Defining Relative Clauses
Introduction
Defining relative clauses (also called restrictive clauses) give us essential information to identify which person or thing we're talking about. Without this information, the sentence wouldn't make complete sense!
Example: "Dogs that like cats are very unusual."
In this sentence, we're not talking about all dogs - only the specific ones that like cats. The relative clause defines which dogs we mean.
Important: Don't use commas with defining relative clauses!
What Are They Made Of?
A defining relative clause contains:
- A relative pronoun (who, which, that, etc. - sometimes omitted)
- A verb
- Other elements (subject, object, etc.)
Examples
- Children who hate chocolate are uncommon.
- They live in a house whose roof is full of holes.
- An elephant is an animal that lives in hot countries.
- Sri Lanka is a country where the sun shines most of the year.
- The reason why I came here today is not important.
Relative Pronouns
The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns appear at the start of the defining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the sentence.
| Person | Thing | Place | Time | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | who | which | |||
| that | that | ||||
| -- | |||||
| Object | who | which | where | when | why |
| whom | that | ||||
| that | |||||
| -- | |||||
| Possessive | whose | whose |
Replacing with "that" in spoken English
The pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English. whom is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who or that instead, or omit the pronoun completely. In the examples below, the common usage is given with the defining relative clause highlighted. The pronoun that would be used in more formal written English instead of that is given in parentheses.
Examples
- The dish that I ordered was delicious. (which)
- The man that came with her has already left. (who)
- I couldn't see the doctor that I was hoping to see. (whom)
Including or omitting the relative pronoun
The relative pronoun can only be omitted when it is the object of the verb in the clause. When the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause, it cannot be omitted. You can usually tell when a relative pronoun is the object of the verb in the clause because it is followed by another subject + verb. See below, in the first sentence the relative pronoun cannot be omitted because it is the subject of the relative clause ("the woman spoke"). In the second sentence, the pronoun can be omitted because "the woman" is the object of the verb "loved".
Examples
- The woman that spoke at the meeting was very knowledgeable.
- The woman (that) Mr Watson loved was living in London.
Other uses of "that"
that is often used to introduce defining relative clauses when they follow the words something, anything, everything, nothing, all or a superlative. It may be omitted when it is not the subject of the clause.
Examples
- There's something (that) you should know.
- It was the best film (that) I've ever seen.
- Do you have anything that will help my throat?
- Everything (that) you say seems silly to me.
- Nothing (that) anyone does can replace my lost bag.
- I'm sorry, but that is all (that) I saw.