Defining and
Non-defining
Relative Clause
Prepared by Jason Wong
Defining Relative Clause
• The boy is dandy. (Which one?)
• c.f. The boy who likes blowing whistle
is dandy.
• If we don’t have the relative clause, we may not
know which boy the speaker is talking about.
Therefore, the underlined relative clause is ‘defining clause’.
Defining Relative Clause
• We use defining relative clause to define
which person or thing the speaker is
referring to.
• The clause is necessary. Otherwise, we
may not be able to figure out which person
or thing the speaker is talking about.
Defining or Non-defining?
• Compare these two sentences
The girl who has three brothers is my
classmate.
May, who has three brothers, is my
classmate.
Defining or Non-defining?
•
What are the differences?
1. Different subject
- ‘The girl’ vs. ‘May’
2. The use of commas (,) in the
second one
Defining or Non-defining?
• In the second sentence, the relative clause gives
extra information about the subject.
May is my classmate.
• Without the clause, we can still figure out who
(May) the subject is.
• Therefore, the first one is defining clause
whereas the second one is non-defining clause.
Defining or Non-defining?
• ‘May’ is a subject which is more explicit than ‘the
girl’.
• We usually use non-defining clause for more
explicit subjects. For example:
– Proper names (e.g. John, Mary, Sandy etc.)
– Subject with possessive adjectives (e.g. my, her, his,
their, our etc.)
– Demonstrative pronouns (e.g. this, that, those etc.)
Exercise Time
•
Try to join the sentences by using defining or
non-defining relative clause.
1.
My girlfriend has taught me a lot. She is a
teacher.
2.
The doctor is famous. He cured the Chief
Executive of pneumonia.
3.
The man runs 2 km every day. He is a fireman.
4.
My father is very hardworking. He is a
merchant.
5.
Jolin’s boyfriend asked for help. He is so
stupid.
6.
The boy sings sweetly. He has a good voice.
7.
The woman is Kelly Chan. She is a famous
singer.