Relative clauses 4
Preknowledge
In the following examples the relative clauses tell us (DEFINE) which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means:
- The students who live next door are very noisy.
- Jesus works for a company that makes cars.
- Have you found the keys (that) you lost?
However, not all relative clauses are like this. There are relative clauses to give extra information (NON-DEFINING)
- Tom's father, who is 78, goes swimming every day.
- The house at the end of the street, which has been empty for two years, has just been sold.
In these relative clauses (who is 78 and which has been empty for two years) do not tell us which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which person or thing is mean: 'Tom's father' and 'the house at the end of the street.' The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing.
In these "extra information" relative clauses you have to use are who for people and which for things. You cannot use that, and you cannot leave out who or which. Besides you have to put commas (,) at the beginning and at the end of the clause. You can also use whose, whom, and where in non-defining relative clauses.
- Mr. Gomez, who has worked for the same company all his life, is retiring next month.
- The strike at the car factory, which lasted ten days, is now over.
- Martin, whose mother is Spanish, speaks both Spanish and English fluently.
- Mr. Gonzalez is going to Canada, where his son has been living for five years.
Re write the sentences
Write these sentences again, giving extra information in a relative clause. Sometimes the relative clause is in the middle of the sentence, sometimes at the end. Use the sentence in parenteses to make your relative clause.
Examples: Yesterday I met John. (He told me he was getting married)
Yesterday I met John, who told me he was getting married.
Tim's mother goes swimming every day. (Tim's mother is 78)
Tim's mother, who is 78, goes swimming every day.
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