Relative clauses
It is also called
“Adjective clauses”.
e.g. I thanked the woman who helped me.
(main clause)
(relative clause)
A relative/ adjective clause
 must be joined to the main clause
 describes the noun
 begins with a relative pronoun (which,
who, whom, whose, that)
 placed in a sentence right after the noun
we describe
The park is beautiful which is next to our
school.
Is it correct?
No!
which = the park
The park which is next to our school
is beautiful.
Relative pronouns
Which = things/ animals
Who = people in subject position
Whom = people in object position
Whose = possession of somebody
= my, his, her, your, their, our
That = people & things
(not used in non-defining relative clauses)
Two types of relative clauses
1. Defining relative clauses
e.g. The boy who is talking with John is the head
prefect in my school.
 a general noun (not clear which one we are
talking about
 an important piece of information to identify
the noun we describe
 No comma(s) to separate it from the main clause
Two types of relative clauses
2. Non-defining relative clauses
e.g. My second son, who is very lovely, is only
10 months old.
Cheuk Him, who is very lovely, is only
10 months old.
 a specific noun (very clear which one we are
talking about
 give extra information about the noun
 must be separated from the rest of the sentence
by comma(s).
Is it a defining/ non-defining
relative clause?
(a) I thanked the woman who/ that helped me.
(b) I thanked my mother, who helped me clean
my bedroom. (x that)
(c)The girl who/that has three brothers is her
parents’ favourite.
(d) May, who has three brothers, is her
parents’ favourite. (x that)
Is it a defining/ non-defining
relative clause?
(e) My BMW, which I bought last year,
needs a tune-up. (x that)
(f) Hawaii, which consists of eight islands,
is a favorite vacation spot. (x that)
(g) The box which/that I gave to Maria
contains an expensive gift.
Relative pronoun: which
The book "Alien" is mine. It is on the table.
Underline the common words in both sentences
The book "Alien" is mine. It is on the table.
Relative pronoun: which
The movie wasn’t very good. We saw it last
night.
The movie wasn’t very good. We saw it last
night.
 The movie which/ that we saw last night
wasn’t very good.
Exercise:
The dictionary is useful. I bought it from
English.

Exercise:
The dictionary is useful. I bought it from
England.
The dictionary is useful. I bought it from
England.
 The dictionary which I bought from
England is useful.
Relative pronoun: who (subject)
I thanked my mother. She helped me clean
my bedroom.
I thanked my mother. She helped me clean
my bedroom.
I thanked my mother,
who helped me clean my bedroom.
Exercise:
My brother is often punished by the teacher.
He is lazy and naughty.

Exercise:
My brother is often punished by the teacher.
He is lazy and naughty.
 My brother is often punished by the
teacher. He is lazy and naughty.
 My brother, who is lazy and naughty, is
often punished by the teacher.
Relative pronoun: whom (object)
The man was friendly. I met him yesterday.
The man was friendly. I met him yesterday.
 The man whom I met yesterday was
friendly.
(x) The man whom I met him yesterday was
friendly.
Exercise:
The boy is my brother. You beat him
yesterday.

Exercise:
The boy is my brother. You beat him
yesterday.
The boy is my brother. You beat him
yesterday.
 The boy whom you beat yesterday is my
brother.
Relative pronoun: whose
I know the man. His bicycle was stolen.
I know the man. His bicycle was stolen.
Exercise:
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken
English is excellent.

Exercise:
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken
English is excellent.
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken
English is excellent.
 Fiona, whose spoken English is
excellent, is a flight attendant.
More exercises:
1. The taxi driver was friendly. He took me to the
airport.
2. I liked the composition. You wrote it.
3. The Lee family is very nice. We visited them
last summer.
4. The man is standing over there. I mentioned
him to you.
5. My father called the police. His wallet was
stolen.
6. The problem is difficult to solve. We are facing
it.
More exercises:
1. The taxi driver was friendly. He took me to the
airport.
2. I liked the composition. You wrote it.
3. The Lee family is very nice. We visited them
last summer.
4. The man is standing over there. I mentioned
him to you.
5. My father called the police. His wallet was
stolen.
6. The problem is difficult to solve. We are facing
it.
More exercises (Answers)
1. The taxi driver who took me to the airport was
friendly.
2. I liked the composition which you wrote.
3. The Lee family, whom we visited last summer, is
very nice.
4. The man whom I mentioned to you is standing
over there.
5. My father, whose wallet was stolen, called the
police.
6. The problem which we are facing is difficult to
solve.
Choose a suitable relative
pronoun
A man whose job is to read the news on TV
is called a news presenter.
Irene Tang, whom I have known for ten
years, is going to get married soon.
Tom, who has a handsome look, is my
elder brother.
whose + noun
whom + subj
who + verb
Writing classroom rules for
F.3B
Who will get awards? Who will be punished?
Group A1, B1, C1
Group A2, B2, C2
Writing classroom rules for
F.3B
Who will get awards?
Who will be punished?
If you hand in your
homework on time, you
will get a small gift.
If you forget to bring your
textbooks, you will be
deducted 5 marks.
 The students who
hand in their
homework on time
will get a small gift.
 The students who
forget to bring their
textbooks will be
deducted 5 marks.
Writing classroom rules for
F.3B
Who will get awards?
The students who hand
in their homework on
time will get a small gift.
Who will be punished?
The students who forget
to bring their textbooks
will be deducted 5 marks.