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Defining Relative Clauses Non-Defining Relative Clauses

The document discusses defining and non-defining relative clauses. Defining clauses provide essential information about the subject, while non-defining clauses provide extra information and are separated by commas. The document outlines which relative pronouns to use depending on whether the subject or object is a person or thing.

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Gohar Ali
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43 views

Defining Relative Clauses Non-Defining Relative Clauses

The document discusses defining and non-defining relative clauses. Defining clauses provide essential information about the subject, while non-defining clauses provide extra information and are separated by commas. The document outlines which relative pronouns to use depending on whether the subject or object is a person or thing.

Uploaded by

Gohar Ali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ALD7 House R046 Relative Clauses.

qxd 23/10/2007 12:24 Page 46

Relative clauses
Defining relative clauses Non-defining relative clauses
Relative clauses

defining relative clauses define or identify non-defining relative clauses add extra
which person or thing you are talking about: information about somebody or something which
j The man who came in late is the boss. could be left out and the sentence would still
make sense. This extra information is separated
There is no comma before a defining relative
from the main clause by commas:
clause. The pronouns that you use in these
j The film, which was shot in Mexico,
clauses are who, whom, that and which.
has won an Oscar.
They are called relative pronouns.
The pronouns that can be used in non-defining
Use who or that: clauses are who, whom, which and whose.
when the subject is a person:
Use who:
j The man who came in late is the boss.
or The man that came in late is the boss. when the subject is a person:
j My sister, who is a vegetarian, ordered a salad.
Use that or which:
Use which:
when the subject is a thing:
j I sit at the desk that faces the window. when the subject is a thing:
or I sit at the desk which faces the window. jThe tickets, which can be bought at the station,
(formal) are valid for a month.

Use who, that, whom, Use who or whom:


or no relative pronoun:
when the object is a person:
when the object is a person: j Peter, who nobody had met before, arrived late.
j Shes the girl who/that I met last night. or Peter, whom nobody had met before,
or Shes the girl I met last night. arrived late. (formal)
or Shes the girl whom I met last night.
(formal) Use which:
when the object is a thing:
Use that, which, or no relative pronoun:
jThe tickets, which I've paid for, are still valid.
when the object is a thing:
j Ive finished the book that you lent me. Use whose:
or Ive finished the book you lent me. when something belongs to somebody:
or Ive finished the book which you lent me. jLucy, whose car had broken down, didnt go.
(formal)
N That, who and which can be left Relative clauses and prepositions
out when the thing or person is the object
of the verb. In spoken English a preposition in a relative
clause is usually placed at the end of the
Use whose: clause, and the relative pronoun may be omitted.
to show that something belongs to somebody: A more formal alternative is to put the
j He helped a woman whose car had preposition before the relative pronoun:
broken down. when the object is a person:
j Theyre the people whose house was burgled. j The man I spoke to was very friendly.

Whose is not usually used to refer to a thing. or The man who / that I spoke to was very
Of which is usually used instead: friendly.
j He's reading the book, the name of which I can or The man to whom I spoke was very friendly.
never remember. (formal)

but it is more natural to say: when the object is a thing:


j Hes reading that book I can never remember jThe house I was born in is gone.
its name... or The house that I was born in is gone.
or The house in which I was born is gone. (formal)

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