25/2/2016 Relative Clauses (Upperintermediate +) Relative Clauses (Upperintermediate +) By Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com) There are two types of relative clause: defining and nondefining Defining Relative Clauses These clauses are an essential part of the meaning of a sentence, so the clause cannot be left out. In defining relative clauses there is no comma before the relative pronoun, which may change depending on whether the clause refers to the subject or object of the sentence Here are the relative pronouns used in defining relative clauses. If the pronoun is in brackets it means that it is possible but not as common Defines: People Things The subject of the sentence who (that) that (which) The object of the sentence XXX (that) XXX (that) When the clause defines the subject of a sentence the relative pronoun can't be missed out: The man who helped me was Mr. Jones The thing that helped me most was revising my phrasal verbs When defining the object of a sentence the relative pronoun (that) is not usually used: The man I found most helpful was Mr. Jones The thing I found most useful was a thesaurus 'That' is usually used after superlatives, compounds of some & any and with only & all: I wrote some of the best compositions that I've ever written Don't do anything that's likely to distract you The only thing that matters is that you do your best All that you need to do is relax When a dependent preposition is used, it usually comes in final position and the relative pronoun is dropped: This is the book I was talking about The people I work with are very professional The hotel we stayed at was a bit disappointing If you use two relative clauses separated by 'and' or 'but' in the same sentence, 'who' or 'which' is used instead of 'that' Someone that I greatly admire, but who I've never met, is Dr. Smith Nondefining relative clauses These clauses add additional information of secondary importance and therefore the sentence is still grammatically correct if the clause is missed out. Nondefining clauses are more common in written English and sound rather formal in spoken English The relative pronoun must come after a comma and you should pause when saying them Here are the relative pronouns in nondefining relative clauses: Defines: People Things The subject of the sentence ,who ,which The object of the sentence ,who ,which 'That' can't be used in nondefining clauses, and the relative pronoun cannot be left out when defining either the subject or object of the sentence Mr Smith, who has written several books, spoke at the meeting My favourite book is 'Lord of the rings', which I've read at least three times Mr Smith, who we have invited to the meeting, is a famous author I gave him the report, which he read carefully http://www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/relative2wk.html 1/3 25/2/2016 Relative Clauses (Upperintermediate +) Prepositions come at the end of the clause in less formal English and before the relative pronoun in very formal structures: Dr Jones spoke for two hours on the theory of relativity, which none of us knew anything about Agricultural reform, to which this government is committed, is not universally popular 'Which' can be used to refer to the whole of the preceding clause: She passed the exam with grade A, which surprised everyone Special cases Whom 'Who' is not used after a preposition. 'Whom' is used in both defining and nondefining clauses, but this structure is only used in very formal written English: To whom it may concern, (starting a letter of reference) The plaintiff, about whom nothing untoward has been revealed, is required to be present in court Whose This can be used in both types of relative clause to show possession There's the man whose daughter won the lottery ABC airways, whose fares were the cheapest, has recently gone bankrupt What 'What' can be used as a relative pronoun meaning 'the thing that' Has she told you what's worrying her? I have to do what I believe is right When In defining relative clauses 'when' can be left out Can you tell me the exact time (when) you hope to arrive? In nondefining clauses it can't be omitted The meeting will start at 5pm, when everyone has arrived Where 'Where' can only be missed out in defining relative clauses if there is a preposition added That's the place where we're staying That's the place we're staying at In nondefining clauses 'where' can't be missed out She goes to university in the city centre, where her sister lives Why 'Why' can be used in defining relative clauses. When it follows 'the reason' it can be left out Do you remember why we are arguing? Do you remember the reason (why) we are arguing Participle clauses The present participle (doing) and the past participle (done) can replace relative clauses I met a woman who was riding a donkey I met a woman riding a donkey The money that was stolen from the bank robbery was never recovered The money stolen from the bank robbery was never recovered Participle clauses are often used to describe two actions that happen: http://www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/relative2wk.html 2/3 25/2/2016 Relative Clauses (Upperintermediate +) at the same time: She sat by the fire reading a book. / He went to the party dressed as a nun one after the other: Opening his suitcase, he took out a pen (if one action must finish first, the perfect participle is used Having finished lunch, we set off) one because of another: Not knowing what to do, I waited. / Weakened by bad health, He died Participles can be used as adjectives. Present participles describe an action still happening He dived into the sea to save the drowning child She poured boiling water into the dish They watched the burning forest helplessly Past participles describe the result of an action that has happened She looked at the broken chair, wondering if it could be mended The completed statue looked very lifelike After the storm the tent was ruined Relative clauses exercises Back to Vocabulary worksheets Home http://www.vivquarry.com/wkshts/relative2wk.html 3/3