WHAT IS A RELATIVE CLAUSE?

A relative clause is a phrase that adds information to a sentence. All relative clauses describe
a noun, and they begin with one of these relative pronouns (who, which, that, etc)

A. Relative Pronouns “Who”

 who (to describe people )

The woman who works in the bank is my neighbor.

EXAMPLE:
Yesterday I met a man. He works in the circus.
 Yesterday I met a man who works in the circus.

B. Relative Pronouns “Which and That”

 which for things

 that for things.
Use which for non-defining relative clauses, and use a comma before it.
Use that for defining relative clauses, and don’t use a comma before it.

1. The bananas that I bought on Monday are rotten.

2. The bananas, which I bought on Monday, are rotten.

In the first case, it’s possible that we have two types of bananas in the house:

 Older bananas that I bought on Monday

 Newer bananas that I bought on Wednesday

…and that only the first bananas are rotten, but the second bananas are not rotten.

In the second case, all the bananas in the house were bought on Monday, and they are all
rotten.
 Again, to decide if a clause is defining or non-defining, try removing it from the sentence:

 I read all the books that I borrowed from the library.

Without clause: I read all the books.
(sentence is incomplete – WHAT books?)

 The new Stephen King book, which I borrowed from the library, is very good.
Without clause: The new Stephen King book is very good.
(sentence is complete. The “library” part was only an extra detail)

Practices.

Complete the following sentences using relative pronoun who, which or that!

1. He has climbed Mount McKinley, _______ is the highest mountain in the United States.

2 . I bought the toy _______ my son wanted for Christmas.

3. The employee ______ won the award has been promoted.

4. Edgar Allan Poe, ________ wrote the famous poem "The Raven," was born in Boston in
1809.
5. This is the book _______ helped me understand English grammar.
6. She’s the singer _____I heard on the radio
7. German is a language ______I’ve found hard to learn
8. Do you know the girl ____ started in grade 7 last week?
9. Can I have the pencil _____ I gave you this morning?
10. My mother works for a company ____ makes computers.
11. The eye, _____ is one of the 5 sense organs, consists of the cornea, lens, retina and pupil.
12. Anders Celsius, ____ was a Swedish scientist, invented the thermometre in the 18th
century.
13. People ____ eat healthily usually live longer than those ____ eat junk.
14. Mount St Helens, ____ erupted in 1980 killing many people, is located in the north west of
the USA.
15. To take a photo you must press the button ____ is on the left of the camera.