As you learned in 1.5.3 and 1.54, a relative clause is a part of a sentence that begins with either a relative pronoun (which, who, that, where, when, or whose) or a relative adverb (when, where, why).
Relative clauses give more information about a noun in the sentence.
In this lesson, we will look at two types of relative clauses:
- A Defining Relative Clause (Type 1): provides information necessary to specify which person or thing we mean, or which type of person or thing we mean.
- A Non-defining Relative Clause (Type 2): provides extra information about a noun, but it is not necessary to explain which person or thing we mean.
Let's look at the following chart to see some examples of each type:
Type 1 - Necessary Information (Restrictive Relative Clause) | Type 2 - Extra Information (Non-Restrictive Relative Clause) |
|---|---|
MySpace was one of the many Facebook competitors which lost the race for visitors. | The heavy snow, which is unusual for this time of year, destroyed my garden. |
Do you know the boy who started grade 8 last month? | Terry Fox, who was born in Canada, died of cancer in 1981. |
Can I have the pen that I lent to you this morning? | Cell |
I want to vacation in a place where there are lots of water sports. | This summer, I'm going to Montreal, where my sister lives. |
Avoid Common Mistakes
The clause that comes after the word “which” or “that” is the determining factor in deciding which one to use. If the clause is 'essential' to the meaning of the sentence, you use “that.” If you could ' drop the clause' and leave the meaning of the sentence intact, use “which.”
For example:
- The school that burned down last week is still smoking.
- The school, which burned down last week, is next to Mila's restaurant.
Now that you understand the difference between the two types of relative clauses, try completing the following activity.
Exercise 5
Make one sentence from the two short ones. The sentence in italics should become the relative clause. Note: The relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause.