Relative clauses

What is a relative clause?

We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information
about something.
I bought a new car. It is very fast.
→ I bought a new car that is very fast.
She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.
→ She lives in New York, which she likes.

Defining and Non-defining

A ​defining relative clause​ tells which noun we are talking about:

● I like the woman who lives next door.

(If I don't say 'who lives next door', then we don't know which woman I mean).

A ​non-defining relative clause​ gives us extra information about something. We don't

need this information to understand the sentence.

● I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.

(Everybody knows where London is, so 'which has some fantastic parks' is extra
information).

Defining relative clauses:

1: The relative pronoun is the subject:
First, let's consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause.
We can use 'who', 'which' or 'that'. We use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. We
can use 'that' for people or things.
The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't
drop the relative pronoun.
For example (clause after the object of the sentence):
 ● I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer well.
● She has a son who / that is a doctor.
● We bought a house which / that is 200 years old.
● I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.

More examples (clause after the subject of the sentence):

● The people who / that live on the island are very friendly.
● The man who / that phoned is my brother.
● The camera which / that costs £100 is over there.
● The house which / that belongs to Julie is in London.

Make one sentence from the two short ones. The sentence in italics should become the
relative clause. The relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause.

1.She worked for a man. ​The man used to be an athlete.

_______________________________________________________________
2.They called a lawyer. ​The lawyer lived nearby.
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3.I sent an email to my brother. ​My brother lives in Australia.
_______________________________________________________________
4.The customer liked the waitress. ​The waitress was very friendly.
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5.We broke the computer. ​The computer belonged to my father.
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6.I dropped a glass. ​The glass was new.
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7.She loves books. ​The books have happy endings.
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8.They live in a city. ​The city is in the north of England.
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9.The man is in the garden. ​The man is wearing a blue jumper​.
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10.The girl works in a bank. ​The girl is from India.
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11.My sister has three children. ​My sister lives in Australia.
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12.The waiter was rude. ​The waiter was wearing a blue shirt.
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13.The money is in the kitchen. ​The money belongs to John.
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14.The table got broken. ​The table was my
grandmother’s..​_________________________________________________
15.The television was stolen. ​The television was bought 20 years ago.
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16.The fruit is on the table. ​The fruit isn’t fresh.
______________________________________________________________

2: The relative pronoun is the object:

Next, let's talk about when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. In this case
we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, the clause can come after the
subject or the object of the sentence. Here are some examples:
(Clause after the object)

● She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought.

● We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended.
● John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with.
● The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.

(Clause after the subject)

● The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen.

● The university (which / that) she likes is famous.
● The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Mexico.
● The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.
Relative Clauses Exercise

Make a new sentence by joining the two short sentences. The sentence in italics should
become the relative clause, and the relative pronoun is the object.
1.We ate the fruit. ​I bought the fruit.
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2.She bought the computer. ​Her brother had recommended the computer.
_______________________________________________________________
3.He lost the money. ​I had given him the money.
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4.We called the taxi company. ​Julie often uses the taxi company.
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5.John met a girl. ​I used to employ the girl.
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6.Lucy called the doctor. ​My mother knows the doctor.
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7.He brought a woman. ​I used to often meet the woman .
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8.We employed the lawyer. ​Julie recommended the lawyer.
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9.The fruit is on the table.​ I bought the fruit.
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10.The wallet belongs to John.​ Lucy found the wallet in the garden.
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11.The food was delicious. ​David cooked the food.
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12.The car was stolen. ​My father gave me the car.
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13.The man was arrested. ​I reported the man to the police.
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14.The doctor was right. ​Lucy asked the doctor about her problem.
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15.The waitress was very pretty. ​My brother dated the waitress.
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16.The secretary is in the office. ​The boss likes the secretary.
_______________________________________________________________

Make one sentence by changing the sentence in italics into a defining relative clause.
The relative pronoun can be the subject or the object of the relative clause.

1.They found the money.​ I dropped the

money.​ _______________________________________________________________
2.I broke the plate. ​The plate was a wedding
present​._______________________________________________________________
3.The police arrested the man. ​I saw the man steal a
handbag​.______________________________________________________________4
.The Queen fired the chef. ​We had met the
chef._ ​ ______________________________________________________________
5.She wrote to her friend. ​Her friend lives in
Vietnam.​_______________________________________________________________
6.Jill ate the sandwich. ​The sandwich had tomato and cheese
inside​._______________________________________________________________
7.His friend lives in Scotland.​ His friend is a
lawyer.​_______________________________________________________________
8.We called the secretary.​ I went to school with the
secretary.​ ______________________________________________________________
9.The CD is in my bag. ​The CD has Spanish
music.​_______________________________________________________________
10.The book is very interesting. ​The book is about Japanese
culture.​ _______________________________________________________________
11.The bag was stolen. ​I bought the bag
yesterday​.______________________________________________________________
12.He likes films​. The films come from
Asia.​ _______________________________________________________________
13.My nephew broke the plate. ​I received the plate as a
​ __________________________________________________________
present._
14.The chocolate was very old. ​We bought the chocolate last week.
__________________________________________________________________
15.The TV programme was very funny. ​Lucy recommended the TV
programme._ ​ _______________________________________________________
16.The girl is on TV tonight.​ I met the girl
yesterday._​ ________________________________________________________

Make one sentence by changing the sentence in italics into a defining relative clause.
The relative pronoun can be the subject or the object of the relative clause.

1.The man was late. ​Julie invited the man.

_______________________________________________________________
2.The doctor was sick. ​I wanted to see the doctor.
_______________________________________________________________
3.The accountant was arrested. ​The accountant works for my father’s company.
_______________________________________________________________
4.I wrote to the friend. ​You met the friend last week.
_______________________________________________________________
5.The mobile phone can’t be fixed. ​The mobile phone is broken.
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6.John made a copy of the photo.​ I took the photo.
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7.I met a girl. ​The girl was a doctor.
_______________________________________________________________
8.We called a doctor. ​The doctor works at a hospital in London.
_______________________________________________________________
9.We like the actor. ​The actor was in a famous film
._______________________________________________________________
10.I went to the restaurant. ​I read about the restaurant in the newspaper.
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11.She bought a car.​ Her sister liked the car.
_______________________________________________________________
12.I often buy cheese. ​The cheese is imported from Paris
._______________________________________________________________
13.The hairdresser was very good. ​The hairdresser has red hair.
_______________________________________________________________
14.The child is playing in the garden. ​We see the child often.
_______________________________________________________________
15.The nurse is in the office. ​The nurse treated my grandmother
_______________________________________________________________
16.The car is in the garage. ​The car broke down.
_______________________________________________________________

Non-defining relative clauses:

We don't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses, so we need to use 'which' if the
pronoun refers to a thing, and 'who' if it refers to a person. We can't drop the relative
pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
(Clause comes after the subject)

● My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester.

● My sister, who I live with, knows a lot about cars.
● My bicycle, which I've had for more than ten years, is falling apart.
● My mother's house, which I grew up in, is very small.

(Clause comes after the object)

● Yesterday I called our friend Julie, who lives in New York.

● The photographer called to the Queen, who looked annoyed.
● Last week I bought a new computer, which I don't like now.
● I really love the new Chinese restaurant, which we went to last night.

Prepositions and relative clauses

If the verb in the relative clause needs a preposition, we put it at the end of the clause:
For example:

● listen to

The music is good. Julie listens to the music.

→ The music (which / that) Julie listens ​to​ is good.

● work with

My brother met a woman. I used to work with the woman.

→ My brother met a woman (who / that) I used to work ​with​.

● go to

The country is very hot. He went to the country.

→ The country (which / that) he went ​to​ is very hot.

● come from

I visited the city. John comes from the city.

→ I visited the city (that / which) John comes ​from​.

● apply for

The job is well paid. She applied for the job.

→ The job (which / that) she applied ​for​ is well paid.

Whose
'Whose' is always the subject of the relative clause and can't be left out. It replaces a
possessive. It can be used for people and things.
The dog is over there. The dog's / its owner lives next door.
→ The dog ​whose​ owner lives next door is over there.
The little girl is sad. The little girl's / her doll was lost.
→ The little girl ​whose​ doll was lost is sad.
The woman is coming tonight. Her car is a BMW.
→ The woman ​whose​ car is a BMW is coming tonight.
The house belongs to me. Its roof is very old.
→ The house ​whose​ roof is old belongs to me.

Where / when / why

We can sometimes use these question words instead of relative pronouns and
prepositions.
I live in a city. I study in the city.

→ I live in the city ​where​ I study.

→ I live in the city ​that / which​ I study ​in​.
→ I live in the city ​in which​ I study.
The bar in Barcelona is still there. I met my wife in that bar.

→ The bar in Barcelona ​where​ I met my wife is still there.

→ The bar in Barcelona ​that / which​ I met my wife ​in​ is still there.
→ The bar in Barcelona ​in which​ I met my wife is still there.
The summer was long and hot. I graduated from university in the summer.

→ The summer ​when​ I graduated from university was long and hot.
→ The summer ​that / which​ I graduated from university ​in​ was long and hot.
→ The summer ​in which​ I graduated was long and hot.