Relative Clauses

Relative clauses provide additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence. They often begin with relative pronouns such as who, whom, whose, which, or that.

Definition / Explanation

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun. Relative clauses can be essential (defining) or non-essential (non-defining).

Rules / Guidelines

• Use who for people and which for things.
• That can be used for people or things in defining clauses.
• Use commas for non-defining clauses: My brother, who lives in Paris, is visiting.
• Omit the relative pronoun if it is the object of the clause: The book I read was excellent.
• Do not confuse defining vs. non-defining clauses; they affect meaning and punctuation.

Examples

• Defining clause: The man who called yesterday is my uncle.
• Non-defining clause: Paris, which is the capital of France, is beautiful.
• Omitted pronoun: The movie I watched was thrilling.
• Using whose: She is the student whose laptop was stolen.

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: The girl _______ (who / which) won the prize is my friend.
2. Choose the correct pronoun: The house, _______ (who / which) was built in 1900, is now a museum.
3. Omit the relative pronoun: The book _______ (I / that) borrowed was excellent.
4. Identify the clause type: My father, who loves gardening, planted new flowers.
5. Use whose correctly: The man _______ car was stolen called the police.

Answers / Explanation

1. who
2. which
3. I / that (either works: “The book I borrowed” or “The book that I borrowed”)
4. Non-defining clause
5. whose