A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a

noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which
is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there. A relative clause can also modify a
pronoun, as in "he to whom I have written", or a noun phrase which already contains a
modifier, as in "the black panther in the tree, which is about to pounce". The complete
phrase (modified noun phrase plus modifying relative clause) is also a noun phrase.

In many European languages, relative clauses are introduced by a special class of

pronouns called relative pronouns; in the previous example, who is a relative pronoun. In
other languages, relative clauses may be marked in different ways: they may be
introduced by a special class of conjunctions called relativizers; the main verb of the
relative clause may appear in a special morphological variant; or a relative clause may be
indicated by word order alone. In some languages, more than one of these mechanisms
may be possible.

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that begins with a question word (e.g. who,
which, where) or the word that. You can use it to modify a noun or pronoun (i.e. to
identify or give more information about it).

• Students who can develop independent learning skills often achieve good
academic results.
• There is a new book that investigates the controversy over political reforms in
Hong Kong.
• A university is a place where people pursue advanced knowledge in specific
academic disciplines.
• The lecture theatre in which the inauguration ceremony will be held is now
being cleaned.

1. Relative pronouns

Words like who, that and when are often referred to as relative pronouns when they are
used to introduce relative clauses. You use:

• who for people, which for things, and that for both people and things.
• whom as the object of a relative clause (in more formal English), though it is
increasingly common to replace it with who.
• whose to indicate possession, as a determiner before nouns.

For example:

• What’s the name of the person who/that first landed on the moon?
• This is Dr. Perkins, whom we met at a conference in Canada last year.
• All students whose registration numbers begin with 374 should immediately go to
the library for a tour.
 2. Types of relative clause

There are two types of relative clause: defining and non-defining. You use a defining (or
restrictive) relative clause to ‘identify’ or ‘restrict the reference of’ a noun. You do not
separate it from the rest of the sentence by commas (in text) or pauses (in speech).

• The student who achieves the highest GPA score in this department will be
awarded a prize of $20,000.
• Computer games that involve fighting and shooting apparently have a negative
effect on young people.

You use a non-defining (or non-restrictive) relative clause to supply additional

information about the noun, whose identity or reference is already established. You can
also use it to comment on the whole situation described in a main clause.

• Albert Einstein, who put forward the theory of relativity, is considered by

many as the most intelligent person in human history.
• The ELC, which provides language support to PolyU students, is located in the
AG wing.

You should not use the relative pronoun that in non-defining relative clauses.

3. Leaving relative pronouns out of relative clauses

You can sometimes omit the relative pronoun in a defining relative clause to create a
more concise style. You cannot do this in a non-defining clause.

• Half of the training sessions (that are) arranged for the athletes have been
cancelled due to bad weather.
• The designer (who/whom) you saw at the party last night is Giorgio Armani!
• * 'The ELC, provides language support to PolyU students, is located in A core.'
is not correct.

The Relative Clause

Recognize a relative clause when you see one.

A relative clause—also called an adjective or adjectival clause—will meet three

requirements.

• First, it will contain a subject and verb.

• Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or
a relative adverb [when, where, or why].
 • Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What kind? How
many? or Which one?

The relative clause will follow one of these two patterns:

relative pronoun or adverb + subject + verb

relative pronoun as subject + verb

Here are some examples:

Which Francine did not accept

Which = relative pronoun; Francine = subject; did accept = verb [not, an adverb, is not
officially part of the verb].

Where George found Amazing Spider-Man #96 in fair condition

Where = relative adverb; George = subject; found = verb.

That dangled from the one clean bathroom towel

That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; dangled = verb.

Who continued to play video games until his eyes were blurry with fatigue

Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; played = verb.

Avoid creating a sentence fragment.

A relative clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone as a
sentence. To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each relative clause to a main
clause. Read the examples below. Notice that the relative clause follows the word that it
describes.

To calm his angry girlfriend, Joey offered an apology which Francine did not accept.

We tried our luck at the same flea market where George found Amazing Spider-Man #96
in fair condition.

Michelle screamed when she saw the spider that dangled from the one clean bathroom
towel.
Brian said goodnight to his roommate Justin, who continued to play video games until his
eyes were blurry with fatigue.

Punctuate a relative clause correctly.

Punctuating relative clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will have to decide if
the relative clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly.

Essential clauses do not require commas. A relative clause is essential when you need the
information it provides. Look at this example:

The children who skateboard in the street are especially noisy in the early evening.

Children is nonspecific. To know which ones we are talking about, we must have the
information in the relative clause. Thus, the relative clause is essential and requires no
commas.

If, however, we eliminate children and choose more specific nouns instead, the relative
clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of the
sentence. Read this revision:

Matthew and his sister Loretta, who skateboard in the street, are especially noisy in the
early evening.

A relative clause is a part of a sentence beginning with a relative pronoun (although

this pronoun can be omitted in certain cases). For example:

The company where I worked is called International Enterprises Plc.

The man who went into the baker's bought a loaf of bread.
My sister, who lives near London, is coming to visit me soon.

Basic relative pronouns

The relative pronoun you use depends on the thing you're talking about. Generally speaking,
the most basic ones are these:

for people who/that

for things which/that
for places where
for reasons why
for times when

Who, which and that cannot be used indiscriminately. That can only be used in defining
relative clauses.

Trickier relative pronouns

Four relative pronouns often seem to confuse people, but they're easy to use too.

WHICH

This can be used to refer to the whole part of the sentence that went before. Usually a
pronoun refers to a noun, but this refers to more. For example:

I've broken my leg, which means I can't walk.

I've still got some money left, which is surprising.

WHOM

This is hardly ever used in spoken English, and not often in written English. It sounds very
formal to most people. If you're going to use it at all, then only use it after prepositions. Even
so, there's usually another less formal way to say the same thing. For example:

The woman to whom he was talking is his sister.

The woman that he was talking to is his sister.

WHOSE

This is used to show possession. It means basically 'of who(m)'. It can always be used for people
and animals, but also for things, though this sometimes sounds strange and it might be better
to change the structure of the sentence unless the thing is made up of people (a team, a city,
an organisation). For example:

My students, whose homework is never done, will fail the exam.

The homework belongs to the students, it's theirs, so possessive.

That dog whose bone you took is going to bite your leg off.
It is - or was - the dog's bone.

The city, whose football team lost the final, never wins anything.
The city's made up of people, so it sounds OK.

WHAT

This can be literally translated to mean 'the thing that' or 'that which'. It is not used anywhere
near as often as 'which' or 'that' and is not used in the same way. For example:

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

I didn't know what he was going to do next.

Grammar notes: relative clauses

Definition

A relative clause is a part of a sentence beginning with a relative pronoun (although this
pronoun can be omitted in certain cases). For example:
The company where I worked is called International Enterprises Plc.
The man who went into the baker's bought a loaf of bread.
My sister, who lives near London, is coming to visit me soon.

Basic relative pronouns

The relative pronoun you use depends on the thing you're talking about. Generally speaking,
the most basic ones are these:

for people who/that

for things which/that
for places where
for reasons why
for times when

Who, which and that cannot be used indiscriminately. That can only be used in defining
relative clauses.

Trickier relative pronouns

Four relative pronouns often seem to confuse people, but they're easy to use too.

WHICH

This can be used to refer to the whole part of the sentence that went before. Usually a
pronoun refers to a noun, but this refers to more. For example:

I've broken my leg, which means I can't walk.

I've still got some money left, which is surprising.

WHOM

This is hardly ever used in spoken English, and not often in written English. It sounds very
formal to most people. If you're going to use it at all, then only use it after prepositions. Even
so, there's usually another less formal way to say the same thing. For example:

The woman to whom he was talking is his sister.

The woman that he was talking to is his sister.

WHOSE

This is used to show possession. It means basically 'of who(m)'. It can always be used for people
and animals, but also for things, though this sometimes sounds strange and it might be better
to change the structure of the sentence unless the thing is made up of people (a team, a city,
an organisation). For example:
My students, whose homework is never done, will fail the exam.
The homework belongs to the students, it's theirs, so possessive.

That dog whose bone you took is going to bite your leg off.
It is - or was - the dog's bone.

The city, whose football team lost the final, never wins anything.
The city's made up of people, so it sounds OK.

WHAT

This can be literally translated to mean 'the thing that' or 'that which'. It is not used anywhere
near as often as 'which' or 'that' and is not used in the same way. For example:

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

I didn't know what he was going to do next.

Non-defining relative clauses

These are the ones that give extra information. They are always written between commas. If
you leave out the relative clause between the commas it still makes sense. For example:

Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on the Mediterranean coast.

We all know Valencia, so this is extra information not needed for understanding.

My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every year.

I've only got one set of parents.

I used to live in London, where I was born and went to school.

Defining relative clauses

These are the ones that give you the information you need to understand the sentence. There
are no commas. If you take the relative clause away, the sentence doesn't make sense. For
example:

The team that wins will receive a cup and 1,000 €.

What team?

The man who lives next door is always making a noise.

What man?

Has he told you what he's going to do?

Has he told me what?

Subject and object relative pronouns

The use of who/which/that may depend on whether the pronoun is the subject or the object of
the sentence. For example:
The man who spoke to me told me the story of his life.
He spoke to me, so 'who' is the subject and 'me' is the object.

The man that I spoke to told me the story of his life.

I spoke to him, so 'I' is the subject and 'that' is the object.

When the pronoun is the object it can be left out:

The man I spoke to told me the story of his life.

Transition Markers

After some time ago earlier later afterwards

at present until suddenly now yesterday

since then meanwhile sometimes for example

again in other words although but however

nevertheless on the contrary at the beginning first later

next finally in the end