Relative clauses

Defining or non-defining?

Remember that defining relative clauses are used to add important information. The sentence
would have a different meaning without the defining relative clause.

 I’m going to wear the skirt that I bought in London.

 The skirt, which is a lovely dark blue colour, only cost £10.

The first sentence with a defining relative clause tells us which skirt. The second sentence, with a
non-defining relative clause, doesn’t tell us which skirt – it gives us more information about the
skirt. The context (which is missing here) makes it clear which skirt is being talked about.

Non-defining relative clauses can use most relative pronouns (which, whose etc,) but
they CAN’Tuse ‘that’ and the relative pronoun can never be omitted.

 The film, that stars Tom Carter, is released on Friday.

Non-defining relative clauses are more often used in written English than in spoken English.
You can tell that a clause is non-defining because it is separated by commas at each end of the
clause.

Considering the explanation above, answer the following tasks

Task I: Put one word into each of the gaps below. Don’t put options, even if you think more
than one word could fit.

1. Nigel is just about to leave on a three-year trip ______ will take him right around the
world.

2. What’s more, he plans to make the whole journey using only means of
transport ______________ are powered by natural energy.

3. Nigel hopes to pass on to the people ______________ he meets the environmental

message that lies behind the whole idea.

4. Lake Titicaca, ______________ is often known as the ‘holy lake’, is situated in South
America on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The lives of
people ______________ tools and pottery have been found on its shores have long
remained a mystery.

5. Divers from the expedition have discovered a 200-metre-long, 50-metre-wide

building _______ is surrounded by a terrace for crops, a road and a wall. It is thought that
the remains are those of a temple ________ was built by the Tihuanacu
people __________ lived beside Lake Titicaca before it became a part of the much later
Incan empire.
 6. Last year, Tanzania welcomed about 290,000 visitors, ______________ made tourism the
third most important source of foreign exchanges.

7. At the same time, it aims to avoid the ‘mass tourism’ ______________ has been a rather
unfortunate development in other areas of similar beauty.

Omitting the relative pronoun

The relative pronoun can only be omitted when it is the object of the clause. When the relative
pronoun is the subject of the clause, it cannot be omitted. You can usually tell when a relative
pronoun is the object of the clause because it is followed by another subject + verb.

Task II: Considering the previous explanation, tick the sentences which can have the relative
pronoun omitted.

1. He's the man that I told you about.

2. That's the car which I am thinking about buying.

3. She was the person who saw it first.

4. The email that I sent didn't reach everybody.

5. The flight which we were supposed to take was cancelled.

6. Nothing that she does shocks me now.

7. There is no one whom I trust more.

8. He's not the sort of person that everyone likes.

9. It's something that I don't want to think about.

10. He's the one that took it.

Material adapted from: https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/defining-

relative-clauses/