Defining and non-defining relative clauses are summarized as follows: 1) Defining relative clauses provide essential information to the meaning of the sentence and are not separated by commas. Non-defining clauses provide additional information and are separated by commas. 2) Examples of defining relative clauses are given using who, that, which to refer to people, things, and places. Non-defining examples also use who, which, that but are set off by commas. 3) Key differences between defining and non-defining clauses are outlined, such as defining clauses being essential to the sentence meaning while non-defining clauses provide extra information.

1. DEFINING and NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
DEFINING and NON-DEFINING CLAUSES
Look at the highlighteddefiningrelative clausesanditalicizednon-definingrelative clausesinthe text.Then match the
ruleswith the sample relative clauses from the text.
One HundredYears of Solitude bythe ColombianauthorGabriel GarciaMarquezis the
novel thatmade magical realismpopulararoundthe world. Ittellsthe storyof seven
generationsof theBuendia family,who live in an isolated South American villagecalled
Macondo.Thisis aplace where supernatural happeningsare partof everydaylife—atone
pointeveryone inthe village suffersfrombothinsomniaandamnesia.Manycharactersalso
have magical qualities. Oneman,whosegirlfriend isthe mostbeautifulgirl even born,isalwaysfollowedby
hundredsof butterflies,and people whodie earlyinthe story oftenreturn asghosts. The bookhasdozensof
characters,which can make theplot difficultto follow,but a familytree helpsyouworkoutwho’srelatedto
who.This brilliant novel,which is based on Marquez’schildhood memories,hassoldovertenmillioncopies
worldwide.
Rules Defining Non-defining
1. It givesnecessaryinformation.Withoutthisinformation,the meaningof
the sentence isincomplete.
2. It is separatedfrom the restof the sentence bycommas.
3. It givesadditional informationaboutsomeone orsomething.
4. It doesnot define athing.It referstothe whole sentence instead.
5.It isnot separatedfromthe restof the sentencesbycommas
6. We cannot use that insteadof who orwhich inthisclause.
7. We can’t leave outthe relative pronouninthisclause.

2. DEFINING and NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
C. Sort out all definingand non-definingrelative clausesinthe followingtext.
The House of the Spiritswasthe firstnovel thatwaswrittenbythe ChileanauthorIsabel
Allende.Ittellsthe storyof three generationsof womenwhoselivesare changedbytheir
country’spolitics.The women’sstory,whichtakesplace inanunnamedSouthAmerican
country,beginswhenthe granddaughter,AlbaTrueba,findssome diariesthather
grandmotherClarawrote 50 yearsearlier.
As a child,Clararealizes she cansee the future andisable to predictalmosteveryeventinherlife.She
marriesa powerful landownernamedEstebanTrueba, whobuildsheralarge house inthe country.The house is
full of ghostsand spirits,whichadviseClaraonhow to deal with familyproblems.The storytakesplace ata time
whenpolitical groupsare fightingforcontrol of the country – a fightthat endsina bloodycoupand political chaos.
Thisfamousnovel,whichbeganasa lettertothe author’sdyinggrandfather,isconsideredaclassicof the magical
realismgenre.
D. Fill in the gaps with who, which,that …etc.Add commas where necessary.
The Alchemistbythe BrazilianauthorPauloCoelhoisastoryabout following yourdream.It’s
abouta shepherdboynamedSantiago 1……………… travelsfromhishome inSpainto Egypt
hopingtofindsome treasure 2………………… is buriednearthe Pyramids.He meetsmany
people 3……………………….. are travellingalongthe same road,butnobodyknows the place
4…………………… the treasure ishidden.However,Santiagoeventuallymeetsthe famousAlchemist
5……………………… can turnleadintogold.
Finally,the time comeswhen Santiagorealisesthatthe treasure 6…………………………. he’sbeenlookingfor
can onlybe foundwithinhimself.Thispowerful tale 7…………………..has beentranslatedinto61 languages,has
soldover30 millioncopiesworldwide. ItssuccesshelpedPauloCoelho 8…………………… otherbooksinclude The
FifthMountainandThe Valkyriestobecome the best-selling author 9……………….. haseverlived.

3. DEFINING and NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
SUMMARY: DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSION
PEOPLE who/that who/ whom / that/ whose
She’sthe woman who/that
livesnextdoor
She’sthe woman
(who/whom/ that) I saw on
TV last night.
She’sthe woman whose car
was stolenlast night.
THINGS/
ANIMALS
which/that which/that whose
I don’twant a car
which/that breaks down
all the time.
Thisis the house (which/that)
we bought.
That’s the shop whose
windowswere smashed.
That’s the kindof dog
which/ that makesa good
pet
It’sthe kindof dog
(which/that) I’d like to have.
That’s the dogwhose owner
was arrested
PLACE
That’s the spotwhere the statue will be built
TIME
That was the yearwhen I graduated.
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
SUBJECT OBJECT POSSESSION
PEOPLE who who/ whom whose
His wife, who is French, speaks
three languages.
His wife, who/whom I met in
Paris, is French.
His wife, whose car was
stolen, called the police.
THINGS/
ANIMALS
which which whose
Her book, which was
published in 2011,is
brilliant.
Her book, which I read last week,
is brilliant.
Her book, whose title I can’t
remember,has already sold
thousands of copies.
His dog, which looked very
friendly, was huge.
His dog, which I hadn’t seen until
then, was huge.
His dog, whose name was
Spot, was huge.
PLACE
Lyon, where my dad grew up, is a bigcity.
TIME
I met Fred in 2010,when I moved to York.

4. DEFINING and NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
ANSWER KEY
Rules Defining Non-defining
1. It givesnecessaryinformation.Withoutthisinformation, the meaning
of the sentence isincomplete.
✓
2. It is separatedfromthe restof the sentence bycommas. ✓
3. It givesadditional informationaboutsomeone orsomething. ✓
4. It doesnot define athing.It referstothe whole sentence instead. ✓
5.It isnot separatedfromthe restof the sentencesbycommas ✓
6. We cannot use that insteadof who orwhich inthisclause. ✓
7. We can’t leave outthe relative pronouninthisclause. ✓
The House of the Spirits was the firstnovel that was written by the Chilean author Isabel Allende.It
tells the story of three generations of women whose lives arechanged by their country’s politics.The
women’s story, which takes place in an unnamed South American country, begins when the
granddaughter, Alba Trueba, finds some diaries thather grandmother Clara wrote 50 years earlier.
As a child,Clara realizes shecan seethe future and is ableto predictalmostevery event in her life.
She marries a powerful landowner named Esteban Trueba, who builds her a large house in the country. The house is full of
ghosts and spirits, which advise Clara on how to deal with family problems. The story takes placeat a time when political groups
are fightingfor control of the country – a fight that ends in a bloody coup and political chaos.This famous novel, which began as
a letter to the author’s dying grandfather, is considered a classicof the magical realismgenre.
The Alchemist by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho is a story aboutfollowingyour dream. It’s about a
shepherd boy named Santiago 1…, who…………… travels fromhis home in Spain to Egypt hopingto find
some treasure 2……which/that…………… is buried near the Pyramids.He meets many people
3………who/that……….. aretravellingalongthe same road,but nobody knows the place
4…………where………… the treasure is hidden.However, Santiago eventually meets the famous Alchemist 5……, who…………………
can turn lead into gold.
Finally,thetime comes when Santiago realizes that the treasure 6…………that/which/---………………. he’s been looking
for can only be found within himself.This powerful tale 7………, which………….. has been translated into 61 languages,has sold
over 30 million copiesworldwide.Its success helped Paulo Coelho 8…… ,whose ……………… other books includeThe Fifth
Mountain and The Valkyries,to become the best-selling author 9…………that/who…….. has ever lived.