LoginRelative Clauses
In this lesson we learn about relative clauses, which are essential parts of a sentence that provide more information about a noun by containing a subject and a verb. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Relative Clauses?
Relative clauses are dependent clauses that provide additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence. They begin with a relative pronoun, a relative determiner, or a relative adverb and function as adjectives, modifying the noun or pronoun that they follow. As a result, some consider them the same as adjective clauses.
Relative Clauses: Function
Relative clauses (also called bound clauses) modify a preceding noun or a noun phrase. In other words, they act as an adjective for the independent clause.
She met a person who speaks five languages fluently.
Here, "who speaks five languages fluently" describes the noun "a person".
We visited the park that was featured in the travel guide.
Relative Clauses: Structure
Relative clauses are introduced by:
Now let us explore each of them in more detail.
Relative Clauses Introduced by Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns connect the relative clause to the independent clause. They introduce the relative clause, providing additional information about the noun or noun phrase in the independent clause. The most common relative pronouns are who, that, which, whom, and whose. Keep in mind that whose must always be followed by a noun.
Pay attention to the examples:
This is my father who/that visited us last night.
'Who visited us last night' is a relative clause introduced by 'who.' The relative clause describes 'my father' in the independent clause.
The book, which/that I was reading last night, was amazing.
I don't know the man whose book you are holding.
'Whose' acts as an adjective for 'the man'.
Warning
Some phrasal verbs have inseparable particles. As a result, particles cannot be used before whom and which. Here is an example:
He is my father whom you were looking for.
Relative Clauses Introduced by Relative Adverbs
Relative adverbs function as adverbs in a sentence and introduce relative clauses that modify the preceding noun or noun phrase, functioning as an adjective. Some of the common relative adverbs are when, where, why, and how. For example:
I don't remember the day. The day you saw me. → I don't remember the day when you saw me.
'When you saw me' is an adjective for 'the day.'
I know the school where you studied chemistry.
Relative Clauses Introduced by Relative Determiners
The only relative determiner that can introduce a relative clause is "whose" which indicates possession and introduces a clause that modifies a noun. Look at the examples:
The man whose car broke down is waiting for a tow truck.
Here "whose car broke down" is a relative clause introduced by the relative determiner "whose" which modifies the noun "the man".
This is the author whose books I love to read.
Relative Clauses with Zero Relatives
Zero relatives occur when relative pronouns or relative adverbs are omitted from a sentence, but the clause is still understandable in context. It's important to note that the omitted pronoun or adverb must be followed by a subject. For example:
I remember the day when I met you.
I don't remember the reason why I was there.
I know the man who/that she was talking to.
This is the book which/that I was most proud of.
Tip!
When who, that, and which are followed by a verb, they cannot be omitted. For example:
The man who is standing there is my dad.
Coordinated Relative Clauses
You can use two or more relative clauses as adjectives for the same noun using a coordinating conjunction such as "and", "or", "but". In these cases, if the same relative pronoun or adverb introduces both relative clauses, it does not need to be repeated in the second clause. Look at the examples.
She prefers books that are well-written and have a strong moral lesson.
Here, since both clauses modify the noun "books" and are introduced by the relative pronoun "that", we do not need to repeat it in the second clause.
That's the man who I saw yesterday and whose car I bought.
In this sentence, both clauses modify the noun "the man" but one it introduced by the relative pronoun "who" while the other is introduced by the relative determiner "whose". In these cases, the relative pronoun cannot be omitted.
Relative Clause vs. Question
While they might look similar, relative clauses and direct questions differ in their structure. Relative clauses are always used after a noun which they modify, while direct questions are independent clauses that can stand alone. Also, while relative clauses follow the normal subject-verb-object order, questions usually use auxiliary verbs with inverted word order, unless the interrogative pronoun functions as the subject of the sentence, in which case the word order is the same as the relative clause. Here are some examples:
She explained the reason why she left early.
Here, the relative clause modifies the noun "the reason".
Why did she leave early?
In questions, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject.
The man who stole my wallet was arrested.
The relative clause "who stole my wallet" modifies "the man."
Who stole my wallet?
Here, "who" acts as the subject of the sentence so the word order is not inverted.
What Are Nominal Relative Clauses?
Nominal relative clauses (also called free clauses) are either a subject, an object, or a complement for the independent clause.
Nominal relative clauses are introduced by:
Nominal Relative Pronouns: what(ever), who(ever), which(ever), whom(ever)
Relative Adverbs: where(ever), when(ever), why, how
Relative Determiners: what(ever), which(ever), and 'whose'
Look at some examples:
What I said was important.
'What I said' is the subject of the sentence, introduced by a relative pronoun.
I don't know which book you bought.
'Which book you bought' is the object of 'know', , introduced by a relative determiner
Her concern was how they would react.
"how they would react" is the complement for "her concern", introduced by a relative adverb.
Non-finite Clauses
Nominal relative clauses can be non-finite because the verb in the relative clause can be infinitive. For example:
Whichever book to buy doesn't matter.
When to go is important.
I don't know what gift to give you.
Review
There are two types of relative clauses and each has a different function.
Relative clauses: They act as an adjective for the preceding noun or noun phrase.
Nominal clauses: They act as a subject, an object, or a complement for the independent clause.
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences contains a relative clause?
Why is the sky blue at sunset?
The teacher who inspired me to write has retired.
Whatever you decide will work for us.
When to start the project is still undecided.
Sort the words to form a correct sentence with a relative clause.
Match the sentence to the type of relative clause.
Fill in the blank with the correct relative pronoun, adverb, or determiner.
The artist
painted this masterpiece is well-known in the art world.
She couldn’t remember the reason
she was late for the meeting.
This is the place
we first met.
I know the person
phone you are looking for.
The woman
works here is very friendly.
We enjoyed the movie
won the award.
What is the main difference between a relative clause and a direct question?
Relative clauses are always independent, while direct questions modify nouns.
Relative clauses always follow a subject-verb-object order, while questions may have inverted word order.
Direct questions are always about time, while relative clauses are about people.
There is no difference; they are used in the same way.
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