is my best friend.
b) My laptop, which was made in 2012, is very old.
c) My English teacher, who is from Canada, speaks Spanish very well.
d) The museum, which is in the city centre, is free on Sundays.
e) My brother, who works in Germany, is an engineer.
3) a) The woman talking to John is our manager.
b) The books written by this author are very famous.
c) The students sitting near the window are from Brazil.
d) The house destroyed in the fire has been rebuilt.
e) The people invited to the conference are experts.
4) a) My sister, who lives in Paris, is coming next week.
b) The man standing at the corner looks suspicious.
c) The film, which I saw yesterday, was amazing.
d) The documents sent yesterday are on your desk. / The documents that were sent yesterday are on your desk.
e) The city where I was born is very small. / The city I was born in is very small.
5) Respuesta libre; revisa que tus non-defining vayan con comas y tus reduced relatives usen correctamente V-ing o V-ed.
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Participle clauses (V-ing/V-ed para causa/tiempo), donde verás cómo usar participios en lugar de oraciones completas para expresar causa, tiempo y condición de forma más compacta y avanzada.