WHAT IS A RELATIVE CLAUSE? RELATIVE CLAUSES BEGIN WITH THESE WORDS :

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WHAT IS A RELATIVE CLAUSE?RELATIVE CLAUSES
BEGIN WITH THESE WORDS
RELATIVE CLAUSES

• who which that
• whose whom where
• when

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A RELATIVE CLAUSE (ALSO CALLED ADJECTIVE
CLAUSE) IS A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE THAT
GIVES INFORMATION ABOUT A NOUN (SUBJECT OR
OBJECT) IN THE MAIN CLAUSE.
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HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SENTENCES WITH
RELATIVE CLAUSES Shes the writer who won the
Booker Prize this year.He wore the tie that I
gave him to the party.I asked the person whose
car is blocking my driveway to move it.The
girl whom he finally married is Danish.Spring
is the time when the trees blossom.Egypt is
where the pyramids are.She was very upset, which
is understandable
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IF YOUR INFORMATION PERTAINS TO A
PERSON OR PEOPLE, USE WHO. The girl who came to
the door had long red braids.People who want
to do business in Asia need to learn Asian
Languages.

• Thats the man who mugged me.

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YOU CAN USE THAT OR WHICH TO REFER TO
THINGS.I LOVE THE TREE THAT (OR WHICH) GROWS
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW.THE BOOK THAT (OR WHICH) YOU
GAVE ME IS GREAT!
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USE WHOSE TO EXPRESS POSSESSIVES WHEN THEY REFER
TO A PERSON.

• The person whose wallet I found must be very
  worried.
• The people whose homes were flooded stayed in a
  shelter.

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THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF RELATIVE
CLAUSESESSENTIAL (also called RESTRICTIVE,
IDENTIFYING, NECESSARY) and NONESSENTIAL (also
called NONRESTRICTIVE, NONIDENTIFYING,
OR UNNECESSARY.
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ESSENTIAL CLAUSES RULES

• ESSENTIAL CLAUSES ARE NEVER SET OFF BY COMMAS
• CLAUSES BEGINNING WITH THAT ARE ALWAYS ESSENTIAL.

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NONESSENTIAL CLAUSES COMPARE THE FOLLOWING
EXAMPLESMy Aunt Mary, who lives in Vancouver,
has five children.My Aunt Mary has five
children.

• In the first sentence, we learn some extra
  information about Mary, but it is not necessary.
  If we drop the clause, we get the main idea the
  speaker wanted to convey.
• My Aunt Mary who lives in Vancouver has five
  children.
• If you drop the commas from the first sentence,
  it suggests that the speaker has two aunts named
  Mary, one of whom lives in Vancouver.

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She was very shaken up by the accident, which
was understandable..

• In this sentence, the nonessential clause gives
  information about the entire main clause.
• Note that only one comma is used in this
  situation.

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NON ESSENTIAL CLAUSES RULES

• NONESSENTIAL CLAUSES ARE SET APART FROM THE MAIN
  CLAUSE BY COMMAS. ONLY ONE COMMA IS NEEDED IF THE
  CLAUSE IS AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE.
• YOU CANNOT USE THE WORD THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF
  A NONESSENTIAL CLAUSE.

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THIS POWERPOINT PRESENTATION HAS BEEN BROUGHT
TO YOU COURTESY OF YOUR TEACHER, CAROL LAKOFF