Relative clauses
Relative clauses
defining relative clauses Non-defining relative clauses
1-gives very important information 1-gives extra information (not necessary)
( necessary)
2-the sentence has different meaning without 2-the sentence means the same without it
it
3-they are not set off by commas 3-they are set off by commas
4-they are dependent 4-they are independent
5-We use that to introduce a non-defining 5-We don’t use that to introduce a non-
relative clause. defining relative clause:
Relative clause Use Examples
Who Person(the girl) The girl who/that is standing there is a world
champion in karate.
Which Object/animal 1-I read the book which/that is on the table.
(the book ) 2-I visited the town which you told me about.
Whom person The boy whom you told me about got the best
grades in mathematics.
Whose Possession There are times when I feel so lonely.
That Person/Object/Animal I like the vase that is over there.
When Time There are times when I feel so lonely.
Where Place The restaurant where I usually have dinner is nice.
Why Reason This is why she refused the offer.
Examples
Defining relative clause Non-defining clause
-The girl who is standing there is a world Michael Jackson, who was a famous singer,
champion in karate. died of an overdose.
Here are some cells which have been Her car, which was very old, broke down
affected. after just five miles.
subject Object Possessive
who whom, who whose
which which whose
that that
Fill in the gaps with right relative pronoun
1. castle is a place a king or queen lives.
2. An actress is a woman plays in films or theatre plays.
3. This is the girl mother is from Spain.
4. This is the time of the year many people suffer from fever.
5. The flowers grow in the garden are very beautiful.
6. I cannot remember the reason he did that.
7. Jane, mother is a physician, is very good at biology.
8. She didn’t see the snake was lying on the ground.
9. Do you know the shop Andrew picked me up from?
10. My brother Jim, lives in London, is a doctor.
11. This morning I met Diane, I hadn't seen for ages.
12. Amy, car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.
13. My office, is on the second floor of the building, is very small.
14. The sun, is one of millions of stars in the universe, provides us
with heat and light.
15. A pacifist is a person believes that all wars are wrong.
16. The office I'm working at the moment is very small.
17. This school is only for children first language is not English.
18. I don't know the name of the woman to I spoke on the phone.
19. Sheila, job involves a lot of travelling, is away from home a lot.
20. My sister Kate, works in Spain, is an engineer.
21. The man I was describing is my newsagent.
22. That is the woman I saw at the Harrods.
23. The man is reading the Times is my boyfriend.
24. This is the briefcase he bought from Morocco Mall.
25. To did you send that letter?
26. Jane, loves tea, never drinks coffee.
27. Shakespeare , books I love reading, is a famous writer.
28. People smoke damage their health.
29. We may never know was responsible.
2. ink the following sentences using the words given
o
We often visit our grandparents. They are only 10 minutes away.(who)
Ann is one of my closest friends. I have known her for years.(whom)
They didn't thank us for the help we gave them at work. This was very rude
of them.(which)
,
Ann's father works for an international company. It does business with
African countries.(which)
Our History teacher was late this morning. He comes always on time.(who)
We usually use a relative pronoun (e.g. who, that, which, whose and whom) to introduce a
defining relative clause (In the examples, the relative clause is in bold, and the person or thing
being referred to is underlined.):
They’re the people who want to buy our house.
Here are some cells which have been affected.
They should give the money to somebody who they think needs the treatment most.
[talking about an actress]
She’s now playing a woman whose son was killed in the First World War.
Spoken English:
In defining relative clauses we often use that instead of who, whom or which. This is very
common in informal speaking:
They’re the people that want to buy our house.
Here are some cells that have been affected.
See also:
Relative pronouns
Subject or object
The relative pronoun can define the subject or the object of the verb:
They’re the people who/that bought our house. (The people bought our house. The people is
the subject.)
They’re the people who/that she met at Jon’s party. (She met the people. The people is the
object.)
Here are some cells which/that show abnormality. (Some cells show abnormality. Some cells
is the subject.)
Here are some cells which/that the researcher has identified. (The researcher has identified
some cells. Some cells is the object.)
No relative pronoun
We often leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of the verb:
They’re the people she met at Jon’s party.
Here are some cells the researcher has identified.
See also:
No relative pronoun
Punctuation
Warning:
In writing, we don’t use commas in defining relative clauses:
This is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously.
Not: This is a man, who takes his responsibilities seriously.
Non-defining relative clauses
We use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing. It is
not necessary information. We don’t need it to understand who or what is being referred to.
We always use a relative pronoun (who, which, whose or whom) to introduce a non-defining
relative clause (In the examples, the relative clause is in bold, and the person or thing being
referred to is underlined.)
Clare, who I work with, is doing the London marathon this year.
Not: Clare, I work with, is doing the London marathon this year.
Doctors use the testing kit for regular screening for lung and stomach cancers, which
account for 70% of cancers treated in the western world.
Alice, who has worked in Brussels and London ever since leaving Edinburgh, will be
starting a teaching course in the autumn.
Warning:
We don’t use that to introduce a non-defining relative clause:
Allen, who scored three goals in the first game, was the only player to perform well.
examples
John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren.
My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.
My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.
We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before.
I've just come back from London, where John lives..
Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London.
ubject Object Possessive
who whom, who whose
which which whose
that that
