Relative Clauses: Defining and Non-Defining with BAC Exam Exercises — الإنجليزية — الثانية ثانوي — المنهاج الجزائري

Lesson Objectives

• Understand the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses
• Master the use of relative pronouns (who, which, that, whose, whom, where, when)
• Learn punctuation rules for relative clauses
• Practice with BAC-style exam questions

1. What are Relative Clauses?

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase. It gives more information about someone or something mentioned in the main clause.

Example: The student who studies hard will succeed.

2. Relative Pronouns

Pronoun	Used for	Example
Who	People (subject)	The man who called you is my teacher.
Whom	People (object, formal)	The woman whom you met is a doctor.
Which	Animals, things	The book which I read was interesting.
That	People, animals, things (defining only)	The house that I bought is old.
Whose	Possession (people, animals)	The student whose father is a teacher works hard.
Where	Places	The school where I study is big.
When	Time	The day when we met was sunny.

3. Defining Relative Clauses (الجمل الموصولة المحددة)

Definition: These clauses give essential information about the noun. Without them, the sentence would be incomplete or unclear.

Rules:

• No commas are used.
• “That” can replace “who” or “which”.
• Example: The teacher who/that teaches English is very kind.
• Example: The car which/that is parked outside is mine.

4. Non-Defining Relative Clauses (الجمل الموصولة غير المحددة)

Definition: These clauses give extra, non-essential information. The main sentence is clear without them.

Rules:

• Always set off by commas.
• “That” CANNOT be used.
• The pronoun cannot be omitted.
• Example: My brother, who lives in Oran, is an engineer.
• Example: The Eiffel Tower, which is in Paris, is visited by millions.

5. Omitting the Relative Pronoun

In defining relative clauses, the pronoun can be omitted when it is the object of the clause:

• The film that/which I watched was great. → The film I watched was great.
• But: The film that/which won the award was great. (subject → cannot omit)

6. BAC-Style Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct relative pronoun

1. The girl __________ won the competition is my classmate.
2. This is the house __________ I was born.
3. The man __________ car was stolen is a doctor.
4. Algeria, __________ is in North Africa, is a beautiful country.
5. The film __________ you recommended was excellent.
6. I met a friend __________ I hadn”t seen for years.

Answers: 1. who/that, 2. where, 3. whose, 4. which, 5. that/which/- (can omit), 6. whom/who/that/-

Exercise 2: Join the sentences using a relative clause (BAC style)

1. I bought a phone. The phone has 5G technology.
   → I bought a phone that/which has 5G technology.
2. Algeria has many tourist sites. These sites attract visitors.
   → Algeria has many tourist sites that/which attract visitors.
3. My neighbour is very friendly. His son studies at university.
   → My neighbour, whose son studies at university, is very friendly.

Exercise 3: Correct the mistakes (BAC style)

1. The student which won the prize is talented. → who/that
2. Ahmed, that lives in Algiers, is my cousin. → who (non-defining → no “that”)
3. This is the city who I visited last year. → which/that

7. Summary

	Defining	Non-Defining
Essential info?	Yes	No
Commas?	No	Yes
Can use “that”?	Yes	No
Can omit pronoun?	Yes (when object)	No

Keywords: relative clauses, defining, non-defining, who, which, that, whose, BAC English grammar