What are Relative Clauses?
Before we start talking about defining and non-defining clauses, it’s helpful to understand what a relative clause actually is.
Relative clauses are used to state additional information about the noun in the sentence. It’s usually just a phrase or clause, that is included as part of the main sentence. They are usually placed immediately after the noun to which they refer to and are introduced by a relative pronoun or a relative adverb.
Example:
- The celebrity, who was a major film star, was photographed on the red carpet.
— The phrase “who was a major film star” adds some extra information to the sentence, so you can understand a little more what is said about the subject, the celebrity.
We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information about something.
- I bought a new car. It is very fast.
— I bought a new car that is very fast.
- She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.
— She lives in New York, which she likes.
Non-Defining relative clauses
We use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing. It is not necessary information. We don’t need it to understand who or what is being referred to.
We always use a relative pronoun (who, which, whose or whom) to introduce a non-defining relative clause.
Example:
- The private yacht, which was rumoured to be the most expensive in the world, belonged to the mysterious couple.
- My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester.
- My bicycle, which I’ve had for more than ten years, is falling apart.
The sentence would have a different meaning without the defining relative clause.
- The skirt, which is a lovely dark blue colour, only cost £10.
The sentence, with a non-defining relative clause, doesn’t tell us which skirt, it gives us more information about the skirt.
Non-defining relative clauses can use most relative pronouns (which, whose etc,) but they CAN’T use ‘that’ and the relative pronoun can never be omitted.
Non-defining relative clauses are more often used in written English than in spoken English. You can tell that a clause is non-defining because it is separated by commas at each end of the clause.
Defining relative clauses
We use defining relative clauses to give essential information about someone or something — information that we need in order to understand what or who is being referred to. A defining relative clause usually comes immediately after the noun it describes.
We usually use a relative pronoun ( who, that, which, whose, whom, etc) to introduce a defining relative clause
- They’re the people who want to buy our house.
- Here are some cells which have been affected.
- They should give the money to somebody who they think needs the treatment most.
The sentence would have a different meaning without the defining relative clause.
- I’m going to wear the skirt that I bought in London.
The sentence with a defining relative clause tells us which skirt.
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