Why is a subject relative pronoun dropped?
Clinical psychologists sometimes say that two kinds of people seek therapy: those who need tightening, and those who need loosening. But for every patient seeking help in becoming more organized, self-controlled, and responsible about her future, there is a waiting room full of people hoping to loosen up, lighten up, and worry less about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting or about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date. For most people, their subconscious sees too many things as bad and not enough as good.
I think the underlined words are inserted, and before them, a subject relative pronoun is dropped. Why is it dropped? Is it related to the rule that a subject relative pronoun is sometimes dropped in the sentence beginning with "There is ..."?
Top answer
Gu-Hoon Kwon But for every patient seeking help in becoming more organized, self-controlled, and responsible about her future, there is a waiting room full of people hoping to loosen up, lighten up, and worry less about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting or about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date. The defining relative clauses italicized below modify the nouns, "things" and "rejection" respectively about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date . The relative pronoun can only be omitted when it is the object or complement in the clause.
- Gu-Hoon Kwon But for every patient seeking help in becoming more organized, self-controlled, and responsible about her future, there is a waiting room full of people hoping to loosen up, lighten up, and worry less about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting or about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date.
- The defining relative clauses italicized below modify the nouns, "things" and "rejection" respectively about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date .
- The relative pronoun can only be omitted when it is the object or complement in the clause.
- That is the situation with these two defining relative clauses.
- Here are the clauses converted into a full sentence: They said stupid things at yesterday’s staff meeting.
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Gu-Hoon KwonBut for every patient seeking help in becoming more organized, self-controlled, and responsible about her future, there is a waiting room full of people hoping to loosen up, lighten up, and worry less about the stupid things they said at yesterday’s staff meeting or about the rejection they are sure will follow tomorrow’s lunch date.
The definin
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