14. Relative clauses: defining and non-defining

We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences or to give more information about something.

I bought a new car. It is very fast.

→ I bought a new car that is very fast.

She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.

→ She lives in New York, which she likes.

A defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about

A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. We don't need this information to understand the sentence.

• A defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about:

• I like the woman who lives next door.

• If I don't say who lives next door, then we don't know which woman I mean.

• A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. We don't need this information to understand the sentence.

• I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.

• Everybody knows where London is, so which has some fantastic parks is extra information.

1. The relative pronoun is the subject:

We can use who, which, or that.

We use who for people and which for things.

We can use that for people or things.

The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the relative pronoun.

• Clause after the object of the sentence:

• She has a son who/ that is a doctor.

• We bought a house which/ that is 200 years old.

• I sent a letter which/ that arrived three weeks later.

• I'm looking for a secretary who/ that can use a computer well.

• Clause after the subject of the sentence:

• The people who/ that live on the island are very friendly.

• The man who/ that phoned is my brother.

• The camera which/ that costs £100 is over there.

• The house which/ that belongs to Julie is in London.

2. The relative pronoun is the object:

In this case, we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to.

Again, the clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence.

• Clause after the object of the sentence:

• She loves the chocolate (which/ that) I bought.

• We went to the village (which/ that) Lucy recommended.

• John met a woman (who/ that) I had been to school with.

• The police arrested a man (who/ that) Jill worked with.

• Clause after the subject of the sentence:

• The bike (which/ that) I loved was stolen.

• The university (which/ that) she likes is famous.

• The woman (who/ that) my brother loves is from Mexico.

• The doctor (who/ that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.

• We don't use that in non-defining relative clauses, so we need to use which if the pronoun refers to a thing, and who if it refers to a person.

• We can't drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.

• Clause after the subject of the sentence:

• My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester.

• My sister, who I live with, knows a lot about cars.

• My bicycle, which I've had for more than ten years, is falling apart.

• My mother's house, which I grew up in, is very small.

• Clause after the object of the sentence:

• Yesterday I called our friend Julie, who lives in New York.

• The photographer called to the Queen, who looked annoyed.

• Last week I bought a new computer, which I don't like now.

• I really love the new Chinese restaurant, which we went to last night.

If the verb in the relative clause needs a preposition, we put it at the end of the clause.

• The music is good. Julie listens to the music.

• → The music (which/ that) Julie listens to is good.

• My brother met a woman. I used to work with the woman.

• → My brother met a woman (who/ that) I used to work with.

• The country is very hot. He went to the country.

• → The country (which/ that) he went to is very hot.

• I visited the city. John comes from the city.

• → I visited the city (that/ which) John comes from.

• The job is well paid. She applied for the job.

• → The job (which/ that) she applied for is well paid.

Whose is always the subject of the relative clause and can't be left out. It replaces a possessive. It can be used for people and things.

The woman is coming tonight. Her car is a BMW.

→ The woman whose car is a BMW is coming tonight.

The house belongs to me. Its roof is very old.

→ The house whose roof is old belongs to me.

I live in a city. I study in the city.

→ I live in the city where I study.

→ I live in the city that / which I study in.

→ I live in the city in which I study.