English Relative ClausesDefining and Non-defining

Relative clauses•Relative clauses modify a noun in the

sentence. They add information about it.•They act as an adjective.

The blue pen is mine.The pen which writes in blue ink is mine.

•The pen which writes in blue ink is mine.

relative clause

relative pronoun

Antecedent

Relative pronouns•All relative clauses start whith a relative pronoun: PRONOUN ANTECEDENT- which /that Object /animal- who /that Person- whose Person (possessive)- where Place(Place circumstance)- when Time (time circumstance)- which Fact / Event

Examples•I don’t like the places which are cold.•The person who is speaking is my sister.•The Simpsons, whose children are very

naughty, are a happy couple.•The place where I live is the best in the

world•1986 is the year when John graduated.•It has been raining all night, which will

make the crops good.

Complete these sentences with a relative clause• Rosa López did not win

Eurovision festival.• The house

is abandoned.• May __ is

my favourite month of the year.• Buckingham Palace is in

central London.• Paris was the scenery of

Princess Diana’s death.• The girl likes

you.

Compare these examples. Can you notice any difference?The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

My sister Sarah, who lives next door, is a doctor.

Barbara works for a company that makes washing machines.

Barbara works for Balay, which makes washing machines.

We stayed at the hotel (that) Ann recommended to us.

We stayed at the Ritz, which Ann recommended to us.

Defining relative clausesThe woman who lives next door is a doctor.

who is wearing a purpple dress…

•The information is necessary to identify the antecedent:

The woman is a doctor.Which woman?

The woman who lives next door. who is wearing a purple

dress.

Defining relative clauses•Sometimes, in an informal style, you can

drop the relative pronoun if it is not the subject in the relative clause:

We stayed at the hotel (that) Ann recommended.

subjectThe woman who lives next door is a doctor.

subject (you cannot drop it)

Non-defining relative clausesMy sister Sarah, who lives next door, is a

doctor.

•The information they add is extra. It is not necessary to identify the antecedent.

My sister Sarah is a doctor.

(by the way… she lives next door.)

I know who my sister Sarah is.

Non-defining relative clauses•They are separated by commas:

The Tempest, which was written by

Shakespeare, is my favourite book.

SummaryDefining relative clauses Non-defining relative clauses

Their information is necessary to identify the antecedent.

Their information is NOT necessary to identify the antecedent. It is extra information.

You can drop the relative pronoun if it is not the subject in the relative clause.

You can NEVER drop the relative pronoun.

They are not separated by commas.

They MUST BE separated by commas.

The man (who) everybody is looking at is my friend.

John, who everybody is looking at, is my friend.

•Go back to slides 5 and 6.

•Are sentences in slide 5 defining or non-defining relative clauses?

•Did you add defining or non-defining relative clauses in slide 6? Add commas where necessary.

Intermediate levelMª Elena Tapia Carrillo February 2010

Key. Slide 5•Sentence 1: defining•Sentence 2: defining•Sentence 3: non-defining•Sentence 4: defining•Sentence 5: defining•Sentence 6: non-defining

Key. Slide 6 (Suggested answers)• Rosa López, who is from Granada, did not win Eurovision

festival. (Non-defining relative clause)• The house which is in front of mine is abandoned.

(Defining R.C.)• May, when the flowers gloom and the birds sing, is my

favourite month of the year. (Non-defining R.C.)• Buckingham Palace, where the Queen of England lives, is

in central London. (Non-defining R.C.)• Paris, which is the capital of France, was the scenery of

Princess Diana’s death. (Non-defining R.C.)• The girl who is sitting next to my sister likes you. (Defining

R.C.)