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    Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses

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    Rolando Valencia
    A relative clause provides additional information about the subject of the main clause. Defining relative clauses identify the subject and are essential to the meaning of the sentence, while non-defining clauses provide extra non-essential information. Different relative pronouns are used to refer to people ("who" and "whom") and things ("which" and "that").

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    Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses

    Uploaded by

    Rolando Valencia
    21 views6 pages
    A relative clause provides additional information about the subject of the main clause. Defining relative clauses identify the subject and are essential to the meaning of the sentence, while non-defining clauses provide extra non-essential information. Different relative pronouns are used to refer to people ("who" and "whom") and things ("which" and "that").

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    DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

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    A relative clause provides additional information about the subject of the main clause. Defining relative clauses identify the subject and are essential to the meaning of the sentence, while non-defining clauses provide extra non-essential information. Different relative pronouns are used to refer to people ("who" and "whom") and things ("which" and "that").

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    21 views6 pages

    Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses

    Uploaded by

    Rolando Valencia
    A relative clause provides additional information about the subject of the main clause. Defining relative clauses identify the subject and are essential to the meaning of the sentence, while non-defining clauses provide extra non-essential information. Different relative pronouns are used to refer to people ("who" and "whom") and things ("which" and "that").

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    Defining relative clauses

    A relative clause is a part of a sentence that gives more See also:


    information about the subject. A defining, or restrictive, Non-defining relative clauses 82
    Other relative structures 83
    relative clause identifies the subject being talked about.

    DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES


    Defining relative clauses, also known as restrictive relative clauses, are
    used to describe exactly which person or thing the speaker is referring
    to. Without this information, the meaning of the sentence changes.

    Here the MAIN CLAUSE DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE


    defining clause
    gives essential
    information
    about people.

    Here the
    MAIN CLAUSE DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE
    defining clause
    gives essential
    information
    about a thing.

    The defining DEFINING RELATIVE MAIN CLAUSE


    clause can MAIN CLAUSE CLAUSE CONTINUED
    also go in the
    middle of the
    main clause.

    FURTHER EXAMPLES “That” can also be used for people.

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    RELATIVE PRONOUNS
    English uses different
    relative pronouns to talk
    about people and things.
    PEOPLE THINGS

    SUBJECTS AND OBJECTS IN DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES


    Relative clauses
    are made up of a MAIN CLAUSE RELATIVE CLAUSE
    subject, a verb, and
    usually an object.
    They usually start
    with a relative
    “Who” is the subject of “commit.”
    pronoun, which
    can be the subject
    or the object of
    MAIN CLAUSE RELATIVE CLAUSE
    the relative clause.

    “Which” is the object of “stole.” “The criminal” is the subject of “stole.”

    HOW TO FORM
    If the relative pronoun SUBJECT OF RELATIVE REST OF
    RETURN TO MAIN CLAUSE
    MAIN CLAUSE PRONOUN RELATIVE CLAUSE
    is the subject of the
    relative clause, it
    must appear in
    the sentence.

    If the relative pronoun SUBJECT OF RELATIVE REST OF


    RETURN TO MAIN CLAUSE
    is the object of the MAIN CLAUSE PRONOUN RELATIVE CLAUSE

    relative clause, it can


    be left out. “Whom” is
    sometimes used when
    a person is the object,
    but this is very formal.

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    Non-defining relative clauses
    Like defining relative clauses, non-defining relative clauses add See also:
    extra information about something. However, this simply gives Quantity 75
    Defining relative clauses 81
    extra detail, rather than changing the sentence’s meaning.

    NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES


    In non-defining relative clauses, also known as non-restrictive relative clauses,
    “who” is used to refer to people. “Whom” can be used if the person is the object
    of the relative clause, but this is very formal.
    MAIN CLAUSE NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

    “Who” refers to a person.

    “Which” is used to refer to anything that is not a person. “That” is sometimes used
    instead of “which,” but this is often considered wrong in non-defining relative clauses.

    RETURN TO
    MAIN CLAUSE NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

    “Which” refers to a thing.

    FURTHER EXAMPLES “Whom” is only used in


    very formal situations.

    The relative pronoun can refer


    to the entire previous clause.

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    HOW TO FORM
    Non-defining relative clauses can come in the middle of a sentence, or at the end.
    If the relative clause comes in the middle, commas must go either side of it. If it comes after the whole
    main clause, a comma must go at the end of the main clause.

    MAIN CLAUSE COMMA NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

    A comma must go before the The non-defining relative clause


    non-defining relative clause. comes at the end of the sentence.

    MAIN CLAUSE COMMA NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE COMMA REST OF MAIN CLAUSE

    Commas go before and after The non-defining relative clause comes


    the non-defining relative clause. between the subject and the main verb.

    QUANTIFIERS WITH NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES


    In non-defining relative clauses, quantifiers can be used to say how
    many people or things the relative clause refers to. In these structures,
    “who” becomes “of whom,” and “which” becomes “of which.”
    QUANTIFIER + OF + WHOM

    QUANTIFIER + OF + WHICH

    FURTHER EXAMPLES

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    Other relative structures
    Relative words introduce phrases that describe a noun See also:
    in the main part of the sentence. Different relative Singular and plural nouns 69
    Possession 80
    words are used to refer to different types of nouns.

    “WHERE,” “WHEN,” AND “WHEREBY”


    “Where” is the
    relative word used
    to refer to a place.

    “When” is the
    relative word used
    to refer to a time.

    “Whereby” is the
    relative word
    used to refer
    to a process.

    FURTHER EXAMPLES

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    “WHOSE”
    “Whose” is the
    relative word used
    to show possession
    or belonging.

    FURTHER EXAMPLES

    “WHAT”
    “What” is the relative
    word used to mean
    “the thing which” or
    “the things which.”

    FURTHER EXAMPLES

    COMMON MISTAKES WORD ORDER WITH RELATIVE STRUCTURES

    If a relative structure uses


    This is correct.
    a question word such as
    “where” or “what,” the word
    order in the clause following
    this word should be left as
    normal and should not be
    formed like a question.
    Do not invert the subject and verb.

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