A relative clause is a dependent clause that describes or gives more information about a noun.
Key points:
- It begins with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whose) or relative adverb (where, when, why)
- It comes right after the noun it modifies
- It cannot stand alone as a sentence
Example:
- The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
- Base noun: the woman → extra info: who lives next door
Slide 3 — Relative Pronouns at a Glance
|
Pronoun |
Refers to |
Example |
| who | people | The boy who won is my friend. |
| whom | people (object) | The man whom I met was kind. |
| which | things/animals | The book which I read was great. |
| that | people or things | The car that he bought is red. |
| whose | possession | The girl whose bag was lost cried. |
Relative Adverbs
where → places
- The house where I grew up is old.
when → times
- I remember the day when we first met.
why → reasons
- Tell me the reason why you left.
Speaker note: Relative adverbs replace a preposition + which. For example, the house in which I grew up = the house where I grew up.
Defining vs. Non-Defining Clauses
Defining (essential) — no commas
- The students who studied hard passed.
- Tells us which students.
Non-defining (extra info) — use commas
- My brother, who lives in Tokyo, is visiting.
- We already know which brother.
Speaker note: Key rule: in non-defining clauses, you cannot use that, and you cannot omit the pronoun.
