MODULE 2: RELATIVE SENTENCES: DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING

DEFINING (no commas)

Relative clauses add extra information to a sentence by defining a noun. They are usually divided into two types – defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining relative clauses

We use defining relative clauses to give essential information about someone or something – information that we need in order to understand what or who is being referred to. A defining relative clause usually comes immediately after the noun it describes.

We usually use a relative pronoun (e.g. who, whom, that, which, whose, where, when, why) to introduce a defining relative clause. In the examples, the relative clause is in bold, and the person or thing being referred to is underlined:

1.-They’re the people who/that want to buy our house.

2.-Here are some houses which/that have been affected by the flood.

3.-They should give the money to somebody who/that they think needs the treatment most.

 

4.-The actress now playing a woman whose son was killed in the First World War.

        5.- This is the town where I studied my university degree.

       6.-The day when/that the concert takes place is Saturday.
       
       7.-This is the reason why I didn't invite him to the party.

 

We can leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of the verb:

They’re the people (who/that) she met at Jon’s party.

 This is the book (which/that) I borrowed from the library.

The relative pronoun cannot be omitted when it isthe subject of the verb:

            This is the boy who/that helped us with our luggage.  

            This is the boy (who/that) we meet at the party.

IMPORTANT: Where and whose are never omitted. 

It is important to use the possessive WHOSE correctly:
Example: He's the man whose car was stolen last week.
They were sure to visit the town whose location 

 

NON-DEFINING

Look at this sentence.

• My grandfather, who is 87, goes swimming every day.

‘who is 87’ is a non-defining relative clause. It adds extra information to the sentence. If we take the clause out of the sentence, the sentence still has the same meaning.

Look at some more examples.

• Tom Carter, who plays the leading role in this film, is a great actor.
• My eldest son, whose work takes him all over the world, is in Hong Kong at the moment.
• The car, which can reach speeds of over 300km/ph, costs over $500,000.
• Cáceres, where most of my students were born, is a wonderful town.
  

Non-defining relative clauses add extra information to sentences.

Defining or non-defining?

Remember that defining relative clauses are used to add important information. The sentence would have a different meaning without the defining relative clause.

• I’m going to wear the skirt that I bought in London. The defining relative clause tells us which skirt.
• This skirt, which is a lovely dark blue colour, only cost £10. The non-defining relative clause doesn’t tell us which skirt – it gives us more information about the skirt.

Non-defining relative clauses use WHO, WHICH, WHERE, WHEN, WHOSE, but they but they CAN’T use THAT.

The relative pronoun can never be omitted in a non-defining relative clause.

• The film, that stars Tom Carter, is released on Friday.
• The film, which stars Tom Carter, is released on Friday

Non-defining relative clauses are more often used in written English than in spoken English. You can tell that a clause is non-defining because it is separated by commas at each end of the clause.






SUBJECT OR OBJECST PRONOUNS?

RELATIVE PRONOUN, NECESSARY OR NOT?

RELATIVE ADVERBS

RELATIVE TEST


Exercise 1

 

MORE PRACTICE

COMPLETE with the right pronoun and omit it when possible:
1. It is the book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I've just read.
2. She is the girl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sat next to me in the bus.
3. They are the people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . helped me.

4. The village ..................... I was born is very small. 

5. This is the dog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . scared me.

6.  This is the dog ...........................my sister bought as a present for my birthday.

7. Summer is the season .............................. I feel better. 

8. The policeman ......................... you saw at the entrance is my brother. 

9. He is a musician ....................... albums have sold millions. 

10. The exam ............................ we took yesterday was really difficult.

DEFINITIONS. Build one sentence (containing a defining relative clause) with these two sentences: 

1. A robot is a machine. It can replace human workers. 

2. A vet is a doctor. He treats animals.
3. Pets are animals. They are kept at home as companions. 

4. A robot is a machine. It looks like a human being. 

Join the following pairs of sentences. There are defining and non-defining

relative sentences.

 

1. The woman showed me a photograph of her son. Her son is a policeman.

2. The new stadium will be opened next month. The stadium holds

90,000 people.

3. John is one of my closest friends. I have known John for eight years

4. The boy is one of my closest friends. He is waiting for me.

5. Thank you for your letter. I was very happy to get your letter.

6. The letter is in the drawer. Peter has sent the letter to you.

7. Next week-end I’m going to Glasgow. My sister lives in Glasgow.

8. Next summer we are visiting the town. My father was born in this

town.

9. The storm caused a lot of damage. Nobody had been expecting

the storm.

10. That man over there is an artist. I don’t remember his name.

11. Mr Yates is retiring next month. He has worked for the same

company all his life.

12. My sister is visiting us next week. You once met her.

13. Mr Carter is very interested in our plan. I spoke to him last night.

14. I’ve just bought some books about astronomy. I’m very interested

in astronomy.

15. The man is in prison. Janet fell in love with this man.

16. Mr Roberts is in prison. Janet fell in love with him.


DO TESTS 1, 2, 3, 4.