MEÄNH ÑEÀ QUAN HỆ

(RELATIVE CLAUSES)

Meänh ñeà quan heä laø meänh ñeà ñöôïc baét ñaàu baèng caùc ñaïi töø quan
heä (relative pronouns) nhö : who, whom, which, whose, that.
- The man who met me at the airport gave me the money.
(Ngöôøi ñaøn oâng ñaõ gaëp toâi taïi saân bay ñaõ trao cho toâi soá
tieàn naøy.)
Trong caâu treân, meänh ñeà “who met me at the airport” laø meänh ñeà
quan heä trong ñoù “who” laø ñaïi töø quan heä ñöôïc duøng ñeå thay theá
tieàn vò töø (antecedent) “the man” vaø meänh ñeà coøn laïi “The man gave me
the money” laø meänh ñeà chính.

1/ Haõy xem caùc ví duï :

- 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.
(Ngöôøi ñaøn oâng ñaõ gaëp toâi taïi saân bay ñaõ trao cho toâi soá
tieàn naøy.)
- This is the man. We saw him at the party yesterday.
à This is the man whom we saw at the party yesterday.
(Ñaây laø ngöôøi ñaøn oâng maø toâi ñaõ gaëp taïi böûa tieäc ngaøy
hoâm qua.)
- The pencil belongs to me. It is in your pocket.
à The pencil which is in your pocket belongs to me.
(Caây vieát ôû trong tuùi baïn laø cuûa toâi.)
- The car is very expensive. He bought it.
à The car which he bought is very expensive.
(Chieác xe hôi maø anh aáy ñaõ mua thì raát ñaét.)
- That is the man. His wallet was stolen.
à That is the man whose wallet was stolen.
(Ñoù laø ngöôøi maø caùi ví cuûa ngöôøi đoù bò đánh caép)
- The tree should be cut down. The branches of the tree are dead.
à The tree whose branches are dead should be cut down.
 The tree the branches of which are dead should be cut down
(Caùi caây maø nhieàu nhaùnh cuûa noù bò cheát neân ñöôïc ñoán
xuoáng )

2/ Caùch duøng ñaïi töø quan heä:

Chuû ngữ Tân ngữ Sôû höõu

(subject) (object) (possessive)
For people
(Chæ ngöôøi) Who / that whom / who / whose
that
For things,
animals Which / that which / that Whose/of which
(chæ vaät,
thuù vaät)

Thoâng thöôøng ta coù theå duøng that ñeå thay theá cho who, whom
hoaëc which.
1
 - 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/ Phaân loaïi : Ta caàn phaân bieät meänh ñeà quan heä laøm hai loaïi :
meänh ñeà xaùc ñònh (defining relative clause) vaø meänh ñeà khoâng
xaùc ñònh (non-defining relative clause) :
Bắt buộc
(*) Defining clause : (hoaëc Restrictive clause)
- The man who met me at the airport gave me the money.
Ta goïi meänh ñeà who met me at the airport laø meänh ñeà quan heä
xaùc ñònh vì noù raát caàn thieát ñeå ñònh nghóa hoaëc giaûi thích cho tieàn vò
töø the man. Neáu khoâng coù noù, töø the man seõ raát mô hoà vaø ta
khoâng bieát ngöôøi ñaøn oâng ñoù laø ai.
- The book (which / that) you lent me is very interesting.
(Quyeån saùch maø baïn cho toâi möôïn thì raát laø hay.)
- The man (whom / that) you met yesterday is coming to my house for
dinner.
(Ngöôøi maø hoâm qua baïn gaëp seõ ñeán nhaø toâi aên côm toái.)
Ko bắt buộc
(*) Non-defining clause : (hoaëc Non-restrictive clause)
- Shakespeare, who wrote “Romeo and Juliet”, died in 1616.
(Shakespeare, ngöôøi ñaõ vieát “Romeo & Juliet”, maát naêm 1616.)
Ta goïi meänh ñeà who wrote “Romeo and Juliet” laø meänh ñeà quan heä
khoâng xaùc ñònh vì noù chæ boå tuùc theâm nghóa cho tieàn vò töø
Shakespeare neân duø coù boû ñi meänh ñeà naøy thì nghóa cuûa caâu vaên
vaãn roõ raøng. Meänh ñeà quan heä khoâng xaùc ñònh thöôøng ñöôïc ngaên
caùch bôûi daáu phaåy (tröôùc vaø sau meänh ñeà) vaø khoâng ñöôïc duøng
that ñeå thay theá cho who, whom hay which.
- My brother Jack, who came here last night, is an engineer.
(Jack, anh trai cuûa toâi, ngöôøi ñeán ñaây toái hoâm qua, laø moät
kyõû sö.)
- That house, which was built a few months ago, doesn’t look modern.
(Caên nhaø kia, maø noù ñöôïc xaây caùch ñaây moät vaøi thaùng,
troâng khoâng hieän ñaïi.)
- Vietnam, which lies in Southeast Asia, is rich in coal.
(Vieät Nam, maø noù naèm ôû Ñoâng Nam AÙ, coù raát nhieàu than.)
Meänh ñeà quan heä khoâng xaùc ñònh ñöôïc duøng khi tieàn vò töø laø
tieáng ñöôïc xaùc ñònh : thöôøng laø danh töø rieâng chæ ngöôøi hay ñòa danh
(Mr. Brown, Vietnam…), hoaëc danh töø ñi vôùi caùc tính töø chæ ñònh (this,
that…) hay tính töø sôû höõu (my, his, her, their…) hoaëc do ta töï qui ñònh laáy.
-A man, who said he knew my father, asked me for money.
(Coù moät ngöôøi maø ngöôøi ñoù noùi raèng bieát ba toâi hoûi xin
tieàn toâi.)
Ta sử dụng Non-defining clause khi:
1. Trước nó là danh từ riêng
2. Danh từ chung nhưng có hình thức sở hữu
3. Chỉ thị tính từ this, that, these, those

4/ where, when vaø why trong meänh ñeà quan heä :

2
 a. That is the village. I used to live there.
- That is the village in which I used to live.
à That is the village where I used to live.
b. Sunday is the day. Most people rest at that time.
- Sunday is the day on which most people rest.
à Sunday is the day when most people rest.
c. There must be a reason. You said that for the reason.
- 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 coù theå ñöôïc duøng ñeå giôùi thieäu meänh ñeà xaùc ñònh
vaø meänh ñeà khoâng xaùc ñònh.
- We visited the town where I was born. (defining)
(Chuùng toâi ñeán thaêm thaønh phoá nôi toâi ñöôïcsinh ra.)
- I bought them at the supermarket, where I met Mrs.Brown. (non-
defining)
(Toâi mua chuùng taïi sieâu thò kia, nôi maø toâi gaëp baø Brown.)
- I saw the film last year, when I was in Paris. (non-defining)
(Toâi ñaõ xem boä phim ñoù hoài naêm ngoùai khi toâi ñang ôû
Paris.)
-I think that was the time when I lost all my money. (defining)
(Toâi nghó ñoù laø luùc maø toâi laøm maát heát soá tieàn cuûa
mình.)
Why thöôøng ñöôïc duøng trong meänh ñeà xaùc ñònh vaø thöôøng theo sau
a reason hay the reason.
- That is the reason why I didn’t come to the party yesterday.
(Ñoù laø lyù do taïi sao hoâm qua toâi khoâng ñi döï tieäc.)
Where, when vaø why ñöôïc goïi laø traïng töø quan heä (relative adverbs)

EXERCISE II : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns :

1/ This is the man. I met him in Paris.
 This is the man whom I met in Paris.
2/ I wanted the painting. You bought it.
 I wanted the painting which you bought.
3/ This is the chair. My parents gave it to me.
 This is the chair which my parents gave to me.
4/ She’s the woman. She telephoned the police.
 She’s the woman who telephoned the police.
5/ He’s the person. He wanted to buy your house.
 He’s the person who wanted to buy your house.
6/ We threw out the computer. It never worked properly.
 We threw out the computer which never worked properly.
7/ This is the lion. It’s been ill recently.
 This is the lion which has been ill recently.
8/ The man was badly injured. He was driving the car.
 The man who driving the car was badly injured.
3
 9/ The children broke the window. They live in the next street.
 The children who live in the next street broke the window.
10/ That’s the woman. I was telling you about her.
 That’s the woman whom I was telling you.

EXERCISE III : Combine these pairs of sentences using relative

pronouns:
1/ There’s the lady. Her dog was killed.
 There’s the lady whose dog was killed.
2/ That’s the man. He’s going to buy the company.
 That’s the man who is going to buy the company.
3/ He’s the person. His car was stolen.
 He’s the person whose car was stolen.
4/ She’s the new doctor.The doctor’s coming to the hospital next week.
 She’s the new doctor who is coming to the hospital next week.
5/ She’s the journalist. Her article was on the front page of The Times.
 She’s the journalist whose article was on the front page of The Times
6/ They’re the people. Their shop burned down last week.
 They’re the people whose shop burned down last week.
7/ That’s the sales director. He’s leaving in March.
 That’s the sales director who is leaving in March.
8/ I’m the person. You stayed in my flat.
 I’m the person whose flat you stayed IN.
9/ That’s the boy. He’s just got a place at university.
 That’s the boy who just got a place at university.
10/ I’m the one. My flat was broken into.
 I’m the one whose flat was broken.

EXERCISE IV : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns :

1/ The man didn’t come back again. I shouted at him.
 The man whom I shouted at him didn’t come back again.
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 where my father taught.
2/ I met her last month, when she came to our house.
3/ We all looked at the place where the fire had started.
4/ Did they tell you the reason why they were late?
5/ The cat sat on the wall where it had a good view of the birds.
6/ They arrived in the evening, at a time when we were all out.
7/ I couldn’t understand the reason why they were so rude.
8/ I met him in the cafeù where he was working as a waiter.
9/ I listen to music late at night, when the children have gone to bed.
10/ I bought them in August, when I was in France.
4
EXERCISE VI : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns or
adverbs.
1/ We need a room. We can study in that room.
 We need a room in which we can study.
2/ Swimming makes people strong. It is a good sport.
 Swimming which is a good sport makes people strong.
3/ This is Mrs.Jones. Her son won the championship last year.
 This is Mrs.Jones whose son won the championship last year.
4/ The Smiths were given rooms in the hotel. Their house had been
destroyed in the explosion.
 The Smiths whose house had been destroyed in the explosion were given
rooms in the hotel.
5/ He invited her to eat out on a day. It rained heavily on that day.
 He invited her to eat out on a day when it rained heavily.
6/ The house was built in 1945. They are living in that house.
 The house which they are living in was built in 1945.
7/ The reason was that he didn’t want to make her worried. He didn’t tell
the truth for that reason.
 The reason why he didn’t tell the truth for
8/ The day was sunny. She arrived on that day.
 The day when she arrived was sunny.
9/ I know the woman. You bought the car from her son.
 I know the woman whose son you bought the car from.
10/ Are you the man? The man won the first prize.
 Are you the man who 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.
 I don’t like the people who are staying with the Browns.
3/ I like books.They make you think about things.
 I like books which make you think about things.
4/ I’m looking for the person. I’ve just hit his car.
 I’m looking for the person whose car I’ve just hit.
5/ Most of the books are still popular today. I read them as a child.
 Most of the books which I read as a child are still popular today.
6/ You can buy a pasta from that Italian shop. It has just opened in the High
Street.
 You can buy a pasta from that Italian shop which has just opened in High
Street.
7/ The woman is coming back soon. I’m doing her job.
 The woman whose job I’m doing is coming back soon.
8/ Is she the new television presenter? Everybody’s talking about her.
 Is she the new television presenter who everybody’s talking about?
9/ Is Technico the company? Sarah works for the company.
 Is Technico the company where Sarah works for?
10/ This is the job. I’ve always wanted it.
 This is the job which I’ve always wanted.
11/ The swimming pool is only open to the public in the mornings. I use it.
 The swimming pool which I use is only open to the public in the mornings.
5
 12/ We’ve just bought a computer package. It teaches you how to play the
piano.
 We’ve just bought a computer package which teaches you how to play the
piano.
13/ My favourite holiday is the one. We spent it in a cottage in the mountains.
 My favourite holiday is the one which we spent in a cottage in the
mountains.
14/ We haven’t seen the friends for ten years.They are coming to visit us this
weekend.
 The friends whom we haven’t seen for ten years 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.
 Their house, which is near the beach, needs a lot of work doing to it.
3/ Sandra’s just got a new job with Capital Insurers. It’s a much better
company than the last one she worked for.
 Sandra’s just got a new job with Capital Insurers, which is 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.
 That new manager, who I met last week, seems to be a very capable
woman.
5/ This case is full of books. I carried it all the way from the station.
 This case, which I carried all the way from the station, is full of books.
6/ Her latest novel is good. I read it on holiday.
 Her latest novel, which I read on holiday, is good.
7/ This sales manager is planning a new advertising campaign. I support her
idea.
 This sales manager whose idea support is planning a new advertising
campaign
8/ My parents send their best wishes. You met them last month.
 My parents who you met last month send their best wishes.
9/ Maria is my sister’s friend. I introduced you to Maria last night.
 Maria, who I introduced you to last night, is my sister’s friend.
10/ The book is about Dannis Thatcher. His wife became Prime Minister.
 The book is about Dannis Thatcher whose wife became Prime Minister.
11/ Robert Gibbs has been recaptured. He escaped from prison last Friday.
 Robert Gibbs, who escaped from prison last Friday, has been recaptured.

6
7