Explanation of the use and rules, and opportunities for students to practise.

1. CRICOS 00111D
TOID 3069
Defining Relative
Clauses
GE3B week 9 day 2 AM

2. Student A: That girl is
my friend.
Student B: Um….which
girl?
Student A: The one with
long blonde hair.
Student B: Your friend is
the girl who/that has
long blonde hair.
Student A: That’s right!
Why use a defining relative clause?
It gives us ESSENTIAL ( REALLY important) information. Without the
defining relative clause we are not sure who or what is being spoken
about!

3. 
My friend is the woman who
has (got) long blonde hair.

4. 
My friend is the man who is
wearing glasses.

5. 
My friend is the woman whose
hair is curly.

6. 
My brother is the man who is
sitting on the right.

7. 
The man that I saw yesterday was angry.
That is the man whose wife I work with.
It is something which requires electricity.
The woman that owns this dog is my doctor.
The day when I first arrived in Melbourne was
scary.
Australia is the country where I now live.
How many verbs does each sentence have?
Look at these sentences

8. 
The man who* I saw yesterday was angry.
That is the man whose wife I work with.
It is something which requires electricity.
The woman that owns that dog is my doctor.
The day when I first arrived in Melbourne was
scary.
Australia is the country where I now live.
Each sentence is made of two clauses.
They all have two verbs
* We should say WHOM I saw but that sounds too formal.

9. 
The man who I saw yesterday was angry.
That is the man whose wife I work with.
It is something which requires electricity.
The woman that has a dog is my doctor.
The day when* I first arrived in Melbourne was scary.
Australia is the country where* I live.
- A relative pronoun replaces a noun (subject or object) and joins two
sentences.
- where replaces there or here
- when replaces a time phrase or adverb
Relative Pronouns

10. 
A relative clause MUST immediately follow the
person/thing that it is defining and will start with one
of the following relative pronouns:
Relative Pronouns
Pronoun Use
Which Thing
Who Person – subject
Whom Person – Object
Whose Possession
Where Place
When Time
That Instead of which/who

11. 
The information is essential (REALLY important!). Without it we
cannot understand who or what is being talked about. You cannot
remove it from the sentence.
- I like the man who* I met yesterday.
‘That’ can replace the relative pronoun (though not whose).
- I like the man that I met yesterday
The relative pronoun can be left out only if it is the object of the
relative clause.
- I like the man that I met yesterday.
No commas around the defining relative clause.
Defining relative Clause
* We should say WHOM I met yesterday but that sounds too formal.

12. 
REMEMBER: The relative pronoun can be left out if it is
the object of the relative clause.
• I like the man that I met yesterday.
• That has a meaning – it means ‘the man’. It is replacing
these two words so that we don’t have to be repetitive.
Here are the two sentences that we have joined
• I like the man. I met the man yesterday.
‘The man’ is the object of the sentences.
Defining relative Clause

13. 
There is a new BTS song. You will like it.
Join these two sentences.
Using relative pronouns

14. 
There is a new BTS song which /that you will like.
- Which (or that) means the ‘pop song’ so we
don’t need it.
Can we leave out the relative pronoun?
Is this correct?
There is a new pop song you will like.
WHICH
YES!

15. 
1. I found the keys. You were looking for them.
2. We watched a movie. They filmed it in New
Zealand.
3. I can see an animal. The animal has big ears.
4. I forgot the book. Karina wanted to read it.
WHICH or THAT: Join the two sentences.

16. 
1. I found the keys which/that you were looking for.
2. We watched a movie which/that they filmed in New Zealand.
3. I can see an animal which/that has big ears.
4. I forgot the book which/that Karina wanted to read.
That can replace which in all sentences. In fact that sounds more
natural!
In which sentences can we leave out the relative pronoun?
WHICH or THAT
Answers
#1 #2 and #4! keys, movie and book are all OBJECTS of the relative clause.

17. 
1. I found the keys which you were looking for.
2. We watched a movie which was filmed in New Zealand.
3. I can see an animal which has big ears.
4. I forgot the book which Karina wanted to read.
WHICH
Answers
In #1 #2 #4KEYS and BOOK are the objects of the
relative clause.

18. 
The children are my
grandchildren. They came
this morning.
WHO: Join these two sentences

19. 
The children who came this morning are my
grandchildren.
The children that came this morning are my
grandchildren.
Can we leave out the relative pronoun?
Is this correct?
The children came this morning are my grandchildren.
WHO
NO! The children = the subject of the relative clause

20. 
1. The man died yesterday. He was my neighbour.
The man who died yesterday was my neighbour.
2. The police spoke to the people. The people live next door.
The police spoke to the people who live next door.
3. The woman had pink hair. I saw her last night.
The woman who* I last night saw had pink hair.
4. She is the runner. She won last night.
She is a l runner who won last night.
WHO: join the two sentences

21. 
1. The man who died yesterday was my neighbour.
2. The police spoke to the people who live next door.
3. The woman who I saw had pink hair.
4. She is the runner who won last night.
That can replace who in all sentences.
In which ones can we leave out the relative pronoun only (no other
change)?
WHO
Answers
#3 In #3 The woman is the object of the relative clause.