Relative Clauses

RELATIVE CLAUSES
Defining Relative Clauses
We use defining relative clauses to say exactly which person or thing we are talking about. We
do not give extra information in this type of relative clauses, so without relative clause, the
sentence will not be meaningful.
Relative word Function Example
Used to talk about He was the man who/that bought my house.
Who/that
people (‘Verb’ comes after ‘who’)
Used instead of
‘who’ or ‘that’ as
the object of the She was a woman whom I greatly respected.
Whom
verb in the relative (‘Subject’ comes after ‘whom’)
clause (in formal
English)
Used to indicate The child whose mother had left him was crying
Whose
possession loudly.
Used to talk about The car which/that crashed into me belonged to
Which/that
things or places Sally.
Where/that
(Where means The building where he lives is very old.
‘in which’ or The building in which he lives is very old.
‘at which’) Used to talk about The building which he lives in is very old.
places The building that he lives is very old.
! Look at the
tips given
below.
Used to talk about
When This is the year when profits should increase.
time
Usually we do not use ‘that’ and ‘who’ with prepositions before them. We use
‘preposition + whom/which’.
• These are the people to whom Catherine was talking.
• The chair on which I was sitting broke down.
‘That’, ‘who’, ‘which’ as the SUBJECT of the clause

• The woman who/that lives next door is very friendly.
Subject of the clause
• The car which/that caused the accident drove off.
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‘That’, ‘who’ and ‘which’ as the OBJECT of the clause
• The woman who/that you met yesterday lives next door.
Object (You met the woman)
• The car which/that I wanted to buy was not for sale.
Object (I wanted to buy the car)
You can OMIT the relative pronoun ‘who’, ‘which’, ‘that’ and ‘where’ in
Defining Relative Clauses if the relative clause is the OBJECT of the
sentence. You cannot omit ‘whose’:
• The woman who/that you met yesterday lives next door.
• The woman you met yesterday lives next door.
• The car which/that I wanted to buy was not for sale.
• The car I wanted to buy was not for sale.
• The neighbourhood where I grew up was small.
• The neighbourhood I grew up was small.
Tips in differentiating ‘where’ and ‘which’ when we talk about places

• When we talk about qualities of ‘places’ just like we talk about the qualities of
‘things’, we use ‘which’, not ‘where’:
This is the garden which is full of colours.

This is the book which is full of stories.
This is the garden where/to which we go at the weekends. (not a quality,
what people do in the garden is explained)
• After ‘where’ we always use a ‘subject’ (pronoun/noun) because relative clause with
‘where’ is never the ‘subject’ of a sentence, whereas after ‘which’, we can use a
‘subject’ or a ‘verb’ because relative clause with ‘which’ can be both the ‘subject’ and
the ‘object’ of the sentence.
This is the library where I borrow books. (Relative clause is the object)
This is the library which I like very much. (Relative clause is the object)
This is the library which is nice. (Relative clause is the subject)

Non-Defining Relative Clauses
We use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing we are
talking about. Without the relative clause, the sentence will still be meaningful. We use a
comma before and after the relative clause. We do not use ‘that’ and we do not omit the relative
pronoun in non-defining relative clauses.
Relative word Function Example

Used to talk about Professor Marvin, who teaches Biology, is an
Who
people excellent lecturer. (‘Verb’ comes after ‘who’)
Used instead of
‘who’ or ‘that’ as
the object of the She was engaged to a sailor, whom she had met at
Whom
verb in the relative Dartmouth. (‘Subject’ comes after ‘whom’)
clause (in formal
English).
Used to indicate Marilyn Monroe, whose real name was Norma
Whose
possession Jean, was born in Los Angeles.
Hawaii, which consists of eight principal islands,
is a popular vacation spot.
Used to talk about
Which (Remember the tips for differentiating ‘which’
things or places
and ‘where’- similar example: This meal, which
includes eight ingredients, is very delicious.)
Where Used to talk about She has just come back from a holiday in Crete,
places. where Alex and I went last year.
Used to talk about
When This happened in 1957, when I was still a baby.
time.
‘Who’ or ‘which’ as the SUBJECT of the clause

• Heath Robinson, who died in 1944, was a graphic artist and cartoonist.
• I am teaching at the Selly Oak centre, which is just over the road.
‘Who’ and ‘which’ as the OBJECT of the sentence

• I was in the same group as Alice, who(m) I like a lot.
Object
• He was a man of considerable wealth, which he ultimately spent on his experiments.
Object

EXERCISE 1- Fill in the blanks using relative pronouns and put a tick next to the
sentences in which the relative pronoun can be omitted.
1. The Campus ______________ I study is really good.
2. The University ______________ I visited yesterday is a well-known one.
3. The woman ______________ I met was my friend’s mother.
4. The girl ______________ wallet was lost was crying.
5. That is the girl ______________ fell down yesterday.
6. That is the young man to ______________ I spoke.
7. The job for ______________ she’s applied is in Paris.
8. The neighbourhood ______________ I grew up in was very friendly.
9. The neighbour ______________ children watered our plants lives across the street.
10. Let’s try to agree on a time ______________ we can all get together.
EXERCISE 2- Complete the sentences with relative clauses so that they have the same
meaning with the sentences given above them.
1. Jack made a table. It’s not very strong.

The table ____________________________ is not very strong.
2. I read about a new computer. I had seen it on TV.
I read about the new computer ____________________________.
3. Jane made a cake. Nobody liked it.
Nobody liked the cake ____________________________.
4. My sister wrote an article. The newspaper is going to publish it.
The newspaper is going to publish the article ____________________________.
5. I have been to India. Women wear a traditional dress called saree there.
I have been to India ____________________________
6. Mary sent me a letter. It was very funny.
The letter ____________________________ was very funny.
7. I met an old lady. She was one hundred and three years old.
The old lady ____________________________ was one hundred and three years old.
8. I saw a house. My brother wants to buy it.
I saw the house ____________________________.
9. I went to a country. It had an amazing cuisine.
I went to a country ____________________________.
10. I talked to a teacher. Her all students passed the exam.
I talked to the teacher ____________________________.
11. My mother works in a factory. It makes parts for cars.
The factory ____________________________ makes parts for cars.
12. We ran out of petrol in a little village. It didn’t have a petrol station.
The village ____________________________ didn’t have a petrol station.
13. The hotel had a magician. He was very talented.
The hotel had a magician ____________________________.

14. The workers are paid a salary. They can’t live on it.
The workers can’t live on the salary ____________________________.
15. Sharon’s got a new mobile. It takes good photos.
Sharon’s got a new mobile ____________________________.
EXERCISE 3- Make a non-defining relative clause from these sentences.
1. The polar bear is a large bear that lives in the Arctic. It is also known as the white bear.
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Peter is studying French and German. He has never been abroad.

___________________________________________________________________________
3. We are moving to Manchester. Manchester is in the north-west of England.

___________________________________________________________________________
4. I’ll be staying with Adrian. His brother is one of my closest friends.

___________________________________________________________________________
5. Madonna’s parents were born in Italy. She is a famous American singer.

___________________________________________________________________________
6. The Queen of England lives in the Buckingham Palace. The Buckingham Palace is the
centre of London.
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Many tourists go to Paris. I met my boyfriend in Paris.

___________________________________________________________________________
8. The school was built in 1907. The school has about 800 students.
___________________________________________________________________________
9. The Plaza Redonda square is near the cathedral. There is a market in The Plaza Redonda
square every Sunday.
___________________________________________________________________________
10. Samantha is coming to the party. Samantha's mother is the mayoress of this town.
___________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 4- Fill in the blanks using relative pronoun in each space.
John Lennon, (1) __________ was born in 1940, was a member of the Beatles, the British rock
group. He grew up in Liverpool, (2) __________ he performed in a number of groups, and met
the other members of the Beatles. After studying at art college, (3) __________ he disliked as
much as he had disliked school, Lennon spent his time learning to be a musician. In 1962, the
Beatles had their first hit record, (4) __________ was soon followed by success in the USA.
Lennon met Paul McCartney in 1957 and they wrote most of the group's songs together. The
success of the Beatles, (5) __________ was worldwide, created problems for Lennon, (6)
__________ often said exactly what he thought to be the press and TV, and got into trouble.
By the time the Beatles stopped working together, what came about during the late 1960s,
Lennon's songs had become both political and highly personal. His personal life, (7)
__________ became more difficult because of his drug and alcohol addiction, was also often
in the news. He and his wife Cynthia were divorced, and he married Yoko Ono, with (8)
__________ he carried out political protests. They also made records together, and went to live
in the USA, (9) __________ Lennon continued his solo career. They also made records
together, and went to live in the USA and continued his solo career. In the mid 70s he took a
break from music. In 1980 (10) __________ he was working on a new album, he was shot dead.

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RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining Relative Clauses

‘That’, ‘who’, ‘which’ as the SUBJECT of the clause

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• The woman who/that you met yesterday lives next door.

• The woman you met yesterday lives next door.

• The car which/that I wanted to buy was not for sale.

• The car I wanted to buy was not for sale.

• The neighbourhood where I grew up was small.

• The neighbourhood I grew up was small.

Tips in differentiating ‘where’ and ‘which’ when we talk about places

This is the garden which is full of colours.

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Relative word Function Example

‘Who’ or ‘which’ as the SUBJECT of the clause

‘Who’ and ‘which’ as the OBJECT of the sentence

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1. Jack made a table. It’s not very strong.

EXERCISE 3- Make a non-defining relative clause from these sentences.

2. Peter is studying French and German. He has never been abroad.

3. We are moving to Manchester. Manchester is in the north-west of England.

4. I’ll be staying with Adrian. His brother is one of my closest friends.

5. Madonna’s parents were born in Italy. She is a famous American singer.

7. Many tourists go to Paris. I met my boyfriend in Paris.

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