Defining relative clauses
As the name suggests, defining relative clauses give essential information to define or identify the person or thing we are talking about. Take for example the sentence: Dogs that like cats are very unusual. In this sentence we understand that there are many dogs in the world, but we are only talking about the ones that like cats. The defining relative clause gives us that information. If the defining relative clause were removed from the sentence, the sentence would still be grammatically correct, but its meaning would have changed significantly.
Defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun (sometimes omitted), a verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas are not used to separate defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence. Commas or parentheses are used to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence.
Examples
- Children who hate chocolate are uncommon.
- They live in a house whose roof is full of holes.
- An elephant is an animal that lives in hot countries.
- Let's go to a country where the sun always shines.
- The reason why I came here today is not important.
Relative pronouns
The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns appear at the start of the defining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the sentence.
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Person
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Thing
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Place
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Time
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Reason
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Subject
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who/that
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which/that
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Object
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who/whom/that
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which/that
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where
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when
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why
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Possessive
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whose
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whose
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Replacing with "that" in spoken English
The pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English. Whom is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who or that instead, or omit the pronoun completely. In the examples below, the common usage is given with the defining relative clause highlighted. The pronoun that would be used in more formal written English instead of that is given in parentheses.
Examples
- The dish that I ordered was delicious. (which)
- The man that came with her has already left. (who)
- The doctor that I was hoping to see wasn't on duty. (whom)
Including or 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. See below, in the first sentence the relative pronoun cannot be ommitted because it is the subject of the relative clause ("the woman spoke"). In the second sentence, the pronoun can be omitted because "the woman" is the object of the verb "loved".
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Noun, subject of the main clause
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Relative pronoun
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Verb + rest of relative clause
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Verb + rest of main clause
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The woman
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that
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spoke at the meeting
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was very knowledgeable.
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The woman
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(that)
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the man loved
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was living in New York.
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Other uses of "that"
'That' is often used to introduce defining relative clauses when they follow the words something, anything, everything, nothing, all or a superlative. It may be omitted when it is not the subject of the clause.
Examples
- There's something (that) you should know.
- It was the best film (that) I've ever seen.
- Do you have anything that will help my throat?
- Everything (that) you say seems silly to me.
- Nothing (that) anyone does can replace my lost bag.
- I'm sorry, but that is all (that) I saw.
Non-defining relative clauses
As the name suggests, non-defining relative clauses tell us more about someone or something, but the information in these clauses does not help us to define what we are talking about.Take for example the sentence: Gorillas, which are large and originate in Africa, can sometimes be found in zoos. In this sentence we are talking about all gorillas, not just some of them. The information in the non-defining relative clause tells us something more about gorillas in general. It does not define a small group of gorillas or an individual gorilla. If the non-defining relative clause were removed from the sentence, the sentence would still be gramatically correct and the meaning would not have changed, although we would have less detail.
Non-defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun, a verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas or parentheses are always used to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence.
Examples
- John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren.
- My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.
- My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.
- We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before.
- I've just come back from London, where John lives..
- Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London.
Relative pronouns
The following relative pronouns are used in non-defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns appear at the start of the non-defining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the sentence.
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Person
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Thing
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Place
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Subject
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who
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which
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Object
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who/whom
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which
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where
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Possessive
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whose
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Differences with defining relative clauses
In defining relative clauses, the pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English. In non-defining relative clauses, you cannot replace other pronouns with that. You also cannot leave out the relative pronoun in non-defining relative clauses, in the way you sometimes can in defining relative clauses. The pronoun is required, even when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause. Finally, non-defining relative clauses are always separated from the rest of the sentence by commas, unlike defining relative clauses, which have no punctuation.
Examples
- He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope. (non-defining clause: There was only one letter, it happened to be blue. You must use which)
- He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope. (defining clause: There were several letters of different colors and he gave me the blue one. Which may be replaced by that. The commas are removed.)
- He gave me the letter, which I read immediately. (non-defining clause: There was only one letter. which is the object of read, but it still must be included in the sentence.)
- Stratford-on-Avon, which many people have written about, is Shakespeare's birthplace. (Any preposition that appears is normally placed at the end of the clause.)
- Stratford-on-Avon, about which many people have written, is Shakespeare's birthplace. (In formal written English, you can also put the preposition before the pronoun.)
Introductory expressions in non-defining clauses
Non-defining clauses can be introduced by expressions like all of or many of followed by the relative pronoun.
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Person
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Thing
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all of, any of, some of, a few of, both of, each of, either of, half of, many of, most of, much of, none of, one of, two of, etc.
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whom
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which
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Examples
- There were a lot of people at the party, many of whom I had known for years.
- There are 14 girls in my class, a few of whom are my friends.
- He was carrying his belongings, many of which were broken.
- He had thousands of books, most of which he had read.
- He picked up a handful of stones, one of which was sharp.
Using "which" to refer to another clause
The relative pronoun which at the beginning of a non-defining relative clause can refer to all the information contained in the previous part of the sentence, rather than to just one word.
Examples
- Chris did really well in his exams, which is quite a surprise.
- My friends were all hiding in my apartment, which isn't what I'd expected.
- She's studying to become a doctor, which is difficult.
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