DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

- No commas are used to separate the relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
- The sentence contains essential information so it cannot be omitted.
- That can be used instead of who or which.
- Who or which can be omitted when they function as direct object.

PERSON THING

SUBJECT who / that which / that

OBJECT (who / that) (which / that)

POSSESSIVE whose whose

A. Fill in the blanks with who, which, that or whose. There may be more than one correct answer.
1. That man is the writer ……………………… wrote a best-selling novel.
2. Here is the CD ……………………….. you thought you had lost.
3. A profesor is someone …………………….. teaches in a university.
4. The only present ……………………… I didn´t like was the gold belt.
5. A meteorologist is someone …………………………. knows about the weather.
6. This is the building ……………………….. I wrote to you about.
7. Anybody …………………………. wants to join the drama society must sign up now.
8. This is the shop ……………………… is so expensive.
9. Ciro´s was the best club ………………………… I have ever been to.
10. The tower ………………….. blew down in the storm was over 100 years old.
11. What´s the name of the man ………………….. car you borrowed?

B. Combine the following sentences using the relative pronouns who, which or that. Make any necessary
changes.
1. Jessica has a coin collection. It contains many rare coins.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. This is a great restaurant. I don´t know a better one.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Mary spent the money. It belonged to her sister.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. The pen is on the desk. It is blue.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. This is the new president. We all voted for him.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. I met a Finnish tourist. He lives in Helsinki.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. I know the man. He is going to marry my friend.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. John bought a new CD player. It was made in Korea.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. The palace stands outside the town. It was built 200 years ago.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. They visited the village. It is on a hill.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
11. This is a very expensive ring. They don´t have a more expensive ring in the shop.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
12. The man left town. We wrote an angry letter to this man.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

- Commas are used to separate the relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
- The sentence does not contain essential information so it can be omitted.
- That cannot be used instead of who or which.
- Who or which cannot be omitted.

PERSON THING

SUBJECT who which

OBJECT who which

POSSESSIVE whose whose

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct relative pronouns.

1. Michael Crichtyon, ………………. wrote Jurassic Park, is a famous autor.
2. H.G. Wells, …………………… was born in 1886, wrote The War of the Worlds.
3. The Eiffel Tower,………………. was built by engineer Gustave Eiffel, is visited by millions of people every
year.
4. The White House, in …………………….. all American presidents live, is in Washington DC.
5. The old mill, ………………….. still works, is going to be pulled down soon.
6. We invited the new neighbours to our party, ………………….. turned out to be very enjoyable.
7. My sister, ……………………… fell down the stairs last night, is still in hospital.
8. Last winter we saw Aunt Tina, ………………….. brought us some interesting books.
9. On Malta, …………………. is an island in the Mediterranean, people speak English.
10. Sheila, ……………………. Job involves a lot of travelling, is away from home a lot.

B. Combine the following sentences using appropriate relative pronouns or adverbs. Use the words
given in brackets,make any necessary changes and pay attention to punctuation.
1. Groucho Marx died in 1977. He was a famous comedian. (who)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. This is Tony. You´ll be driving with him next week. (who)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. This is the house. Jean lived in that house when she was young. (which)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. John is my friend. His car was stolen from the carpark. (whose)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. He went to a concert. He didn´t like the concert at all. (which)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. I´ve never met the man. He helped me this morning. (who)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. You can see many snakes in the zoo. Some of them are poisonous. (which)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. Shakespeare is one of the best-known writers in the world. He is buried in Stratford-upon-Avon. (who)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9. This is the place. You have to pick me up at this place. (which)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..