Grammar Handout 9
RELATIVE CLAUSES II
(Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses)
TASK 1. Discuss the following questions with your partner.
1. Put the following people in your life in order of importance. Explain the reasons for your order.
______ friends
______ family
______ teachers
______ girlfriends/boyfriends
2. How would you define a ‘friend’?
A friend is someone who ____________________________________.
3. How do people in your culture define ‘friendship’?
4. Is there a difference between close and casual friends? If so, what is it?
TASK 2. Read the text on friendship and match the definitions of friendship with the cultures listed.
A WORD WITH MANY MEANINGS
Almost everyone has friends, but ideas about friendship vary from person to
person. For some, a friend is a person that chats with you on the Internet. For
others, a friend is someone who you have known all your life. What one person
defines as a friend, another calls an acquaintance, and vice versa.
If definitions of friendship can change so much within a single culture, imagine the
differences between cultures. There are only a few studies which psychologists
have conducted about friendship. A psychologist who has studied perceptions of
friendship in different cultures has found great differences among cultures. Also, in one study, Margaret
Mead, who is an anthropologist, compared the notions of friendship in some Western countries.
For the French, friendship is a one-to-one relationship. French friends enjoy arguing about intellectual
issues, and disagreement is the “breath of life” for them. German friends give importance to mutuality of
feeling, and deep disagreement on any subject is a tragedy. Germans form friendships early in life. Friends
usually become part of each other’s family life, and therefore German friendships are usually long lasting.
For this reason, young Germans that go to the US often have difficulty making friends with Americans
because friendships are less permanent in the US. American friendships fade when there are changes in
friends’ lives. British people often form friendships around interests. They have friends who enjoy sports,
friends who go shopping with them and friends who share a hobby.
According to a survey in Psychology Today, which is a psychology-based magazine in the US, people in
general find it easy to distinguish between close and casual friends. Although different people and cultures
emphasize different aspects of friendship, there is one element which is always present; the element of
choice. A magazine which is published weekly in Germany has drawn attention to the element of choice in
friendships. It says we cannot select our families or our co-workers, but we can pick our friends.
Taken and adapted from Focus on Grammar 4, Unit 13, Fuchs & Bonner, Pearson Longman, 2006.
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A friend is
someone who/that
b.
is part of your family.
a.
France
c.
you usually lose contact with when you
move, change your job or marry.
b.
Germany
d.
has similar interests and hobbies with you.
c.
US
a.
can discuss intellectual issues with you.
d.
Britain
TASK 3. Read the text again and underline the relative clauses and circle the nouns they define.
(NOTE TO THE INSTRUCTOR: You may ask your students to suggest alternative relative pronouns to be
used in the relative clauses in the text. You may also ask them to find the relative clauses in which they can
OMIT the relative pronoun.)
TASK 4. Read the sentence pairs taken from the text and answer the following questions.
1. A. A psychologist who has studied perceptions of friendship in different cultures has found great
differences among cultures.
B. Margaret Mead, who is an anthropologist, compared the notions of friendship in some Western
countries.
2. A. A magazine which is published weekly in Germany has drawn attention to the element of choice in
friendships.
B. According to a survey in Psychology Today, which is a psychology-based magazine in the US,
people find it easy to distinguish between close and casual friends.
 In which sentences (As or Bs) are the relative clauses necessary to understand who or what we are talking
about? (Expected answer: As.)
 In which sentences (As or Bs) do the relative clauses give extra/additional information about the
noun? (Expected answer: Bs.)
Remember that in Grammar Handout 3 on Relative Clauses, you studied DEFINING RELATIVE
CLAUSES in the subject and object position to talk about people, things, animals or ideas. As you
learned and practiced in that handout, relative clauses are used to give information about the person or thing
in the main clause. When we need to explain who or what we are talking about, we use defining relative
clauses.
However, we sometimes use relative clauses just to give additional information about the person or the
thing we are talking about. These are called non-defining relative clauses. Non-defining relative clauses
do not necessarily identify a subject because we already know what it is.
The table below aims to revise the use of defining relative clauses and compares their use with non-defining
relative clauses.
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DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Defining relative clauses identify nouns – they say Non-defining relative clauses DO NOT identify
who or what we are talking about. They give essential nouns because it is clear who or what we are
information about the noun.
talking about. They give extra information about
Without the relative clause, the sentence doesn’t make the noun.
sense and we must ask the speaker for more Without the relative clause, the sentence makes
information to understand the sentence.
sense. We can understand the sentence without this
extra information.
* He is the man who started the company in 2008.
* I interviewed the girl who won the race.
* Bill Gates, who started Microsoft, left Harvard
University in 1975.
* Milk which contains chemicals is dangerous.
* I interviewed Aslı Çakır Alptekin, who came in
first in the 1500m. finals.
* Milk, which is rich in protein, calcium and
Vitamins A and B, should be consumed by
* I send e-mails to my friends who have computers
children.
and Internet service.
* My friends in the office, who have access to the
(Not all my friends have computers and Internet
Internet, send me their documents via email. (All
service.)
of my friends in the office have access to the
Internet.)
Defining relative clauses can be in the SUBJECT or Non-defining relative clauses can be in the
OBJECT position in a sentence.
SUBJECT or OBJECT position in a sentence.
* I congratulated the student. She got the highest mark. * My father lives in Germany. He is over 60 now.
I congratulated the student who/that got the highest
My father, who is over 60 now, lives in
mark. (subject position)
Germany.
(subject position)
* The applicant is suitable for the job. We interviewed
her yesterday.
The applicant (who/whom/that) we interviewed
yesterday is suitable for the job. (object position)
* Our TV set has broken down. We bought it last
week.
Our TV set, which we bought last week, has
broken down. (object position)
COMMAS
are used to separate a non-defining
COMMAS are NOT used to separate a defining
clause
from
the rest of the sentence. (There is a
clause from the rest of the sentence.
comma before and after the clause when it is in the
middle of the sentence. However, if the nondefining relative clause is added to the end of the
sentence, only one comma is used.)
* My father’s granddad, who is 97, is in hospital at
the moment.
The pronoun “THAT” CAN be used instead of “who”
and “which”.
* New York is a city which/that attracts a lot of
tourists every year.
The object pronoun before defining relative clauses
CAN be left out (omitted).
* The woman (who/whom/that) I interviewed was a
well-known computer programmer.
* I enjoyed the film (which/that) you recommended.
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* This is the photo of my best friend Catherine,
who(m) I met on holiday two years ago.
The pronoun “THAT” CANNOT be used instead
of “who” and “which”.
* New York, which (that) is a state in the
Northeastern region of the United States, attracts
a lot of tourists every year.
The object pronoun before non-defining relative
clauses CANNOT be left out (not omitted).
* Tarkan, who(m) I love very much, is known as
the “Prince of Pop” in Turkey.
* I enjoyed reading the book Harry Potter, which
you recommended.
TASK 5. Read the following pairs of sentences below. In pairs, discuss the differences in meaning.
1. a. My brother, who lives in the United States, is a doctor. (I have only one brother.)
b. My brother who lives in the United States is a doctor. (I have several brothers.)
2. a. The students, who came late, missed the pop-quiz. (All the students came late.)
b. The students who came late missed the pop-quiz. (Some students came late and only they missed the quiz.)
3. a. I thanked my friends, who gave me flowers. (The flowers were from all of my friends.)
b. I thanked my friends who gave me flowers. (The flowers were from only some of my friends.)
4. a. I felt happy when I opened the present, which was from my sister. (I got only one present.)
b. I felt happy when I opened the present which was from my sister. (I got several presents, and I liked
the present from my sister.)
TASK 6. Combine the following sentences with the correct relative pronoun. Do not forget to use commas.
1.
Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals in China. It is celebrated in February.
Chinese New Year, which is one of the most important festivals in China, is celebrated in February. /
Chinese New Year, which is celebrated in February, is one of the most important festivals in China.
2. American football began at Harvard University. It is the most popular sport in the US.
American football, which is the most popular sport in the US, began at Harvard University. /
American football, which began at Harvard University, is the most popular sport in the US.
3. Professor Jones won a prize for his research into the structure of T-cells. He teaches the biology course.
Professor Jones, who won a prize for his research into the structure of T-cells, teaches the biology course. /
Professor Jones, who teaches the biology course, won a prize for his research into the structure of T-cells.
4. My sister-in-law Eliane often uses gestures and mimics when she is talking. She is from France.
My sister-in-law Eliane, who is from France, often uses gestures and mimics when she is talking. /
My sister-in-law Eliane, who often uses gestures and mimics when she is talking, is from France.
5. Microwave cooking is not popular with professional chefs. Professional chefs say that fast cooking
doesn’t allow flavors to blend.
Microwave cooking is not popular with professional chefs, who say that fast cooking doesn’t allow
flavors to blend.
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Besides the relative pronouns who and which, we can also use WHERE, WHEN and WHOSE in both
defining and non-defining relative clauses.
We use the relative pronoun WHERE for place in object relative clauses.
*
Jim is going to spend a few months in Spain. His sister lives in Spain/ there.
Jim is going to spend a few months in Spain, where his sister lives. (Non-defining)
*
I miss the hotel. We stayed at that hotel/ there during our vacation.
I miss the hotel where we stayed during our vacation. (Defining)
If WHERE is used, a preposition is NOT included. If WHERE is NOT used, the preposition
must be included.
*
The building is very old. He lives in that building/there.
The building where he lives is very old.
which he lives in is very old.
that he lives in is very old.
X
he lives in is very old.
The building in which he lives is very old.
WHERE is used when the name of a place in the relative clause shows place in the sentence. If the name
of a place is in the subject or object position in a sentence, we CANNOT use WHERE; we use WHICH.
TASK 7. Combine the following sentences using which or where.
1. Salihli is located in the west of Turkey. It is my hometown.
Salihli, which is my hometown, is located in the west of Turkey.
Salihli, which is located in the west of Turkey, is my hometown.
2.
Salihli is located in the west of Turkey. It is a nice place in Manisa.
Salihli, which is a nice place in Manisa, is located in the west of Turkey.
Salihli, which is located in the west of Turkey, is a nice place in Manisa.
3.
Salihli is located in the west of Turkey. I was born there.
Salihli, where I was born, is located in the west of Turkey.
I was born in Salihli, which is lcoated in the west of Turkey.
4.
Salihli is a very nice place. We visit Salihli every summer.
Salihli, which we visit every summer, is a very nice place.
5.
Salihli is in Manisa. My cousins live there.
Salihli, where my cousins live, is in Manisa.
TASK 8. Fill in the blanks using which or where.
1.
Istanbul, where more than 10 million people live, has many problems.
2.
Don’t clean the room where my son is studying.
3.
During our vacation in Antalya last summer, we stayed at a hotel which was very close to the shopping malls.
4.
The hotel where we stayed during our vacation in Antalya was very expensive.
5.
Why don’t you study in the room which is next to the kitchen?
6.
Uludağ, which is a famous ski resort in Turkey, is our favourite place for winter vacations.
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We use the relative pronoun WHEN for time in object relative clauses.(WHEN cannot be omitted if
it’s used in non-defining relative clauses.)
*
My granddad was born in 1914. The World War I started in 1914/then.
My granddad was born in 1914, when the World War I started. (Non-defining)
*
I can still remember the day. You got back from university on that day/then.
I can still remember the day when you got back from university. (Defining)
The use of a preposition in an adjective clause that modifies a noun of time is somewhat different
from that in other adjective clauses: a preposition is used preceding which. Otherwise, the
preposition is omitted.
*
I will never forget the day. I met my husband then.
I will never forget the day when I met my husband.
I will never forget the day that I met my husband.
I will never forget the day X I met my husband.
I will never forget the day on which I met my husband.
We use the relative pronoun WHOSE to show possession. WHOSE is always followed by a noun.
You CANNOT leave out whose.
*
Dr. Stevens has to do his own typing. His secretary resigned two weeks ago.
Dr. Stevens, whose secretary resigned two weeks ago, has to do his own typing. (Non-defining)
noun
*
We all liked the teacher. We used to attend her class at DBE.
We all liked the teacher whose class we used to attend at DBE. (Defining)
noun
TASK 9. Combine the following sentences with the correct relative pronoun. Use commas where necessary.
1.
The fourth of July is a time for big parades and fireworks. The fourth of July is Independence Day in the USA.
The fourth of July, which is Independence Day in the USA, is a time for big parades and fireworks. /
The fourth of July, which is a time for big parades and fireworks, is Independence Day in the USA.
2.
I prefer going to restaurants. They serve healthy food there.
I prefer going to restaurants where they serve healthy food.
3.
My friend Jeff cancelled all his credit cards yesterday. His wallet was stolen two days ago.
My friend Jeff, whose wallet was stolen two days ago, cancelled all his credit cards yesterday.
4.
Berlin is a center for culture and arts. It is the capital of Germany.
Berlin, which is the capital of Germany, is a center for culture and arts. /
Berlin, which is a center for culture and arts, is the capital of Germany.
5.
The silent room in Self Access Center is a place. Students can study in peace there.
The silent room in Self Access Center is a place where students can study in peace.
6.
The film is about a spy. His wife betrays him.
The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him / who is betrayed by his wife.
7.
I will never forget the moment. They announced the winner then.
I will never forget the moment (when) they announced the winner.
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8.
Dorothy Parker used to be my high school friend. Her novels are sold all over the world.
Dorothy Parker, whose novels are sold all over the world, used to be my high school friend.
9.
His grandfather can remember his youth. There were no televisions or computers then.
His grandfather can remember his youth, when there were no televisions or computers.
TASK 10. Below is an article about the Kon Tiki Voyage. Read it and complete the missing parts with
suitable relative clauses, using the information below. Use commas where necessary.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the nearest mainland, lie the islands of
Polynesia. On some of the islands, there are ancient roads and buildings (1), (e) which show that there have
been ancient civilizations on the island. The most mysterious of the Polynesian Islands is Easter Island,
(2)(f) where (on which) there are giant heads made of stone.
Some of them are as tall as a four-storey building. These are very old. Obviously men have been living on
these islands for a long, long time, but how did the islanders first get to the islands so long ago, and how did
they do it in those days (3) (c) when there weren’t any big ships? These are the questions difficult to
answer.
Thor Heyerdahl (4), (b) who was a Norwegian explorer, thought he had the answer to the mystery. He
believed the people from Ancient Peru sailed more than 6000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean on their
small rafts to start a new life on the islands of Polynesia.
Nobody believed the theory (5) (d) (which/that) Heyerdahl produced because they knew that the people of
ancient Peru only had wooden rafts to sail on. How did the people sail from Peru to the islands? Heyerdahl
wanted to show everybody that his theory was right. Together with four friends, he started to build a raft like
those of the ancient Peruvians. When it was finished, they called it Kon-Tiki (6), (a) which was the name of
an ancient god. They spent a long time planning their journey and deciding what to take with them. The
natural movement of the water (a current called the Peru Current) carried them west. Although they had lots
of problems with the weather and sharks during their journey, the boat was fine. It didn't sink. After 102 hard
days at sea, the explorers arrived on one of the Polynesian Islands, and this proved Heyerdahl’s theory was
right.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
It was the name of an ancient god.
He was a Norwegian explorer.
There weren’t any big ships in those days.
Heyerdahl produced this theory.
These show that there have been ancient civilizations on the island.
There are giant heads made of stone on Easter Island.
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TASK 11. Below is a piece of news. Read it and complete the missing parts with suitable relative
clauses, using information from the box. Use commas where necessary.
Miss Barton is a 72-year-old retired teacher living alone. The cottage a) They could cost as much
as £20,000.
1)where (in which) she has lived happily for 20 years is in a small
Scottish village. Miss Barton wants to live a quiet life, but the council says
that she must leave her home because it is unfit to live in. The inspector
b) His report led to the
council’s decision.
(2)whose report led to the council’s decision said, “There’s no glass in the
windows, no electricity and no running water. It’s a very unhealthy place to
c) She has lived there
live in, especially for an elderly person. It seems that Miss Barton won’t be
happily for 20 years.
able to afford the necessary repairs (3) , which could cost as much as
£20,000. Therefore, she had better move to another place”. Now, Miss d) They promised to pay for
any repairs.
Barton has three months to find a new house. She blames the previous
owners of the cottage (4) , who promised to pay for any repairs. She says,
“I don’t blame the inspector or the authorities. I am particularly angry with
my previous owners who didn’t keep their promise.”
References:
DBE Materials Archive, METU.
Azar, B. S. (1999), Understanding and Using English Grammar, Longman.
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