Explanation of relative clauses in English
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 7:00 am
Do you get confused with relative clauses in English? It's normal, they can be a little confusing at first, but we are going to explain them in a direct and clear way so that you can use them in your conversations fluently.
Let's learn
Use who, whom, whose, which and that
What are defining clauses and non defining clauses
When to use that
Practical examples and exercises
Whether you are a beginner or have an intermediate level of English, this article zalo database will help you clear up any confusion you may have about relative clauses . If you have any doubts about your level of English, you can quickly check it with this level test with instant results.
Get ready to expand your language skills and take your English proficiency to the next level. Are you ready? Let's start!
What is who, which, that… and all that?
First, let's explain what relative clauses are. It's easy, they are sentences that contain who, whom, whose, which and that.
Who, whom, whose, which and that are relative pronouns. They are used simply to join sentences or add additional information.
There are 2 types of relative clauses in English
These relative pronouns we just mentioned can be used in either a defining relative clause or a non - defining relative clause , depending on the context.
It's very easy:
When they exist to join sentences : Defining Relative Clauses
When they serve to add additional information : Non Defining Relative Clauses
Don't worry, we'll show you them one by one right now.
Defining Relative Clauses: Explanation
Let's choose who as an example. Now we're going to join two sentences with who :
Who= Who
The woman is my neighbor.
She works at the bakery.
→ The woman who works at the bakery is my neighbor.
You now have a Defining Relative Clause with who !
Non Defining Relative Clauses: Explanation
We can also find pronouns whose function is to offer additional information in the sentence. They usually come between commas and are very easy to identify. For example:
My brother, who lives in New York, is coming to visit us next week .
who lives in New York is an additional detail that we want to include in the sentence. We now have a Non Defining Relative Clause!
Who – Defining relative clauses
See more examples of who to join 2 sentences, i.e. defining relative clauses:
The teacher who taught me in high school is retiring this year. My
friend , who lives in Canada, is visiting me next month.
The doctor who treated me was very kind and professional.
The artist who painted this picture is very talented.
Who – Non Defining Relative Clauses
Now we are going to see who in sentences whose function is to add additional information, normally it comes between commas, that is, Non Defining Relative Clauses.
My friend , who lives in London, is coming to visit me next week. The
CEO , who was born in France, gave an inspiring speech at the conference.
Sarah , who is a talented singer, performed at the concert last night.
The cat, who always sleeps on the sofa, is very lazy.
What is who and how is it used?
Whom is used to refer to the person who is the recipient of the action in a sentence. It is more formal and you will use it when you are talking about someone who is the object of the action, not the one who performs it.
Here is an example of how to join two sentences with whom .
She met a person.
She admires him a lot.
→ She met a person whom she admires a lot.
Do you want to see more examples with whom ? You can ask the AI for them, we show you in this post how to use GPT chat to learn English.
Whom – Defining relative clauses
These sentences are Defining Relative Clauses , that is, they join 2 different sentences:
Let's learn
Use who, whom, whose, which and that
What are defining clauses and non defining clauses
When to use that
Practical examples and exercises
Whether you are a beginner or have an intermediate level of English, this article zalo database will help you clear up any confusion you may have about relative clauses . If you have any doubts about your level of English, you can quickly check it with this level test with instant results.
Get ready to expand your language skills and take your English proficiency to the next level. Are you ready? Let's start!
What is who, which, that… and all that?
First, let's explain what relative clauses are. It's easy, they are sentences that contain who, whom, whose, which and that.
Who, whom, whose, which and that are relative pronouns. They are used simply to join sentences or add additional information.
There are 2 types of relative clauses in English
These relative pronouns we just mentioned can be used in either a defining relative clause or a non - defining relative clause , depending on the context.
It's very easy:
When they exist to join sentences : Defining Relative Clauses
When they serve to add additional information : Non Defining Relative Clauses
Don't worry, we'll show you them one by one right now.
Defining Relative Clauses: Explanation
Let's choose who as an example. Now we're going to join two sentences with who :
Who= Who
The woman is my neighbor.
She works at the bakery.
→ The woman who works at the bakery is my neighbor.
You now have a Defining Relative Clause with who !
Non Defining Relative Clauses: Explanation
We can also find pronouns whose function is to offer additional information in the sentence. They usually come between commas and are very easy to identify. For example:
My brother, who lives in New York, is coming to visit us next week .
who lives in New York is an additional detail that we want to include in the sentence. We now have a Non Defining Relative Clause!
Who – Defining relative clauses
See more examples of who to join 2 sentences, i.e. defining relative clauses:
The teacher who taught me in high school is retiring this year. My
friend , who lives in Canada, is visiting me next month.
The doctor who treated me was very kind and professional.
The artist who painted this picture is very talented.
Who – Non Defining Relative Clauses
Now we are going to see who in sentences whose function is to add additional information, normally it comes between commas, that is, Non Defining Relative Clauses.
My friend , who lives in London, is coming to visit me next week. The
CEO , who was born in France, gave an inspiring speech at the conference.
Sarah , who is a talented singer, performed at the concert last night.
The cat, who always sleeps on the sofa, is very lazy.
What is who and how is it used?
Whom is used to refer to the person who is the recipient of the action in a sentence. It is more formal and you will use it when you are talking about someone who is the object of the action, not the one who performs it.
Here is an example of how to join two sentences with whom .
She met a person.
She admires him a lot.
→ She met a person whom she admires a lot.
Do you want to see more examples with whom ? You can ask the AI for them, we show you in this post how to use GPT chat to learn English.
Whom – Defining relative clauses
These sentences are Defining Relative Clauses , that is, they join 2 different sentences: