In restrictive relative clauses, that provides some essentials information needed to make the whole sentence understandable, see introduction to this chapter, the relative pronoun "that" can be used in both cases, whether the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause or the object of the relative clause. Therefore in the following sentences we traduce always with that, although the whole picture in English is a little bit more complex.
This table is a summary of the English system.
restrictive relative clauses
persons
things
subject in the relative clause
who, that
that, which
object in the relative clause
whom, that
that, which
possessive form
whose
whose, of which
nonrestrictive clause
persons
things
subject in the relative clause
who
which
object in the relative clause
whom
which
possessive form
whose
of which, whose
As it is showed by the table, alternatives are possible, however for the sake of simplicity, we translate always with that.
A
mulher
que
cruza
a
rua.
The
woman
that
crosses
the
street.
O
homem
que
cruza
a
rua.
The
man
that
crosses
the
street.
As
mulheres
que
cruzam
a
rua.
The
women
that
cross
the
street.
Os
homens,
que
cruzam
a
rua.
The
men
that
cross
the
street.
In the case of a nonrestrictive relative clauses or in the case that a preposition is involved (The friend for whom I did that / The friend who I did that for) the situation is a little bit more complicated. We will discuss that later, see relative pronouns with prepositions.
the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause
Os
morangos
que
ficaram
na
mesa
estragaram-se.
The
strawberries
that
were
on the
table
became rotten.
Os
alunos
que
estudam
obtêm
bons
resultados.
The
students
that
study
get
good
marks.
Os
alunos
que
estavam
destraídos
não
perceberam
a
matéria.
The
students
that
were
distracted
not
understood
the
subject matter.
The students that were distracted didn't understand the subject matter.
the relative pronoun is the object of relative clause
