Omitting relative pronouns...

Question

Hello people! I hope some clever soul can help me out here.

As I understand it a relative pronoun can be omitted from a sentence if it is the object of the relative clause.

So for example: Did you like the present [that] I gave you?

Am I right in thinking that you is the subject and present is the object?

Who was that man [who/that] you were talking to?

Again, you as the subject and man as the object?

So a pronoun cannot be omitted if it is the subject of the clause.

ex: I met a man who works in a bank

Are both the man and myself a subject here with the bank being the object? I think this is my question! Can there be more than one subject in a sentence?

Many thanks is advance!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

shouldknowbetterAs I understand it a relative pronoun can be omitted from a sentence if it is the object of the relative clause.

Correct. It can be omitted or included. Either way.

shouldknowbetter Did you like the present [that] I gave you?

Am I right in thinking that you is the subject and present is the object?

No. Not within the relative clause. In the relative clause I is the subject and, as you said, present is the object.

shouldknowbetterWho was that man [who/that] you were talking to?Again, you as the subject and man as the object?

You were talking to the man. So man is an object, but it's the object of a preposition, not the object of a verb.

But that doesn't matter; you can leave out the relative pronoun no matter what kind of object it is.

shouldknowbetterSo a pronoun cannot be omitted if it is the subject of the clause.ex: I met a man who works in a bank

This is correct, because if you omit the pronoun, you get confusion about how the sentence works. In the following case, we get confused about whether 'a man' belongs with the words before it or with the words after it.

I met a man works in a bank??? >> I met a man. / A man works in a bank.

The pronoun is needed to separate the sentence properly into clauses.

shouldknowbetterCan there be more than one subject in a sentence?

Every clause in a sentence has its own subject and verb, so yes. In the general case there are just as many subjects in a sentence as there are clauses. The main clause contains the main subject, of course. (Don't worry about the exceptions now. Just understand the basic idea.)

CJ

Shouldknowbetter · Answer

Thank you for making this so clear for me. I really appreciate it.

CalifJim · Answer

shouldknowbetterThank you for making this so clear for me. I really appreciate it.

You're welcome.
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Now let's see if you've got this. The following sentence has four clauses.

The man I met at the bank had a photo that he showed me of the car his son bought.

Can you find all four clauses and all four subjects?

CJ

Shouldknowbetter · Answer

The man I MET AT THE BANK had a photo - - - - - Defining relative clause
Man is the object and I am the subject within this clause

The man had a photo so I think the man is the subject here and the photo is the object of the verb.

...had a photo that he showed me..... - - - - he (subject) showed (verb) me (object)

I'm a little confused here because I'm not sure why THAT cannot be omitted here if the photo is an object.

car (object) bought by the son (subject)

CalifJim · Answer

CalifJimThe man I met at the bank had a photo that he showed me of the car his son bought.

Your analysis is essentially correct. Here's the answer. Subjects underlined. Verbs in bold.

The four clauses are:

1. The man had a photo (of the car).
2. I met (the man) at the bank.
3. He showed me a photo (of the car).
4. His son bought the car.
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Remember that these two statements are not the same:

The relative pronoun can be omitted.
The relative pronoun must be omitted.

If the relative pronoun is not the subject of its clause, it can be omitted. (Nobody is saying that it must be omitted.)

Therefore, the original sentence can also be written like this:

The man I met at the bank had a photo he showed me of the car his son bought.

CJ

Shouldknowbetter · Answer

Thank you. I think I was forgetting that they don't actually have to be omitted. It's definitely sinking in slowly...!

Omitting relative pronouns...

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