Clauses, Relative Clauses, Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses
1. WHAT IS A CLAUSE?
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
Examples:
• She studies every day.
• The boys are playing football.
• I went home because I was tired.
I love
Clause: [S+V] –
Sentence: [S+V] -
Types of Clauses:
A) Clause
Can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Examples:
• I love chess.
• She passed the exam.
• They are watching a film.
B) Dependent Clause
Cannot stand alone and needs another clause.
Examples:
• because I was tired
• although it was raining
• who lives next door
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2. WHAT IS A RELATIVE CLAUSE?
A relative clause gives extra information about a noun.
Relative Pronouns:
who – people
whom – people (formal object)
whose – possession
which – things/animals
that – people or things
where – places
when – time
Examples:
• The girl who won the competition is my cousin.
• The book that I bought yesterday is interesting.
• The house which stands on the hill is very old.
• The man whose car was stolen called the police.
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3. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
A defining relative clause gives essential information.
Examples:
• The student who got full marks received a prize.
• The phone that I bought last week is already broken.
• The woman who teaches us English is very kind.
Important:
No commas are used.
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4. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
A non-defining relative clause gives extra information.
Examples:
• Tom, who is my best friend, lives in London.
• Paris, which is the capital of France, attracts millions of tourists.
• My car, which I bought last year, is very reliable.
Important:
• Use commas.
• Never use “that”.
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5. DEFINING vs NON-DEFINING
Defining:
The students who studied hard passed the exam.
(Only some students passed.)
Non-Defining:
The students, who studied hard, passed the exam.
(All students studied hard and passed.)
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6. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
WHO:
• The girl who won the race is my sister.
WHICH:
• The car which I bought is red.
THAT:
• The book that I borrowed is excellent.
WHOSE:
• The woman whose son is a doctor lives nearby.
WHERE:
• This is the café where we met.
WHEN:
• I remember the day when we first met.
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7. OMITTING RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Possible:
• The book (that) I bought yesterday is amazing.
• The movie (which) we watched was boring.
Not possible:
• The girl who won the race is my sister.
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EXERCISE 1
1. The woman _____ lives next door is a nurse.
A) who B) which C) where
2. This is the book _____ I told you about.
A) who B) that C) where
3. London, _____ is the capital of England, attracts millions of visitors.
A) that B) who C) which
4. The boy _____ father is a pilot wants to be a pilot too.
A) whose B) which C) where
5. This is the restaurant _____ we had dinner.
A) where B) who C) whose
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EXERCISE 2
Write D (Defining) or ND (Non-Defining).
1. My uncle, who lives in Australia, is visiting us. ND
2. The students who finish first may leave early. D
3. The bicycle that I bought yesterday is blue. D
4. Shakespeare, who wrote Hamlet, is famous worldwide. ND
5. The people who work here are very friendly. D
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ANSWERS
Exercise 1:
1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-A, 5-A
Exercise 2:
1-ND, 2-D, 3-D, 4-ND, 5-D