Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are parts of a sentence that provide additional information about a noun (a person, place, or thing). They are introduced by relative pronouns such as who, which, that, whom, and whose. Relative clauses help to identify or describe the noun in more detail, and they often make sentences more specific or informative.

Types of Relative Clauses:

1. Defining Relative Clauses: These clauses provide essential information about the noun they describe. Without this information, the meaning of the sentence would be incomplete or unclear.

• Example:
  • “The girl who is wearing a red dress is my sister.””This is the book that I told you about.”

In these examples, the relative clause helps to identify which girl or which book is being referred to.

2. Non-Defining Relative Clauses: These clauses provide extra, non-essential information about a noun. If the relative clause were removed, the sentence would still be grammatically correct and meaningful. These clauses are set off by commas.

• Example:
  • “My friend, who lives in London, is coming to visit.”
  • “The Eiffel Tower, which is in Paris, is very famous.”

In these examples, the relative clause adds extra details, but the sentence would still make sense without it.

Relative Pronouns:

• Who: Refers to people.
  • “The teacher who helps me is very kind.”
• Which: Refers to things or animals.
  • “This is the movie which I watched yesterday.”
• That: Can refer to people, things, or animals and is often used in defining relative clauses.
  • “The car that I bought is red.”
• Whom: Refers to people, used in formal writing as the object of a verb or preposition.
  • “The man whom I met is a doctor.”
• Whose: Refers to possession, can be used for both people and things.
  • “The boy whose bike was stolen is sad.”

Examples in Sentences:

• Defining:
  • “The student who studies hard will pass the exam.”
  • “I like the cake that you made.”
• Non-Defining:
  • “John, who is a doctor, works at the local hospital.”
  • “The Statue of Liberty, which is in New York, is a famous monument.”

Omitting the Relative Pronoun:

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

• With relative pronoun: “The book that I bought is interesting.”
• Without relative pronoun: “The book I bought is interesting.”

Relative clauses are useful for making sentences more detailed and specific, helping readers and listeners understand more about the nouns being discussed.

Learning Activities

Activity #1: Relative Clause Detective

• Objective: To guess objects, people, or places using relative clauses.
• Materials: None needed.
• Instructions:
  1. One student plays the role of a detective and asks other students yes/no questions using relative clauses to guess an object.
     • Example: “Is it something that you wear?” “Is it a place where people go on vacation?”
  2. The other students give answers until the detective guesses the correct object, person, or place.

Activity #2: Relative Clause Song Lyrics

• Objective: To practice identifying relative clauses in songs.
• Materials: Song lyrics that include relative clauses (e.g., “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script).
• Instructions:
  1. Go online and look for songs that include relative clauses.
  2. Gather a few songs.
  3. After listening, discuss the relative clauses and their function in the song.