اللغة الإنجليزية — Relative Clauses: Defining and Non-Defining — 1ثانوي — شعبة آداب

Relative Clauses: Defining and Non-Defining

Relative clauses give extra information about a noun. Understanding them is crucial for 1st and 2nd Year Secondary literary stream students (شعبة آداب).

1. Defining Relative Clauses

Provide essential information. Without them, the sentence loses meaning. No commas.

Relative pronouns: who (people), which (things), that (people/things), whose (possession), where (place), when (time)

• The man who lives next door is a doctor.
• The book which I read was amazing.
• The student that won the prize is my friend.
• The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
• The restaurant where we met is closed.

2. Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Provide extra, non-essential information. The sentence still makes sense without them. Use commas.

• My father, who is 60 years old, still works hard.
• Paris, which is the capital of France, is beautiful.
• My sister, who lives in London, is a teacher.
• That car, whose owner is my uncle, is expensive.

3. Omitting the Relative Pronoun

In defining clauses, if the pronoun is the object, you can omit it.

• The film that (which) I saw was great. → The film I saw was great.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the correct pronoun: who, which, that, whose, where, when.

1. The girl ___ won the race is my cousin.
2. This is the house ___ I was born.
3. I have a friend ___ father is a pilot.
4. The car ___ is parked outside is mine.
5. Summer is the season ___ everyone loves.

Exercise 2: Join the sentences using a relative clause.

1. I met a woman. She speaks five languages.
2. This is the book. I bought it yesterday.

Answers

Exercise 1: 1. who/that / 2. where / 3. whose / 4. which/that / 5. which/that

Exercise 2: 1. I met a woman who speaks five languages. / 2. This is the book which/that I bought yesterday.

Learn more with Reported Speech and Conditionals.

📍 دروس مشابهة

• التاريخ والجغرافيا — الحضارة اليونانية: أثينا وإسبرطة — 1ثانوي — شعبة آداب
• التاريخ والجغرافيا — الحضارة المصرية القديمة: الإنجازات الحضارية — 1ثانوي — شعبة آداب