RELATIVE CLAUSES

● A relative clause is a subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun:

who / which / that / whose / where / when
● A relative clause acts as an adjective, so it gives information about a noun in the
main clause.
● The relative pronoun we use depends on the noun we are referring to and the type
of relative clause.
● There are defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses.

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES: They add essential information about the noun they refer to.

DEFINING RELATIVE
PEOPLE THINGS / ANIMALS
CLAUSES

SUBJECT who / that which / that

OBJECT --- / who / that --- / that / which

PREPOSITION --- / who / that … preposition --- / that / which … preposition

POSSESSIVE whose whose

EXAMPLES:

▸ Subject:

The man who / that lives next door is my friend.

The window which / that was broken has now been repaired.

▸ Object:

The girl (who / that) he is going to marry is American.

The dress (that / which) Ann bought is very expensive.

▸ Preposition:

The girl (who / that) Tom is talking to is my sister.

The bed (that / which) I slept in was comfortable.

▸ Possessive:

We saw some people whose car had broken down.

The book whose cover is torn is mine.

 TIME PLACE
when
where
that / --- (informal ⇨ day, week, time…)

In an informal use, when the pronoun is preceded by a word like day / week / time…, we can
use that instead of when or we can omit the pronoun.

▸ I will never forget the day when / that / --- my child was born.

▸ I know a restaurant where the food is excellent.

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES: They give extra information which isn’t necessary.

NON-DEFINING
PEOPLE THINGS / ANIMALS
RELATIVE CLAUSES

SUBJECT , who … , , which … ,

OBJECT , who … , , which … ,

PREPOSITION , who … preposition, , which … preposition,

POSSESSIVE , whose …, , whose …,

EXAMPLES:

▸ Subject:

Tom’s father, who is 78 years old, goes swimming every day.

That book, which was very successful, was written by Shakespeare.

▸ Object:

John Smith, who I met yesterday, is English.

The party, which we enjoyed very much, was a success.

▸ Preposition:

Mary Clark, who I talked to you about last week, is my sister’s neighbour.

The subject, which he was speaking about yesterday, was quite important for us.

▸ Possessive:

Rose Hunt, whose son is a famous doctor, lives in New York.

The house, whose windows are green, is my father’s.

 TIME PLACE

when where

When and where can’t be omitted. That can’t be used.

▸ December, when Christmas is celebrated, is a summer month for the southern hemisphere.

▸ City Park, where we used to go, has been closed down.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

EXTRA INFORMATION. It is not necessary to

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION. It is necessary to identify
identify the person or thing we are talking
the person or thing we are talking about.
about.

NO COMMAS BETWEEN COMMAS

My sister who lives in London is a teacher. My sister, who lives in London, is a teacher.
(I have more than one sister) (I have only one sister)

WE CAN’T USE THAT

WE CAN USE THAT
THAT can’t be used instead of WHO / WHICH
THAT can be used instead of WHO / WHICH.
His car, WHICH is made in Japan, is red.
The blue car THAT / WHICH is parked in the garage is
His car, THAT is made in Japan, is red
very expensive.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN’T BE OMITTED
RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN BE OMITTED
We can’t omit WHO / WHICH
We can omit WHO / WHICH / THAT when they are
the object.
The computer, WHICH I use every day, is an
Asus.
The computer (WHICH / THAT) I use every day is an
The computer, I use every day, is an Asus.
Asus.