How to Form Relative Clauses

How to Form Relative Clauses 

Imagine, a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows her. You could say:

A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?

That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both pieces of information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing  – you want to know who the girl is.

Do you know the girl …

As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional information  – the girl is talking to Tom. Use „the girl“ only in the first part of the sentence, in the second part replace it with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun „who“). So the final sentence is:

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Relative Pronouns

relative pronoun	use	example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun?

Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:
If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table

Relative Adverbs 

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb	meaning	use	example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

Defining Relative Clauses

Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.
Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.)

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses 

Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.
Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.
Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

How to Shorten Relative Clauses? Level: intermedia

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

Test on Relative Clauses Level: elementary

Test your knowledge on Relative Clauses. After submitting your answers, you will see how well you have done in the test.

Test

Complete the definitions.

1. A banana is a person who pulls teeth.is a horse which is very small.is a fruit which is long and yellow.is a big car which carries a lot of people.is a thing which people wear on their heads.
2. A hat is a person who pulls teeth.is a horse which is very small.is a fruit which is long and yellow.is a big car which carries a lot of people.is a thing which people wear on their heads.
3. A pony is a person who pulls teeth.is a horse which is very small.is a fruit which is long and yellow.is a big car which carries a lot of people.is a thing which people wear on their heads.
4. A dentist is a person who pulls teeth.is a horse which is very small.is a fruit which is long and yellow.is a big car which carries a lot of people.is a thing which people wear on their heads.
5. A bus is a person who pulls teeth.is a horse which is very small.is a fruit which is long and yellow.is a big car which carries a lot of people.is a thing which people wear on their heads.

Decide whether the relative pronoun is correct or not.

1. The postman which works in this village is very old.
   correct
   not correct
2. The egg which is in the nest is brown.
   correct
   not correct
3. Where is the bed who was in the attic?
   correct
   not correct
4. The bottles that are lying on the floor are green.
   correct
   not correct
5. The cowboy who is wearing the red shirt is very funny.
   correct
   not correct

Complete the sentences with relative clauses in simple present. Use who or which.

1. This is the man (work at the station) .
2. The tree (grow in the garden) is an apple tree.
3. The man (go jogging) every Friday is my neighbour.
4. The elephants (live in Africa) have big ears.
5. Turn left at the yellow house (be opposite) the petrol station.

Before submitting the test, check the following:

• Got the spelling right?
• Put in the full stop or question mark where required?
• Used the correct key to type the apostrophe (Shift and #)?

Choose the correct relative pronoun.

1. This is the man whowhich built our house.
2. There is the bridge whowhich we have to cross.
3. The girl whowhich lives next door is very nice.
4. The bus whowhich takes you to the station should be here any minute.
5. This is the dog whowhich barks every night.

Decide whether the relative pronoun is necessary or not.

1. This is the ring that I found yesterday.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
2. Do you know the man that is speaking with Anne?
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
3. I still have the book that you gave me.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
4. Is this the woman that lost her purse?
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
5. Is this the key that we were looking for?
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary

Complete the sentences with relative clauses. Use who or which.

1. A Dutch is a person (live in the Netherlands)
2. A giant is someone (be very tall)
3. An alarm clock is a clock (wake you up in the morning)
4. A ladybird is a red beetle (have black spots on its back)
5. A waitress is a woman (serve food and drinks in a restaurant)

Combine the sentences using a relative clauses without a relative pronouns (Contact Clauses).

1. I watched a film last night. The film was interesting.
   The film
2. Carly helps a man. The man is my teacher.
   The man
3. We ate chicken at the restaurant. It was delicious.
   The chicken
4. The boy is very nice. I know him from school.
   The boy
5. The shoes are too big. My grandma bought them for me.
   The shoes  
6.  

   Choose the correct relative pronoun or relative adverb.

7. A castle is a place whowhichwhosewherewhen a king or queen lives.
8. An actress is a woman whowhichwhosewherewhen plays in films or theatre plays.
9. This is the girl whowhichwhosewherewhen mother is from Canada.
10. This is the time of the year whowhichwhosewherewhen many people suffer from hayfever.
11. The flowers whowhichwhosewherewhen grow in the garden are beautiful.

Decide whether the relative pronoun is necessary or not.

1. This is the picture that Jane painted.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
2. Do you know the man who is speaking on the phone?
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
3. We ate the sweets which my mother had bought.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
4. Is this the boy who plays the piano?
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary
5. This is the house that was broken into.
   relative pronoun is necessary
   relative pronoun is not necessary

Complete the sentences using a relative clause.

1. Catherine and Sue are two girls (like dancing)
2. My mobile phone is something (be very important to me)
3. Antony is a friend of mine (live in Boston)
4. West Side Story is a musical (be very famous)
5. An airport is a place (planes land)

Combine the sentences using relative clauses without relative pronouns (contact clauses).

1. We bought a car last week. The car is blue.
   The car
2. The girl is a singer. We met her at the party.
   The girl
3. The bananas are on the table. George bought them.
   The bananas
4. We watched a film last night. It was really scary.
   The film
5. I have to learn new words. They are very difficult.
   The new words  

6. Choose the correct relative pronoun or relative adverb.

7. The woman whenwherewhichwhowhosewhy is sitting at the desk is Mr Winter's secretary.
8. I cannot remember the reason whenwherewhichwhowhosewhy he wanted us to leave.
9. Jane, whenwherewhichwhowhosewhy mother is a physician, is very good at biology.
10. She didn’t see the snake whenwherewhichwhowhosewhy was lying on the ground.
11. Do you know the shop whenwherewhichwhowhosewhy Andrew picked me up?

Combine the sentences with relative clauses. (Decide whether to use commas or not.)

1. A monk is a man. The man has devoted his life to God.
   A monk
2. I have one black cat. His name is Blacky.
   I have
3. A herbivore is an animal. The animal feeds upon vegetation.
   A herbivore
4. Carol plays the piano brilliantly. She is only 9 years old.
   Carol
5. Sydney is the largest Australian city. It is not the capital of Australia.
   Sydney

Combine the sentences with contact clauses.

1. We ordered a book. It was very expensive.
   
2. You are sitting on a bench. The paint on the bench is still wet.
   
3. The photographer could not develop the pictures. I had taken them in Australia.
   
4. One of the bins smells awful. You haven’t emptied the bin for 3 weeks.
   
5. They are singing a song. I don’t know the song.
   

Combine the sentences with relative clauses or contact clauses. Use contact clauses where possible. (Decide whether to use commas or not.)

1. The city seems to be abandoned. It is usually crowded with people.
   
2. You made an offer. We cannot accept it.
   We
3. A midwife is a woman. She assists other women in childbirth.
   A woman
4. Three youngsters were arrested by the police. They had committed criminal offences.
   The police
5. The World Wide Web has become an essential part of our lives. It was invented by Tim Berners-Lee.
   Tim Berners-Lee