Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns adalah kata ganti yang menunjuk pada kata benda yang mendahuluinya (antecedent) yang berfungsi sebagai penghubung dalam kalimat. Relative pronouns biasa diletakkan di awal dependent clause atau anak kalimat yang menerangkan atau memberikan informasi tambahan kepada independent clause atau main clause.

Kata ganti yang digunakan adalah: who, whom, whose, which, dan that.

- The man who is sitting in the corner is my friend.

- The boy whom we visited is her boyfriend.

- The girl whose car was sold will go to study abroad.

- The filing cabinet, which we purchase last week, is very well built.

- The book that describes about behaviour of animal is expensive.

Kata who, whom, whose, which, dan that pada contoh di atas menunjuk pada kata benda sebelumnya (the man, the boy, the girl, the filling cabinet, the book).

Nouns (kata benda) atau pronouns (kata ganti) seperti the man, the boy, the girl, the filling cabinet, dan the book disebut dengan istilah antecedent.

- Voters whose names begin with the letters M to Z should go to Room 2.

- That photo is a reminder of someone who was very important to me.

- Hands up everyone who would like a drink.

- A mole is an animal that lives underground.

- He was accused of being drunk in charge of a vehicle, which is a serious offence.

Untuk menunjuk pada orang, gunakan relative pronouns: who, whom, whose dan that.

- the man who spoke

- the man that spoke (meskipun pemakaian that juga benar, who lebih disarankan sebagai subject pronoun)

- the man that I saw

- the man whom I saw  (meskipun pemakaian whom juga benar, that lebih disarankan sebagai object pronoun)

Untuk menunjuk pada benda lainnya atau hewan, gunakan relative pronouns: which, that dan whose.

- the cat which was sitting on the mat

- the cat that was sitting on the mat

- the book whose cover was torn

- a book to which I often refer

Ketika menunjuk pada sesuatu benda, of which bisa dipakai untuk menggantikan whose.

- a book the cover of which was torn

Perluasan relative pronouns dengan kata ganti seperti whoever, whomever, whatever dikenal sebagai indefinite relative pronouns (relative pronouns tanpa antecedent).

- The boy will tease whomever he likes.

- She said whatever came to mind.

- Let in whoever comes to me.

Kata what juga dapat digunakan sebagai indefinite relative pronouns, contoh:

- I will tell you what you need to know.

- I know what I like.

Catatan

Who disebut sebagai subject pronoun dan whom sebagai object pronoun. Hal ini bisa dibandingkan dengan he dan him, they dan them, dsb.

- the man who was there (bandingkan ‘he was there’)

- the man whom I saw (bandingkan ‘I saw him’)

Kata whom lebih sering digunakan dalam bahasa Inggris formal. Dalam penggunaannya sehari-hari, baik dalam bentuk percakapan maupun tulisan, whom biasanya diganti dengan who.

- the man who I saw

- the man who you were speaking to

Whom tidak bisa digantikan oleh who bila sebelumnya didahului oleh preposition.

- the man to whom you were speaking

- They elected Smith chairman, than whom there could have been no better choice.

Biasanya bentuk preposition + whom ini dipakai dalam bahasa Inggris formal.

Indefinite relative pronouns memiliki sifat yang terdapat pada relative pronouns maupun indefinite pronouns. Jenis pronouns ini seperti menunjuk pada suatu kata benda, tetapi orang atau benda yang dimaksud tidak disebutkan dengan jelas.

Related Links

Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Intensive Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns
Pronouns and Antecedents
Pronoun Case