RELATIVE CLAUSE

Introduction

Terms Definition

clause A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb.

An independent clause is a complete sentence. It contains the
independent clause main subject and verb of a sentence. (It is also called a main
clause.)
A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be
dependent clause
connected to an independent clause.
An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun.

adjective clause It describes, identifies, or gives further information about a

noun.
(An adjective clause is also called a relative clause.)
A relative pronoun is a word that introduces a dependent (or
relative) clause and connects it to an independent clause. A
relative pronoun clause beginning with a relative pronoun is poised to answer
questions such as Which one? How many? or What kind? Who,
whom, what, which, and that are all relative pronouns.

Relative clauses are also sometimes referred to as adjective clauses, because they
identify or give us additional information about the subject of the independent clause
they relate to. Like adjectives, these clauses in some way describe that subject. 
Relative pronouns, like conjunctions, are words that join clauses—in this case, a
relative clause to its main clause. The type of relative pronoun used depends on what
kind of noun is being described.
 Who: Refers to a person (as the verb’s subject)
o The woman who came to the door left flowers for you.
 Whom: Refers to a person (as the verb’s object)
o I am not sure whom this book belongs to.
 Which: Refers to an animal or thing
o Interpretative dance, which I find a bit disconcerting, is all the rage.
 What: Refers to a nonliving thing
o Is this what you were talking about?
 That: Refers to a person, animal, or thing
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 o She finally visited the coffee shop that had such great reviews.

A relative clause is dependent clause: that is, the information it contains cannot stand
alone,
it is dependent on the information contained in the previous (independent) clause.
A relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun such as who, whose, whom, that or
which. Relative clauses can also be introduced by relative adverbs such as when,
where, why. The function of relative clauses is to modify or describe a noun or pronoun
in the independent clause (Oshima and Hogue, 1991: 208).
Here are some examples of relative clauses. The relative clause in each sentence is
underlined:
 The waterfront workers who were on strike blocked the entrance to the dock.
(only the waterfront workers who were on strike blocked the entrance)

 Library books which are overdue will incur a fine.

 The exam that caused the most anxiety was Statistics.

 The room where staff and students meet is located in the main building.

Notice that there are no commas in these sentences. This is because the relative
clause is part of the independent clause: it serves to define and identify it. This type of
relative clause is called a defining relative clause.

Another type of relative clause exists: the non-defining relative clause. Non-defining
relative clauses provide additional information about the nominal group, but these types
of relative clauses are NOT part of the independent clause. Below are some examples
of non-defining relative clauses:
 The waterfront workers, who were on strike, blocked the entrance to the dock.
(all the workers were on strike, and they all blocked the entrance.)

 Your library books, which are overdue, should be returned immediately.

(all of your library books are overdue and they all should be returned
immediately.)

 The statistics exam, which I no doubt will fail, is finally over.

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 Defining Relative Clauses
Defining relative clauses are a useful way of condensing information and avoiding
unnecessary repetition in your writing. The repetition in the following sentences, for
example, could be avoided by creating a defining relative clause.
(1)
 Some of the waterfront workers were on strike. Some of the waterfront workers
blocked the entrance to the dock.
 The waterfront workers who were on strike blocked the entrance to the dock.

(2)

 Japanese cars are popular in the USA. This situation is a major problem for the
auto industry.
 A situation that is causing a major problem in the auto industry is the popularity of
Japanese cars.

Defining relative clauses specify a noun or pronoun in the main clause and
are necessary if we want to understand the meaning of a sentence.

 I saw the girl who was outside our house.

 They wanted the picture that cost two pounds.

If we omit them, it is not clear what girl or picture we are talking about. They follow after
the pronouns who, which, that, whose and whom. We do not write them with commas.

Who for persons:
The man who called you has just arrived.

Which for things:
This is the book which I wanted.

That for persons and things:

Are you the boy that lives next door?
Can you see the tree that has no leaves?

Note: That is less formal than who or which.

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Practice 1: Replace ‘that’ with ‘who’ or ‘which’

1. A soldier is someone that works in the army.

A soldier is someone ____________ works in the army.

2. An ostrich is a bird that cannot fly.

An ostrich is a bird ____________ cannot fly.

3. A cook is someone that makes meals at a restaurant.

A cook is someone ____________ makes meals at a restaurant.

4. A tire is a thing that you can find on a wheel.

A tire is a thing ____________ you can find on a wheel.

5. A stick is a piece of wood that is long and thing.

A stick is a piece of wood ____________ is long and thing.

6. Doctors are people that treat patients.

Doctors are people ____________ treat patients.

7. All the words that exist in a language are called vocabulary.

All the words ____________ exist in a language are called vocabulary.

8. Our solar system is the collection of eight planets and their moons that orbit the Sun.

Our solar system is the collection of eight planets and their moons ____________

orbit the Sun.

9. A sister-in-law is a woman that marries your brother or is your husband's sister.

A sister-in-law is a woman ____________ marries your brother or is your husband's

sister.

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Who vs whom

Whom is the object of a verb. We use it for persons. The meaning is similar to who.

 The man whom I met yesterday...

 This is the girl whom I saw at the party.

Whom is very formal. In spoken English who or that are much more common.

 The man who I met...

 The man that I met...
 This is the girl who I saw...
 This is the girl that I saw...

We can also leave out the pronoun. It is the most usual form.

 The man I met... This is the girl I met...

If the subject in the main clause is different from the subject in the defining relative
clause, we normally leave out the pronoun.

 The student you saw in Oxford is my neighbour. (The subjects are the

student and you.)
 The bike she borrowed belongs to me. (The subjects are the bike and she.)

Be careful!
If the subjects in both parts of a sentence are the same, we cannot omit the pronoun,
because it becomes the subject of the clause.

 The driver who took you to school is from York.

 The pen that is on the desk is new.

There is only one subject in each sentence - the driver and the pen. If we leave out the
subject, it will not be clear what we mean.

Wrong: The driver took you to school is from York. (This sentence does not make any
sense.)

Possessive Relative Pronouns

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It surprises some people to learn that both who and which can take the possessive
form whose. Some will argue that of which is a better construction when talking about
things rather than people, but this results in unnecessary awkwardness. The truth is
that whose has been widely and correctly applied to nonhumans for hundreds of years.
 She apologized to the boy whose glasses got broken.
 The house whose owner is on vacation has an unsightly garden.
 The house, the owner of which is on vacation, has an unsightly garden. (This is
correct but cumbersome.)

Using ‘whose’ in relative clause

‘Whose’ shows possession. It carries the same meaning as other possessive pronouns
used as adjectives: his, her, its and their. Like his, her, its and their, ‘whose’ is
connected to a noun.
Both ‘whose’ and the noun it is connected to are placed at the beginning of the
adjective clause. ‘Whose’ cannot be omitted.
His car whose car
(a) The man called the police. His car was
stolen.
(Note: The stolen car belongs to the man)

(b) The man whose car was stolen called the police.

 In (a): His car can be changed to whose car to make a relative clause.
 In (b): ‘whose car was stolen’ = a relative clause

(c) I know a girl. Her brother is a movie Her brother whose brother
star.

(d) I know a girl whose brother is a movie star.

 In (c): Her brother can be changed to whose brother to make a relative clause.

(e) The people were friendly. We bought their house whose house
their house.

(f) The people whose house we bought were friendly.

 In (e): Their house can be changed to whose house to make a relative clause.

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 (g) The student writes well. I read her composition whose
her composition. composition

(h) The student whose composition I read writes well.

 In (g): her composition can be changed to whose composition to make a relative

clause.

‘Whose’ usually modifies “people” or “person” like in (b), (d) and (f). However, it may
also be used to modify “things,” as in (j):

(i) The scientist created a new juice extracting Its value whose
machine. Its value is inestimable. value

(j) The scientist created a new juice extracting machine whose value is
inestimable.

Practice 2: Fill in each blank space with who, whom or whose.

1. Could you please tell me ________ that was?

2. The men, two of ________ were drunk, walked very slowly.

3. The guy ________ computer I was using moved to Spain.

4. She didn’t know when the book was written, or by ________.

5. I didn't know ________ book that was.

6. I don't know ________ gave you that information, but it's inaccurate.

7. The police expert was able to determine ________ fingerprints were on the knife.

8. These are some of the people ________ have helped me in the past.

9. I have no idea ________ left the lights on all night.

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Practice 3: Complete the exercise with who, whom, whose or where.
1. What's the name of the man _____________ car you borrowed?

2. A nursing home is a place _____________ old people are taken care of.

3. A pacifist is a person _____________ believes that all wars are wrong.

4. An orphan is a child _____________ parents have passed away.

5. The town _____________ we spent the holidays was very beautiful.

6. This school is only for children _____________ first language is not English.

7. I don't know the name of the woman to _____________ I spoke on the phone.

Practice 4: Complete the following exercise with correct relative pronouns,

choosing from the items given.

1. Jake and Jessica Carter, _____________ (that / who) got married about a year ago,
recently bought a new house.

2. The neighbourhood _____________ (that / in which) they have been living is a

somewhat dangerous one.

3. The neighbourhood _____________ (that / who) they are moving into is much safer.

4. Their new house, _____________ (that / which) they bought quite cheaply, does
need some fixing up.

5. However, they will be receiving some help from their neighbours, most of
_____________ (who / whom) they like.

6. The Flintstones _____________ (who / whom) live next door to them, have
volunteered to lend their tools.

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7. The Jetsons _____________ (who / whom) live across the street from Jake and
Jessica, have promised to help them put in a new lawn.

8. The Flintstones, _____________ (who / whose) daughter is the same age as

Mackenzie, Jake and Jessica's daughter, are helping Mackenzie make new friends.

9. Jessica, _____________ (that / who) works for a county hospital, will still have to
commute to work.

10. Jake, _____________ (whom / whose) company is nearby, will be able to walk to
work.

Practice 5: Combine the two sentences. Use the second sentence as a relative
clause.
1. I apologise to the woman. I spilled her coffee.

__________________________________________________________________

2. The man called the police. His office was broken into.

__________________________________________________________________

3. I met the woman. Her husband is the president of the corporation.

__________________________________________________________________

4. The professor is excellent. I am taking her course.

__________________________________________________________________

5. Mr. Noah teaches a class for undergraduate students. Their native language is not
English.

__________________________________________________________________

6. I come from a famous country. Its history goes back thousands of years.

__________________________________________________________________
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7. The people of Malaysia were friendly. We visited their houses.

__________________________________________________________________

8. I have to call the man. I accidentally picked up his umbrella after the meeting.

__________________________________________________________________

9. Dianne lives in a dormitory. Its residents come from many countries.

__________________________________________________________________

10. Ahmad gave the man some money. The man’s wallet was stolen.

__________________________________________________________________

Practice 6: Join the sentences and make relative clauses with 'that' or 'whose'.
1. I liked the house. Its roof was made of red tiles.
I liked the house _____________ was made of red tiles.

2. A spade is a tool. You dig with it.

A spade is a tool _____________ with.

3. Here is the museum. I told you about it.

Here is the museum _____________ about.

4. I can't respect politicians. Their only ambition is to be in power.

I can't respect politicians _____________ is to be in power.

5. This is the man. We bought the ring from him.

This is the man _____________ the ring from.

6. We can't afford new cars. Their price is too high.

We can't afford new cars _____________ is too high.

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7. The film is about a king. His brother kills him.
The film is about a king _____________ kills him.

8. I met some people. Their houses were badly damaged.

I met some people _____________ were badly damaged.

9. What have you done with the pen? I left it on the table.
What have you done with the pen _____________ on the table?

10. I can hear the noise. It comes from the garage.

I can hear the noise _____________ from the garage.

11. Miss Clark's pronunciation is clear. I can understand her.

I can understand Miss Clark _____________ is so clear.

12. Can you see the towers? It's York.

The town _____________ you can see is York.

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