Defining Relative Clauses VS. Non-defining relative
clauses
| >Non-defining Relative Clauses |
They provide interesting additional information which is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence.
Example: Mrs. Jackson, who is very intelligent, lives on the corner.
"Mrs Johnson lives on the corner" provides a good piece of information. We also know that she is very intelligent, thanks to the relative clause (another interesting piece of information).
NB: YOU MUST USE COMMAS!
| >Defining Relative Clauses |
- their information is crucial in understanding the meaning of the sentence.
- if you remove them, the sentence has a different meaning or no meaning at
all.
Examples:
The woman who lives in apartment No. 34 has been arrested.
What woman? The woman who lives in apartment n°34, not another woman.
A defining relative clause clearly defines who or what we are talking about. Without this information, it would be difficult to know who or what is meant.
NB: NO COMMAS!
Defining Relative Clauses
|
Person
|
Object
|
|
| Subject |
who, that
|
which, that
|
| Object |
Ø, that (also: who, whom) |
Ø, that (also: which) |
| Possessive | whose | whose, of which |
Examples:
>Subject:
Example: Children who
(that) play with fire are in great danger
of harm.
The man who bought all the
books by Hemingway has died.
Which is better? which/who
OR that?
> who and which: written English
> that: oral English
>Object:
Example: That's the boy (Ø , that, who,
whom) I invited to the party.
There's the house (Ø, that, which)
I'd like to buy.
>Possessive:
Example: He's the man whose
car was stolen last week.
They were sure to visit the town whose
location (OR the location of which) was
little known.
TEST:
Choose the right pronoun:
1. It is the book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I've just read.
2. She is the girl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sat next to me in the
bus.
3. They are the people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . helped me.
4. This is the dog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . scared me.
Build one sentence (containing a defining relative clause)
with these two sentences:
5. A robot is a machine. It can replace human workers. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
6. A vet is a doctor. He treats animals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
7. Pets are animals. They are kept at home as companions. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
8. A robot is a machine. It looks like a human being. . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ANSWERS:
1. Ø / that / which
2. that / who
3. that / who
4. that / which
5. A robot is a machine which/that can replace human workers.
6. A vet is a doctor who/that treats animals.
7. Pets are animals that/which are kept at home as companions.
8. A robot is a machine which/that looks like a human being.