RELATIVE SENTENCES

Defining relative clauses contain essential information about people or things.

Relative pronouns come after the noun they describe.

The relative pronouns who, which and that can be omitted when they are followed by a

noun or a pronoun.

Non-defining relative clauses contain additional information about people or things.

We use commas to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence.

We cannot omit a relative pronoun in a non-defining clause. We cannot use “that” in a non-
defining sentence.

EXERCISES EXERCISES
DEFINING RELATIVE SENTENCES NON-DEFINING RELATIVE SENTENCES

Her boots were very original. They were hand-painted.

She interviewed a boy. He’s a skateboard champion.
That’s the skate park. I used to practice there.
On Saturday I saw Isabel. Her sister works in a clothes
shop.
Professionals use special skateboards. They cost over
100€.
That’s my friend Maria. She works for a sports channel.
One million people watched the match. It was on Europe.
I talked to a girl. Her mother was a professional athlete.
Once I flew to the Caribbean. I did photos for a
magazine there.
I would like to go the shop. I bought my wedding dress
there.
That’s the woman. I look after her children.
I can’t find the key. That key opens the front door.
Look at the magazines. I have just bought them.
Mary is very trendy. Her sister is a designer.
Pam’s t-shirt looked strange with her jeans. It was
orange.
My brother is very creative. He’s studying design.
My father used to wear trainers. He was a very good
sportsman.
The restaurant was full. I went there for a meal.
The Ritz hotel had a fashion show. The hotel is famous.
John is my pen friend. His family lives in London.
The tattoo was expensive. It looked quite ugly.
The café isn’t far from here. I used to go there.
Germany is a nice country. I visited it in 2002.
Albert has decided to buy a motorbike. His car was
stolen last weekend.