Relative Clauses

[8.1] How to study this unit?

[8.2] Introduction to relative clauses

[8.3] Defining relative clauses

[8.4] Non-defining relative clauses

[8.5] Relative clauses in context

[8.6] Bibliographical references

8
UNIT
 Scheme

UNIT 8 – Scheme
Relative clauses

Introduction to Defining relative Non-defining Relative clauses in

2
relative clauses clauses relative clauses context

Perspectives on Main features of

relative clauses the relative clauses

© Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

Pay attention to…

8.1. How to study this unit?

In order to study this unit you should read:

Hewings, M. (2005). Advanced Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. (p.106, p.108, p.110).
Available at the virtual campus under the art. 32.4 of the Spanish Intellectual Property
Law.

In this unit we will study relative clauses

» To introduce the topic, we will explain relative clauses from two different
perspectives.
» Secondly, we will discuss the different features of defining and non-defining
relative clauses.
» And finally we will illustrate the use of relative clauses in context.

8.2. Introduction to relative clauses

In this section we look at some general characteristics of relative clauses. To introduce

these features and explain the difference between the types of relative clause, we will
draw on two highly acclaimed grammar books: English Grammar: A University
Course (2006) by Angela Downing and Philip Locke, and A Student’s Introduction to
English Grammar (2005) by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum. It is
important to know that although the most commonly used terms are defining and non-
defining relative clauses, linguists also use terms like restrictive and non-restrictive or
integrated and supplementary relative clause to refer to the same thing.

In English Grammar: A University Course (2006), Angela Downing and Philip Locke
distinguish between restrictive and non-restrictive realisations of the post-modifier of
the nominal group (for further information on nominal groups see Unit 1). They
provide a list of items that function as a post-modifier, and one of these items is the

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relative clause. For them, “[f]inite relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun
or adverb (called a relativiser). [...] The relativiser refers back to the head of the
nominal group, which is termed the antecedent” (p. 449, bold in original).

This is the student who won the award for best short film.
A R

Downing and Locke (2005) provide definitions of relativisers such as: who, whom,
which, that, zero, when, where, why, and whose and discuss their usage. They also
identify the main features of the restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses.

Restrictive VS Non-restrictive relative clauses

restrictive (integrated) relative
non-restrictive relative clause
clause
They are not embedded in the matrix
Syntactically, it is embedded in the
and have considerable semantic
nominal group matrix structure.
independence.
They don’t share the intonation of the
It shares the intonation of its
matrix clause. They have their own
antecedent.
intonation contour.
Semantically, it is an integral part of
the meaning of the whole nominal group. They don’t identify one referent from
It helps to establish what or whom the other possible referents. The
speaker is talking about. It picks out the antecedent is already restricted
referent from other possible referents by and the clause is complete.
some distinguishing property.
The larger nominal group unit with its
relative clause can be expanded by a
further relative clause.

Example: The umbrella we bought¹ that

has a duck’s head handle² made a good
present.
They are not common after proper
They can have as antecedent a
names, as their referents are normally
proper noun.
already identified.
Table 1. Features of the restrictive (integrated) relative clause. Adapted from Downing & Locke, 2006, pp. 450-451

Relativisers when, where, why, whose

» When and where introduce circumstantial information, of time and place

respectively: the place where he was born; the time when he is sure to be at home.
» Why occurs as a relative only after the noun “reason” and the like —cause,
explanation, excuse: There is no reason why we shouldn’t be friends.
» Whose is the possessive form and is used not only to refer to animate head nouns
but also to inanimates, as a shorter alternative to of which + determiner.

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 English Grammar

children whose parents both go out to work

the houses whose roofs were in need of repair.

Green Eyes, (Champion, W., Martin, C., Buckland, J. & Berryman, G., 2002)

That green eyes.

You're the one that I wanted to find.
And anyone who tried to deny you.
Must be out of their mind.

In A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar (2005), Rodney Huddleston and

Geoffrey Pullum define relative clause as “a special kind of subordinate clause whose
primary function is as a modifier to a noun or nominal” (p. 183).

Relative clauses

Relative clauses as Integrated vs. Relative words in Fused relatives

modifiers of nouns Supplementary integrated and
relatives supplementary
relative clauses

Figure 1. Relative clauses. Adapted from Huddleston & Pullum, 2005.

Relative clauses as modifiers of nouns

A R
A
I wrote a message to all the students who hadn’t come to class.
R
A
A R
A
The book which you gave me is very interesting.
R
A

Huddleston and Pullum also explain the relationship between the relative pronoun and
the antecedent. It is called anaphora and is “a crucial property of relative clauses”
(2005, p. 183)

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Wh- and non-wh relative clauses

According to Huddleston & Pullum (2005), wh- relative clauses are “clauses that do
contain an overt anaphoric link like who or which” (p. 184).

The CD which I wanted to buy is not available.

On the other hand, there are the non-wh relatives. Huddleston and Pullum divide these
in the following categories:

» that relatives
This is the book that I wanted to read.

» bare relatives
The book I wanted to buy was not available.

Integrated vs. supplementary relatives

» Intonation and punctuation. As far as intonation is concerned, integrated

relatives are embodied into larger constructions. On the contrary,
supplementary relative clauses are spoken as a separate intonation unit.

In writing, supplementary relatives are marked off by commas (sometimes by dashes

or parentheses). However, punctuation is not a reliable criterion to distinguish
integrated from supplementary relatives, because we can find supplementary
relative clauses without being set apart by punctuation.

» Interpretation. In integrated relative clauses, the information is presented as an

integrated part of the larger message. In supplementary clauses, the information is
presented as supplementary to that expressed in the rest of the sentence, it is
additional.

» Syntax and function. Supplementary clauses are almost always of the wh- type.
The bare construction is not allowed. Supplementary relatives allow a wider range of
antecedents than integrated ones. They accept clauses and proper nouns. With
regard to the function, integrated relatives function as dependent, supplementary
relatives are attached more loosely.
o Integrated: Politicians who make extravagant promises aren’t trusted.

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o Supplementary: Politicians, who make extravagant promises, aren’t trusted.

Relative words in integrated and supplementary relative clauses

Major relative words are: who, whom, whose, which, when, where, why.

who: cases
who nominative
whose genitive
whom accusative
Table 2. Pronoun case. Adapted from Huddleston & Pullum, 2005

The man to whom I wrote is the editor of the magazine.

Have you heard the story of the man whose wife won the lottery?
The woman who I interviewed on Monday was offered a contract by Sony
Music.

Fused relatives

Huddleston and Pullum use the term fused relatives for examples such as: I have eaten
what you gave me, where the fused relative is what you gave me. They define it as
complex construction where “the antecedent and the relativised element are fused
together instead of being expressed separately” (2005, p. 191).

The major relative words in the fused constructions are:

who whom what which where when

whoever whomever whatever whichever wherever whenever

So, in short, in this chapter, we will use the terms defining and non-defining relative
clause, as these are the most common terms used in English as a Foreign Language
teaching field. Taking into account the main characteristics of relative clauses
mentioned above, we can work with the following simplified definitions:

» Defining relative clauses give essential information about the antecedent. They
identify the referent, which is why they cannot be left out.

The man who was sitting by the window is my father.

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I heard everything (that) you said.

» Non-defining relative clauses give additional or non-essential information

about the antecedent. They can be left out and the addressee will still understand the
main message.

I nodded to my mother, who was waiting for me at the door.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is about Vermeer, who is one of
my favourite painters.

8.3. Defining relative clauses

Defining relative clauses are not marked off by commas.

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.

Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly.

These clauses often follow the structure the + noun

Counting Stars, (Tedder, 2013)

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars
Yeah we'll be counting stars.

They can also follow the pronouns: all, none, somebody, anybody, etc.

I met someone who collects autographs of famous DJs.

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The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses.

Subject (nominative Object Possessive

case) (accusative case) (genitive case)
who whom/who whose
person
that that
which which whose/of which
thing
that that
Table 3. Relative pronouns used in defining relative clauses.

When we talk about people as the subject of the sentence, we use who and that,
although who is the most common. That is frequent after everyone, everybody, no one,
and nobody.

The old woman who is talking to the postman is my neighbour.

The man who invented the light bulb is a genius.

When a person is the object of the sentence, then it is preceded by whom, who, or
that. Whom is more formal than who. Whom is more common in written English,
while in spoken English we use who and that. That is more common than who in this
case.

“I certainly never saw a man, in all my experience, whom I should be sorry to

have for an enemy.” (Collins, 1994, p. 198).
This is the vet to whom I spoke on the phone.

In informal speech it is more common to place the preposition at the end.

This is the vet whom/who I spoke to on the phone.

This is the moment I have always dreamt of.

In those defining relative clauses where the pronoun functions as object it is often
omitted.

Relative clause
This is the necklace that I found in her box.
R
O S
A
O
R

A
A
This is the necklace I found in her box.
S O
R

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For possessive clauses, whose is the only possibility.

This is the man whose wife makes fish stew every weekend.
I walked besides the man whose car broke down several times last month.

When the subject of a sentence is a thing, then we use which and that. Which is
preferred in formal contexts.

“The strange, stunned feeling which had taken possession of me still

remained”.
“We were all at lunch, in the room with the new French windows that open
into the verandah,...” (Collins, 1994, p. 246, p.198)

If the object of a sentence is a thing, then we use which and that.

“He seems to have established over me the same sort of ascendency which he has
evidently gained over Sir Percival.” (Collins, 1994, p.198)
“Close to the Rietveld Canal there was an alley that Pieter guided me to, his
hand at the small of my back.” (Chevalier, 1999, p. 140)

After all, everything, little and much we use that.

All the donations that we received were sent to the victims.

All the donations we received were sent to the victims.

In those defining relative clauses where the pronoun functions as object it is often
omitted.

I did not tell my boss about the change I had made.

For possessive sentences, as said before, the only possibility is whose. However, it is
not a common structure.

A house whose owner is the Duke of Edinburgh stood alone in Market

square.
The table whose legs were covered with chipped paint was sold for £300.

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8.4. Non-defining relative clauses

Non-defining relative clauses add non-essential information about the referent that has
already been identified. They are marked off by commas.

Subject Object Possessive

person who whom/who whose
thing which which whose/of which

When the subject is a person, then we cannot use no other pronoun but who.

“...the Count, who devours pastry as I have never yet seen it devoured by
any human beings but girls at boarding schools, had just amused us by
asking gravely for his fourth tart — when the servant entered to announce the
visitor.” (Collins, 1994, p. 198)
“She never saw her father, who had run off to Australia weeks before her
birth.” (McCourt, 1999, p. 3)

If the object of the sentence is a person, then who and whom are used and they
cannot be omitted. The correct pronoun is whom, although who is also used.

Ann, whom everyone suspected of stealing, was found innocent.

Tom, who the police thought dead, had got lost in the forest.

If whom is used with a preposition, the preposition is placed before the pronoun.

For people in a possessive clause, we use the pronoun whose.

Agnes, whose dress I was wearing, looked at me and said nothing.

John, whose team I met yesterday, looks exhausted.

When the subject is a thing, then we use which.

“With those eager words she caught me by the hand, and led me through the
library, to the end room on the ground floor, which had been fitted up for her
own special use.” (Collins, 1994, p. 246)
He picked up the keys to his room, which was overlooking the sea.

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The same happens when it is the object of the sentence:

My mother gave me her golden bracelet, which she bought while she was living
in London.

The Kew Gardens, which I saw last year, is one of the largest UNESCO sites in
Great Britain.

In possessive sentences we use whose/of which.

The garden, whose length and width are 80m x 60m, belongs to the Prince of
Persia.
The house, whose back door is always unlocked, is haunted by a ghost.

8.5. Relative clauses in context

Relative clauses are sometimes used in cleft sentences. Cleft sentences are structures
we use when we want to put the emphasis on one word or another in a sentence. They
are more common in written English than in spoken English because when we speak
we can use our intonation to draw the listener’s attention to a word.

“It was those words, with their bullying tone, that caused the most damage
between Tanneke and me.” (Chevalier, 1999, 131)

The thing that I like best about this hotel is its swimming pool.
It is its swimming pool that I like best about this hotel.

The reason why decided to become a teacher is because I love working with
children.

The place where I feel safe is Amsterdam.

It’s Amsterdam where I feel safe.

The person who helped me when I was in need was my cousin.

It was my cousin who helped me when I was in need.

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The day when I met you is the most important day of my life.

Here is an example of cleft sentences in context:

All You Need Is Love, (Lennon & McCartney 1967)

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.

Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.

No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.

Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.

Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

And some variations of the title of the song:

All I need is love.
What I need is love.
It is love that I need.

In some contexts relative clauses can be replaced by infinitives and

participles (for further information on infinitives and participles see Unit 6).

The first man to leave the office is my boss.

The first man who leaves the office is my boss.

When, where and why.

Why introduces reason. It can be omitted.

“No one knew why he was called Ab Sheehan, The Abbot, but all Limerick
loved him.” (McCourt, 1999, p. 4)
I explained to the lady in blue why I wanted to work there.

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When and where can be used for both defining and non-defining relative clauses. We
can leave out when in defining relative clauses.

“My father and mother should have stayed in New York where they met and
married and where I was born.” (McCourt, 1999, p.1)
“We come to a big gate where there’s a man standing in a box with
windows all around.” (McCourt, 1999, p. 19)

If we leave out where, we have to add a preposition.

That’s the university where we are studying.

That’s the university we are studying at.
That afternoon when she was visiting friends I went quietly to the attic.
“It was one of the rare Sundays when he was visiting.” (Chevalier, 1999, p.157)

8.6. Bibliographical references

Chevalier, T. (1999). Girl with a Pearl Earring. London: Harper Collins Publishers.

Collins, W. (1994). The Woman in White. London: Penguin Books.

Downing, A. & Locke, P. (2006). English Grammar: A University Course. London &
New York: Routledge.

Huddleston, R. & Geoffrey, K. (2005). A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McCourt, F. (1999). Angela’s Ashes. London: Flamingo.

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Specially recommended

Master class

Relative Clauses

The master class offers a brief overview of two perspectives from which relative clauses
are studied. We will explain and compare the different terms used to refer to relative
clauses and will examine the types of relative clause and their characteristics. Special
attention will be paid to relative pronouns and their function in the clause.

This class is available in the virtual classroom

UNIT 8 – Specially recommended 15 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

Watch out!

Relative Clauses and Pronouns

This short video provides a definition of relative clause. Defining and non-defining
relative clauses are explained and the difference between the two types is illustrated
with a great variety of examples. It is interesting to note that this is the first video in a
series of videos on relative clause and that if you wish, you can watch the other videos,
too. They are available online.

Access to the video through the virtual campus or the following website address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkY_Y32l0Ys

UNIT 8 – Specially recommended 16 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

Be sure you read…

Recent changes in relative clauses in spoken British English

Xu, X. & Xiao, R. Z. (2015). Recent Changes in Relative Clauses in Spoken British
English. English Studies 96 (7), 818-838.

The present article explores the changes of relative clauses in spoken British English
over a span of thirty years in the second half of the twentieth century. The authors,
Xiuling Xu and Richard Zhonghua Xiao, attempt to find out if relative clauses have
evolved in a similar way in spoken English and in written English and conclude that
informal text categories display greater changes.

Access to the article through the virtual campus or following this link:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0013838X.2015.1051874?scroll=top&n
eedAccess=true

The difference between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses

Castillo, C. (2003). The Difference between Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Relative

Clauses. Atlantis 25(2), 25-38.

Relative clauses are distinguished on the basis of both their syntactic and semantic
features. In this paper, Concha Castillo explores the syntactic differences between
restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses. The aim of her study is to show that
these differences result from the positions the relative operators occupy in each type.

Available at the virtual campus under the art. 32.4 of the Spanish Intellectual Property
Law.

UNIT 8 – Specially recommended 17 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

+ Information

In depth

Relative clause interpretation preferences in Spanish and English

Carreiras, M. & Clifton, C. (1993). Relative Clause Interpretation Preferences in Spanish

and English. Language and Speech, 36(4), 353-372.

In this paper, Manuel Carreiras and Charles Clifton, Jr. compare the reading time for
English and Spanish sentences containing relative clauses. For the purpose of their
study, sixteen sentences were constructed in parallel versions and five experiments
involving undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts, USA, and undergraduate
students at the University of la Laguna, Spain, were carried out to compare relative
clause in the two languages.

Available at the virtual campus under the art. 32.4 of the Spanish Intellectual Property
Law.

UNIT 8 – + Information 18 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

Webgraphy

Relative pronouns

The Purdue Online Writing Lab offers detailed information about relative clauses and
relative pronouns in three parts: (1) introduction and general usage in defining clauses;
(2) Relative pronouns in non-defining clauses, and (3) Defining vs. Non-defining
clauses. The authors, Russel Keck and Elizabeth Angeli, also explain the syntactic
function of the pronouns and offer examples of relative pronouns in formal and
informal English.

Access to the website through the virtual campus or the following link:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/645/01/

UNIT 8 – + Information 19 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

Test

1. Choose the correct answer. Finish the sentence: I would love to meet someone…
A. who likes Shakespeare’s sonnets.
B. that likes Shakespeare’s sonnets.
C. Both A and B are correct.

2. Choose the correct answer:

A. The woman, who you were talking to, is a famous opera singer.
B. The woman, that you were talking to, is a famous opera singer.
C. The woman you were talking to is a famous opera singer.

3. Choose the correct answer:

A. The author whose book won the Booker prize died penniless.
B. The author, which book won the Booker prize, died penniless.
C. The author, by whose book won the Booker prize, died penniless.

4. Choose the correct answer. I didn’t like the dress…

A. whose she bought last year in London.
B. which she bought last year in London.
C. when she bought last year in London.

5. Choose the correct answer:

A. This is the city where I was born.
B. This is the city, where I was born.
C. Both A and B are wrong.

6. Choose the correct answer:

A. The Eiffel Tower, which is in Paris, was built for the 1889 World’s Fair.
B. The Eiffel Tower, which was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, is in Paris.
C. Both A and B are correct.

7. Choose the correct answer:

A. I still remember the day when I saw you.
B. I still remember the day in which I saw you.
C. I still remember the day who I saw you.

UNIT 8 – Test 20 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)

 English Grammar

8. Choose the correct answer:

A. The man to whom you were speaking is my English teacher.
B. The man you were speaking to is my English teacher.
C. Both A and B are correct.

9. Choose the correct answer:

A. She has two cats, whose names are Amber and Bella.
B. She has two cats, which names are Amber and Bella.
C. She has two cats, that names are Amber and Bella.

10. Choose the correct answer:

A. I know a restaurant where serves sushi on a conveyor belt.
B. I know a restaurant which serves sushi on a conveyor belt.
C. Both A and B are correct.

UNIT 8 – Test 21 © Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR)