Relative Clauses

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses join two sentences together, or add further information about something already mentioned.

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.

Defining and non-defining clauses

A defining relative clause identifies which noun is meant:

• I like the woman who lives next door.

Without 'who lives next door', it is not clear which woman is meant.

A non-defining relative clause supplies additional information. The sentence is fully intelligible without it.

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

Everyone knows where London is, so 'which has some fantastic parks' is additional information.

Defining relative clauses

1. The relative pronoun as subject

Consider first the case where the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause.

'Who', 'which' and 'that' are all available. 'Who' refers to people, 'which' to things, and 'that' to either.

The relative clause may follow either the subject or the object of the sentence. The relative pronoun cannot be omitted.

Example, with the clause after the object of the sentence:

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

Further examples, with the 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 Marina is in London.

2. The relative pronoun as object

Where the relative pronoun is the object of the clause, it may be omitted. The clause may again follow either the subject or the object of the sentence. Some examples follow:

Clause after the object

• She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought.
• We went to the village (which / that) Elena recommended.
• Daniel met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with.
• The police arrested a man (who / that) Priya worked with.

Clause after the subject

• 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.

Non-defining relative clauses

'That' is not used in non-defining relative clauses. 'Which' is required for things and 'who' for people. The relative pronoun cannot be omitted in a clause of this kind, even when it is the object.

Clause after the subject

• 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

• Yesterday I called our friend Marina, 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.

Prepositions and relative clauses

Where the verb in the relative clause requires a preposition, that preposition goes at the end of the clause:

For example:

'Whose'

'Whose' is always the subject of the relative clause and cannot be omitted. It stands in place of a possessive and serves for both people and things.

'Where', 'when' and 'why'

These question words can sometimes replace a relative pronoun together with its preposition.