Grammar Practice in Context - David Bolton, Noel Goodey 1997
99 Defining and non-defining relative clauses
Quick reference
• Defining relative clause: That's the woman who’s got six children.
(Here, the relative clause identifies the woman. It says which woman the speaker means.)
• Non-defining relative clause: / met James Topolski, who’s from Chicago.
(Here, the person he met is already identified as ’James Topolski’. The relative clause who’s from
Chicago simply gives us extra information about James Topolski.)
We put a comma before a non-defining relative clause. If it’s in the middle of a sentence, we put a comma after it as well. His house, which was built in 1870, is really beautiful.
• In a defining relative clause we can leave out who, which, that when they’re objects.
That’s the film we ’re going to see. (or that/which we ’re going to see)
In a non-defining relative clause we can’t leave out who and which.
This is Louise Finch, who I met yesterday.
• We never use that in non-defining relative clauses.
Our hotel room, which was on the 21st floor, was enormous. (not that was)
• We can use where and whose in non-defining relative clauses.
Marilyn Monroe, whose real name was Norma Jean Baker, was born in 1926.
She went to Hollywood, where she starred in many films.
• In formal English we can use whom and which after a preposition in defining and non-defining relative clauses.
She’s the girl to whom I sold my car. His house, in which he’d always Hued, was in Brighton.
But in informal English we normally say:
She’s the girl who I sold my car to. His house, which he’d always lived in, was in Brighton.
• Which can refer to a whole clause. He got married at 75, which surprised everyone.
1 These are examples from a book of humorous definitions.
a) Match the two parts to make correct sentences, then fill in the gaps with who, which, whose, where or that.
b) Say how many clauses are defining and how many non-defining.
c) Say in how many you could omit the relative pronoun.
1 A city is a place
2 A book is something
3 Home is
4 A parachutist is someone
5 A playboy is a man
6 A prisoner is a criminal
7 A saint is a person
8 A politician is a man
9 A teenager is someone
10 A communist is a person
a) ... we look at while we’re waiting for the TV repairman.
b) ... wife won’t listen to him.
c) ... climbs down trees he never climbed up.
d) ... is hell to live with.
e) ... millions of people can be lonely together.
f) ... you can scratch any place you itch.
g) ... comes to work from a different direction every day.
h) ... is young enough to know everything.
i) ... has given up hope of becoming a capitalist.
j) ... intelligence is so limited even the police can catch him.
a) 1 ... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9.... 10...
b) ...
c) ...
2 Make single sentences, using the relative pronouns who, which, where and whose. Add commas where necessary. You will sometimes need to change the word order.
1 The following incident took place in Trenton. Trenton is in New Jersey.
2 An elderly man drove into town. His name was Henry Kaplin.
3 Beside him was his neighbour. Her name was Annie Bednarska.
4 They got to the Riverside Shopping Mall. She wanted to go shopping.
5 His passenger got out. She was 79 years old.
6 The driver reversed. He was in a hurry.
7 Three pedestrians shouted at him. It wasn’t enough to stop him.
8 He ran her over. It resulted in her breaking a leg.
9 Police arrived at the scene of the accident. They asked them both questions.
10 They spoke to the driver. They discovered he was deaf.
11 They also spoke to Annie Bednarska. She told them she was blind.
3 Read the news headlines and decide which answer, A, B, or C best fits each space.
The film star Hetty Anderson (1) ... has died at her home in Los Angeles.
Nineteen-year-old Mark Bates (2) ... was killed in a crash on the M11.
The Prime Minister (3) ... has flown to an EU conference in Brussels.
A teenage girl (4) ... has been found alive.
A Welsh shipbuilding yard (5) ... has been closed.
1 A , who was 81,
В who was 81
C , that was 81,
2 A who was a student at Bristol University
В , who was a student at Bristol University,
C that was a student at Bristol University
3 A , that is 55 today,
В who is 55 today
C , who is 55 today,
4 A , whose family reported her missing 2 weeks ago,
В , who family reported her missing 2 weeks ago,
C , which family reported her missing 2 weeks ago,
5 A where over 2,000 men were employed
В , which over 2,000 men were employed,
C , where over 2,000 men were employed,