Defining Clause and Non-defining clause A Complete Guide | Relative Clauses

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Defining Clause and Non-defining clause

Relative Clause

The Clause which refers back to a "noun" or "pronoun" is called a "Relative Clause". Since it describes a noun or a pronoun, it is treated as adjective clause.

Relative clauses are generally introduced by relative pronouns or relative adverbs.

Relative Pronouns

	Subject	Object	Possessive
For Persons	Who / That	Who / Whom / That	Whose
For Things	Which / That	Which / That	Whose / Which

For Example

The pen which I bought is very expensive.

The man who is standing at the gate is my English teacher.

The car that I bought runs on electricity and gas.

The woman whose son you met yesterday is our science teacher.

Note: In the above sentences the underlined parts are called Relative Clause.

Relative Adverbs

Where	Place
When	Time
Why	Reason

Let's look at the three Relative Adverbs. Each one has its own role:

"Where" introduces an adjective clause describing a place.

This is the house where I grew up.

"When" introduces an adjective clause describing a time.

I remember the day when we first met.

"Why" introduces an adjective clause describing a reason.

Tell me why you came home late.

There are two kinds of Relative Clauses. They are:

1. Defining Relative Clause

2. Non-Defining Relative Clause

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1. Defining Relative Clause

A Defining Relative Clause defines which noun we are talking about. The information is essential in order to understand what or who is being referred to. A defining relative clause usually comes soon after the noun it describes. We use a Relative Pronoun (e.g. who, that, which, whose and whom) to introduce a Defining Relative Clause.

For example

The man who is a famous poet is our English teacher.

The noise that my son made woke everybody up.

Note: In the above sentences the underlined parts are called the Relative Clause.

1.    Defining Relative Clauses usually follow "the + noun" but they can also be used with "a/ an +noun", plural nouns without “the” and the pronouns all, none, anybody, somebody and those.

2.    Clauses following a/an + noun, plural noun, plural noun without “the” and somebody/ someone/ something sometimes define their noun/ pronoun indirectly. In this case, the noun/ pronoun is usually the object of a verb or preposition.

2. Non-defining clauses

We use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing. It is not essential information to understand the sentence.

Note: These Clauses do not try to identify which person or thing we mean. We already know which person or thing is meant.

Note: A Non-defining Relative Clause is preceded and followed by a comma or a hyphen.

For example

My mother, who is 65, has just retired.

Sindu, whose daughter goes to this college, has just won the lottery.

Note: In the above sentences the underlined parts are called the Non-Relative Clause.

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English Grammar Exercises 

Read Class 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 English Lessons Summaries

Grammar Mcq Questions

Read the following sentences and circle the Non-defining Relative Clauses and put a comma / a hyphen wherever necessary.

1. The people who live in glass houses must not throw stones.

2. The meeting which was held in the town hall was a great success.

3. Teachers who have taught Abhiram to say that he is an exceptionally creative student.

4. Napoleon who won the French honour died at St. Helena.

5. Silk sarees which are made in Banares are popular all over the world.

 

Combine the following sentences using relative pronouns.

1. Raju gave a long and boring speech. He won the best Prize.

Ans: __________________________________________________________.

2. Ramanna wants to open new stores in China. It does business all over the world.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

3. Social network sites will definitely change business. They are very popular.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

4. Scientists are working with stem cells. Stem cells will revolutionize medicine.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

5. Last week, Jim Taylor interviewed Sally Thomson. She is my neighbour.

Ans: __________________________________________________________.

6. Mr. Brown has been invited to join our club. He enjoys going to the theatre.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

7. The House is an important local monument. It was built in 1856.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

8. P.C. Sarkar signed autographs at Taj yesterday. He's a famous musician.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

9. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. He was president of the USA.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

10. The Queen will open a new hospital. It is in Jarvis Street.

Ans: ___________________________________________________________.

 

Answers

1. Raju, who won the Nobel Prize, gave a long and boring speech.

2. Ramanna, who does business all over the world, wants to open new stores in China.

3. Social network sites, which are very popular, will definitely change business.

4. Scientists are working with stem cells, which will revolutionize medicine.

5. Last week, Jim Taylor interviewed Sally Thomson, who is my neighbour.

6. Mr Brown, who enjoys going to the theatre, has been invited to join our club.

7. The House, which was built in 1856, is an important local monument.

8. P.C. Sarkar, who is a famous musician, signed autographs at Taj. yesterday.

9. John F. Kennedy, who was president of The USA, was assassinated in 1963.

10 The Queen will open a new hospital, which is in Jarvis Street.

 

Combine the following sentences using Relative Clauses.

1. Victoria is a precocious girl. She is ten years old. (Combine the sentences with 'Who')

2. This is the man. He stole your bag. (Combine the sentences with 'Who')

3. The puppies belong to the woman. She is my neighbour. (Combine the sentences with 'Who')

4. Spoorthy is a bank officer. She studied in our school. (Combine the sentences with 'Who')

5. IIT Kanpur is the best engineering college. It was established by the Government of    India. (Combine the sentences with 'Which')

6. The concert was held in the Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram. It was an excellent

program. (Combine the sentences with 'Which')

7. Nick has a small foot on his left hip. It helps him a lot. (Combine the sentences with 'Which')

8. This is the gold watch. Our father promised it to our Jimmy. (Combine the sentences with 'That')

 9. This is the new car. It uses water as its fuel. (Combine the sentences with 'That')

 10. English is a foreign language. It can be learnt easily. (Combine the sentences with 'That')