Las relative clauses definidas describen o identifican a la persona o cosa de la que hablamos: “The man who lives next door…”. Son muy útiles para sonar más natural en inglés.
1) Mapa rápido
Patrón básico:
Sustantivo + who/which/that + oración
• The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
• This is the book that I told you about.
Definidas = necesarias para entender de quién / qué hablamos. No llevan comas en inglés.
2) ¿Para qué sirven? Unir oraciones
Las relative clauses permiten unir dos oraciones que comparten el mismo sustantivo.
1) I know a man.
2) He lives in London.
→ I know a man who lives in London.
Otro ejemplo:
1) This is the book.
2) You need the book.
→ This is the book that you need.
- La parte con who/which/that da información esencial sobre el sustantivo.
- Si la quitamos, muchas veces no sabemos de qué persona/cosa hablamos.
3) Pronombres básicos: who / which / that
| Pronombre | Referencia | Función | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| who | Personas | Sujeto u objeto | • The man who lives next door is friendly. (sujeto) • The woman who I met yesterday is my teacher. (objeto) |
| which | Cosas / animales | Sujeto u objeto | • The car which is parked outside is mine. • The movie which we watched was great. |
| that | Cosas + personas (defining) | Sujeto u objeto | • The person that called you is my boss. • The book that I bought is interesting. |
that es muy frecuente en conversación para relative clauses definidas. En este nivel puedes usar casi siempre that en lugar de who/which (cuando sea defining).
4) Omitir el pronombre cuando es objeto
Cuando el pronombre es objeto (no sujeto), se puede omitir en relative clauses definidas.
A) NO se puede omitir (sujeto)
• The man who lives next door is a doctor.
❌ The man lives next door is a doctor.
Aquí who es el sujeto de “lives” → no se puede quitar.
B) SÍ se puede omitir (objeto)
• The book that I bought is interesting.
✅ The book I bought is interesting.
• The girl who I met yesterday is very nice.
✅ The girl I met yesterday is very nice.
- Si después del pronombre hay sujeto + verbo, normalmente es objeto y se puede omitir:
pronombre + sujeto + verbo → objeto
Como regla rápida: si puedes reescribir “I met her”, “I bought it”, entonces who/that/which es objeto y puedes quitarlo.
5) where / when / whose (extra útiles en B1)
Además de who/which/that, en B1 es muy útil manejar:
A) where (lugar)
• This is the restaurant where we met.
(Este es el restaurante donde nos conocimos.)
• That’s the city where I was born.
B) when (tiempo)
• 2005 was the year when I moved to Spain.
• Friday is the day when we usually go out.
En inglés informal, a veces se usa that o se omite: the day (that) we met.
C) whose (posesión)
• The man whose car was stolen is my neighbour.
• She is the student whose parents live abroad.
whose se usa tanto para personas como para cosas en este tipo de estructura.
6) Errores comunes
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *The man which lives next door is a doctor.* | The man who/that lives next door is a doctor. | Para personas usamos who o that, no which. |
| *The book what I bought is interesting.* | The book that/which I bought is interesting. | No usamos what como pronombre relativo de este tipo. |
| *The girl that she is singing is my sister.* | The girl who/that is singing is my sister. | No se repite el sujeto: “that she is singing” ❌. |
| *My brother, who lives in Madrid, works in a bank.* (queriendo decir cuál hermano) | My brother who lives in Madrid works in a bank. | Si es información definida (qué hermano), no usamos comas. |
| *That’s the place where we met in there.* | That’s the place where we met. | “where” ya incluye la idea de lugar → “in there” sobra. |
7) Mini-práctica
- Une las oraciones usando una relative clause definida con who / which / that:
a) I met a girl. She speaks three languages.
b) This is the car. I bought it yesterday.
c) He is the teacher. He teaches us English.
d) That’s the movie. We watched it last night.
e) She is the singer. I told you about her. - Reescribe y, si es posible, omite el pronombre relativo:
a) The book that I read was very interesting.
b) The man who I saw at the station is my neighbour.
c) The students who study hard usually pass the exam.
d) The shoes that I bought are too small. - Completa con where / when / whose:
a) That’s the restaurant ______ we had dinner yesterday.
b) Do you remember the day ______ we first met?
c) She is the woman ______ son is in my class.
d) 2010 was the year ______ I moved to this city.
e) This is the park ______ I used to play as a child. - Corrige las oraciones si es necesario:
a) The person which called you is my sister.
b) The house where we lived there was very old.
c) The man that he lives next door is very friendly.
d) The jacket what I bought is too big.
e) My friend, who lives in London, that works in a bank. (defining) - Traduce al inglés usando relative clauses definidas:
a) La chica que vive al lado es muy simpática.
b) El libro que estoy leyendo es muy interesante.
c) Conozco a alguien que puede ayudarte.
d) Ese es el lugar donde nací.
e) Es el estudiante cuyo padre es médico.
Respuestas ejemplo:
1) a) I met a girl who/that speaks three languages.
b) This is the car that/which I bought yesterday.
c) He is the teacher who/that teaches us English.
d) That’s the movie that/which we watched last night.
e) She is the singer who/that I told you about.
2) a) The book (that) I read was very interesting. (puedes omitir that)
b) The man (who/that) I saw at the station is my neighbour. (puedes omitir)
c) The students who/that study hard usually pass the exam. (no puedes omitir: who es sujeto)
d) The shoes (that/which) I bought are too small. (puedes omitir)
3) a) where b) when c) whose d) when e) where
4) a) The person who/that called you is my sister.
b) The house where we lived was very old.
c) The man who/that lives next door is very friendly.
d) The jacket that/which I bought is too big.
e) My friend who lives in London works in a bank. (si es información definidora)
5) a) The girl who/that lives next door is very friendly.
b) The book (that/which) I’m reading is very interesting.
c) I know someone who/that can help you.
d) That’s the place where I was born.
e) He is the student whose father is a doctor.
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Gerund/Infinitive – verbos comunes (like, want, start…) para aprender cuándo usar estructuras como enjoy doing, want to go y start working.