RELATIVE CLAUSES
Definition
A Relative Clause modifies a noun or pronoun by
providing extra information about it.
Relative clauses begin with
who, whom, which, that, whose, when or where.
For example:
• It reminded her of the office that she used to work in.
• The items, which are believed to be family heirlooms,
included a grandmother’s necklace worth around
Rs5,00,000.
RELATIVE USE EXAMPLE
PRONOUN
who to refer to people Children who hate chocolate are
uncommon.
which to refer to animals, things or Did he see the strange object which
to flew past above his head?
whole sentences
whose to refer to people’s They live in a house whose roof is full
possessions of holes.
whom to refer to people She gave the letter to her aunt whom
she had met at the theatre.
where to refer to place Do you remember the place where we
caught the bus?
why to refer to a reason The reason why he is hiding is still
unknown.
when to refer to time The day when the concert takes place
is Sunday.
that to refer to people, animals I think it’s silly to buy a dress that
or costs ten thousand rupees.
things
Types
•Restrictive or defining
relative clauses
•Non-restrictive or non-
defining relative clauses
The difference between them is as follows:
• It reminded her of the office that she used to work in.
• The items, which are believed to be family heirlooms, included a
grandmother’s necklace worth around Rs5,00,000.
A restrictive relative clause provides essential information about the noun
to which it refers. It cannot be left out of the sentence without affecting the
meaning. The underlined section of the first sentence is a restrictive relative
clause. If it was left out, the sentence would not make sense:
It reminded her of the office. [which office?]
A non-restrictive relative clause provides information that can be left out
without affecting the meaning or structure of the sentence. The underlined
section of the second sentence is a non-restrictive relative clause. If it was left
out, the sentence would still make perfect sense:
The items included a grandmother’s necklace worth around
Rs5,00,000.
Note:
You do not need to put a comma before restrictive relative
clauses. On the other hand, non- restrictive relative clauses
should be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma
or commas.
For example:
-A list of contents would have made it easier to steer through
the text-book, which also lacks a map.
-Ashish, who had fallen asleep on the carpet, suddenly
roused himself.
In British English,
• Restrictive relative clauses can be introduced by that or which
when they are referring to things rather than people:
The coat that/which Adit had on yesterday was new.
In this sentence, the writer is identifying the coat by saying it’s
the one Adit was wearing yesterday, as opposed to any other
coats he might own.
• Non-restrictive relative clauses must always be introduced by
which and never by that:
The coat, which Adit had on yesterday, was made of pure wool
and cost a bomb.
In this sentence, there’s no need to identify the coat – it’s already
been mentioned. But the writer is providing a bit of background
context by telling us that Adit was wearing it yesterday.
Complete the sentences by filling in suitable relative pronouns/adverbs in each blank.
1. The girl topped the class comes from my home town.
2. My brother son lives in London is very ill.
3. The man you saw at dinner tonight is a famous painter.
4. The rumour the Chief Minister had resigned turned out
to be true.
5. The man is sitting at the desk is Mr. Kumar.
6. I cannot remember the reason he wanted us to leave.
7. She didn’t see the snake was lying on the ground.
8. Suma, mother is a doctor, is very good at zoology.
9. Uneasy lies the head wears a crown.
10.Let’s go to a country the sun always shines.
11.The reason I came here today is not important.
12. I hate children throw stones at birds.
13.It is a wise father knows his own child.
14.He showed me the rocks he had brought from Australia.
15.We met the sailors ship was wrecked.
16.This is the boy the headmaster punished.
17.God helps those help themselves.
18.He is one of the greatest leaders has ever lived.
19.The boys were lazy were punished.
20.These are the boys all praise.
Combine the pairs of sentences using
suitable relative pronouns.
Example:
• We met the sailors. Their ship was
wrecked.
• We met the sailors whose ship was
wrecked.
Exercise
1. A monk is a man. The man has devoted his life to God.
2. I have a black cat. His name is Blackie.
3. A herbivore is an animal. The animal feeds upon vegetation.
4. Sydney is the largest Australian city. It is not the capital of Australia.
5. The thief stole my bicycle. He has been arrested.
6. The boy was killed in an accident. He was the son of a friend of mine.
7. This is the woman. Her husband has won a lottery.
8. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan. It is the finest mausoleum in the
world.
9. Tagore was a great poet. His works are widely known.
10. Coal is found in West Bengal. It is a very useful mineral.
11. The boy won the first prize in English. You see him there.
12. I was sleeping. My brother reached home.
13. This is the house. Helen Keller was born here.
14. I would like to thank my tutor. I would never have finished my work
without him.
15. She has two older brothers. Neither of her brothers went to university.
Time for some humour
