Relative clauses

Defining and non-defining

clauses
 In the schoolyard

I saw Natalie
the other day.

Natalie?
The girl who
plays the
piano?
In the schoolyard
No, that’s Natasha.
Natalie is the girl who
dropped out of college.
In the schoolyard
She’s working in
Davidson’s now. You
know, the shop that
sells expensive
clothes.
 Let’s look at the lines more closely

• Emma: I saw Natalie the other day.

• Melanie: Natalie? The girl who plays the piano?
• Emma: No, that’s Natasha. Natalie is the student who
dropped out of college. She’s working in Davidson’s
now. You know, the shop that sells expensive clothes.

 Clauses printed in red are called relative clauses.

They give us more information about the subject or
the object of the previous sentence/clause.
 Explanation
The relative clauses in this conversation
identify which person/thing they are talking
about.

• The clause who plays the piano tells us which

girl Melanie means.
• The clause that sells very expensive clothes
tells us which shop Emma means.

Relative clauses are usually introduced by

pronouns: who, which and that.
 WH0
• The relative pronoun who refers to people.
e.g. The woman who lived here before us is
a romantic novelist.

• It is also possible to use that when we talk

about people especially in informal language.
e.g. This is the girl that has eaten all the
biscuits.
 THAT/WHICH

• The relative pronouns that & which refer to

things. That is more usual than which,
especially in conversations.
e.g. The car that won the race looked very
futuristic.
• Which is more formal.
e.g. All cells contain DNA which holds
genetic information.
 WHOSE
• WHOSE - refers to things belonging to
people.
e.g. That was the man whose car was stolen.
 Subject/object
• Relative pronouns can be either the subject
or the object of the relative clause.
Examples:
1. Marco Polo was a merchant who visited China in
the 13th century. (subject)
2. Glaciers are rivers of ice which form in cold climates
on mountains.(subject)
3. Einstein is a scientist who I admire. (object)
4. This is the poem that I wrote in my first year. (object)
 Leaving out the relative pronoun

We can leave out the relative pronoun when it is

the object of the relative clause.

e.g. Einstein is a scientist I admire.

This is the poem I wrote in my first year.

1. Einstein is a scientist who I admire.

2. This is the poem that I wrote in my first year.
 Defining relative clauses

• As mentioned above, relative clauses give

important information about the subject or
object. These are called defining clauses.

Natalie is the girl who dropped out of college.

He is the man (who/that) I saw at the library.
 Non-defining relative clauses

In written language, we sometimes use non-

defining clauses which give extra information,
which we could leave out, and are separated by
commas.
e.g.
John Lennon, who was born in 1940, was a
member of the Beatles.
 Reduced relative clauses
There are three ways to reduce relative clauses:

REDUCTION 1
You can shorten a relative clause by dropping the relative pronoun and
the verb be.

1. Someone (who/that is) able to think quickly might be a good surgeon.

Someone able to think quickly might be able to be a good surgeon.

2. A person who is trained in music might be a good DJ.

A person trained in music might be a good DJ.
 Reduced relative clauses
REDUCTION 2

When having a present simple verb on your relative clause you can
also drop who/that and change the verb to a gerund (ING form of
the verb)

1. Someone who/that needs job security might not want to be a jazz

musician.
Someone needing job security might not want to be a jazz
musician.

2. A person who doesn’t have time can’t have an active social life.
A person not having time can’t have an active social life.

3. Anyone who wants to take the exam late needs to speak to me.
Anyone wanting to take the exam late needs to speak to me.
 Reduced relative clauses
REDUCTION 3
In relative clauses, the structure who or that + Have or has; is
replaced using the preposition with.

1. A person who/that has a good voice could be a good TV

journalist.
A person with a good voice could be a good TV journalist.

2. People who have a bachelor degree might have bigger

opportunities.
People with a bachelor degree might have bigger opportunities.
 Reduced relative clauses
IN RELATIVE CLAUSES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE WHEN THEY
REFER TO THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE.

1. Assigments which were submitted last moth will be returned in

April.
Assigments submitted last moth will be returned in April.

2. The actors who are seen on the video you are watching now aren’t
professionals.
the actors seen on the video you are watching now aren’t
professionals.
 Comment clauses

We can also use non-definig clauses to comment on another clause.

Comment clauses are common in conversations

I failed my biology exam, which my parents weren’t too happy about.

My boss is James Gorden, who is a famous TV host.

 Relative adverbs

• We can also use some relative adverbs at the

beginning of a relative clause:
• WHERE – refers to a place
e.g. We went to a camp where we stayed two
years ago.
• WHEN - refers to a time
e.g. I’ll never forget the day when I met you.
HOMEWORK
1. Write six rules for
university, school or
workplace using reduce
clauses.

2. Explain why you chose

these rules.