Relative Clauses in English — English — 3rd Year Secondary (Literary Stream) — Baccalaureate — Algerian Curriculum

Relative Clauses in English

Relative clauses are clauses that give extra information about a noun or pronoun. They are introduced by relative pronouns: who (people), which (things/animals), that (people/things), whose (possession), whom (object pronoun – formal), where (places), when (times), why (reasons). There are two types: defining and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining Relative Clauses

Give essential information needed to identify the person or thing. No commas used.

• Who (people as subject): “The woman who lives next door is a doctor.”
• Which (things as subject/object): “The book which I bought is interesting.” “The car which is parked outside is mine.”
• That (people/things): can replace who or which in defining clauses. “The man that called is my brother.” “The house that I bought is old.”
• Whose (possession): “The student whose bag was stolen is upset.”
• Whom (object – formal): “The person whom I met was kind.”
• Where (places): “The city where I was born is small.”
• When (times): “The day when we met was sunny.”

Non-defining Relative Clauses

Give extra information that is not essential. The sentence is clear without it. Commas are used. “That” cannot be used in non-defining clauses.

• “My father, who is 60 years old, still works hard.”
• “Paris, which is the capital of France, is beautiful.”
• “My best friend, whose brother is a singer, lives in London.”

Omitting the Relative Pronoun

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

• “The book (which/that) I read was excellent.” (object → can omit)
• “The woman who lives next door is kind.” (subject → cannot omit)

Pronoun	Use	Example
Who	People (subject)	The man who called
Which	Things (subject/object)	The car which I bought
That	People or things	The book that I read
Whose	Possession	The girl whose bag was lost
Where	Places	The town where I live

For more grammar, see Passive Voice and Relative Clauses and Conditionals.

Exercises

1. Join the sentences using a relative pronoun: “I know a woman. She speaks five languages.” “I bought a book. It is very interesting.”
2. Define or Non-defining? Add commas where needed. “My brother who lives in Paris is a doctor.” “The car that I bought is blue.”
3. Can the pronoun be omitted? “The film (that) we saw was boring.” “The woman (who) called you is my aunt.”