Relative clauses

Defining and Non-Defining Relative

Clauses

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 Relative clauses
They give us information about a person or thing mentioned.
• The woman who lives next door is a sales manager.
• There are some flights that have been cancelled.
• Summer is the season when we go on holiday
• This is the stadium where Real Madrid plays.
• He is the painter whose painting was sold for a 1 million
dollars.

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Relative pronouns and
adverbs:
We use relative pronouns or adverb to connect a relative
clause:
• who/that → for people
• which/that → for animals and objects
• whose → for possessions
• where → for places
• when → for time

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 Defining Relative clauses
All the previous sentences are defining
relative clauses:

• The woman who lives next door is a • Defining relative clauses give us
sales manager. essential information
• There are some flights that have been • The sentence makes no sense without
cancelled. the relative clause
• Summer is the season when we go on • You can use “that”
holiday
• There are no commas
• This is the stadium where Real Madrid
plays.
• He is the painter whose painting was
sold for 1 million dollars.
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 Omitting the relative pronoun
In these sentences the relative
pronoun can be omitted:
• The woman (who/that) I love is a
sales manager.
• There are some flights (that)
nobody would take.
• Everything you say sounds
correct.
• Everybody I know will be at the
party.
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You can omit the relative pronoun
if:
• The relative pronoun is the object
of the sentence
• A relative pronoun is the object of
the clause because it is followed
by another subject + verb
• With other words: if a noun or
pronoun comes immediately after.
 Non-Defining Relative clauses
• My aunt, who lives next door, is a sales
manager.
• My dog, which is cocker spaniel, is
eleven years old.
• Summer, when we get our holidays, is
my favourite season.
• Wembley Stadium, where FA Cup Final
is played, can host 90000 spectators.
• My cat, whose name is Lady Agatha,
was adopted from the street.
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• Non-Defining relative clauses
give us extra information
• The message of the sentence
is clear without the relative
clause.
• You can’t use “that”, you
must use “which” instead
• Commas separate the relative
clause from the rest of the
sentence
Miss Anna's Marvelous Grammar Presentation