Defining, non-defining and
reduced relative clauses
The Warehouse Madrid
Upper Intermediate Course
What are defining relative clauses?
• They tell you which person, thing, etc. the
writer or speaker is talking about
• The granddaughter, Alba Trueba, finds some
diaries that her grandmother Clara wrote 50
years earlier.
• John works at a shop that was once owned by
Benjamin Franklin.
Who (or that) for people
• People that (who) die early in the story often
appear as ghosts.
• Students who (that) study a lot usually have
better grades.
That (or which) for things
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the novel that
(which) made magical realism popular around
the world.
Her story of triumph over illness is one of the
few books which really inspires you.
Whose for possessives
• It tells the story of three generations of
women whose lives are changed by their
country’s politics.
Where for places
• This is a place where supernatural happenings
ea part of everyday life.
When for times
• The story takes place at a time when political
groups are battling for control of the country.
NO Commas!
• NO commas when we use defining relative
clauses.
Sometimes, we can omit…
• Who, that or which (when the words aren’t the
subject of the defining relative clause)
• It’s the novel that made magical realism popular
around the world.
– WE CANNOT OMIT THAT because THAT is the subject
of the relative clause
• She finds some diaries (that) her grandmother
Clara wrote 50 years earlier.
– As grandmother is the subject and that is the object of
the clause, in this case, we CAN omit it.
Don’t forget WHOSE
• We always need it in a defining relative clause.
We can usually leave out where…
• If we add a preposition at the end of the
relative clause.
– That’s the house where I was born.
– That’s the house I was born in.
What do non-defining relative clauses
do?
• Add extra non-essential information
– It tells the story of seven generations of the
Buendía family, who live in an isolated South
American village called Macondo.
In non-defining relative clauses…
• There’s no “that”
• We can’t leave out “who”, “which”, “whose”,
etc.
• We MUST use commas with non-defining
relative clauses.
Who or which can refer to a whole
clause
• The book has dozens of characters, which can
make the plot difficult to follow.
– “which” refers to the fact that the book has
dozens of characters
Reduced Relative Clauses
• When a defining relative clause contains…
– A continuous or passive verb form
– We can often leave out…
» Who
» That
» Which
» And the auxiliary
• Everyone (who is) living in the village suffers from
both insomnia and amnesia.
• The first novel (that was) written by the Chilean
author Isabel Allende
The Alchemist
• The Alchemist by the Brazilian author Paulo
Coelho is a story about following your dream. It’s
about a shepherd boy named Santiago, who
travels from his home in Spain to Egypt hoping to
find some treasure that (which) is buried near the
pyramids. He meets many people that (who) are
travelling along the same road, but nobody knows
where the treasure is hidden. However, Santiago
eventually meets the famous Alchemist, the only
man alive who (that) can turn lead into gold.
The Alchemist
• Finally, the time comes when Santiago realizes
that the treasure that (which) he’s been looking
for can only be found within himself. This powerful
tale, which has been translated into 61 languages,
has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Its
success helped Paulo Coelho, whose other books
include the Fifth Mountain and the Valkyries, to
become the best-selling Brazilian author who
(that) has ever lived.
#7
1. Yesterday I met a man who owned a bookshop.
2. This is the room where I wrote my first novel.
1. This is the room I wrote my first novel in.
3. Clive McCarthy, who writes biographies, was my
English teacher.
1. Clive McCarthy, who was my English teacher, writes
biographies.
4. That’s the woman whose first novel became a
best-seller.
5. I threw out some paperbacks that (which) I
hadn’t looked at in years.
#7
6. I lost my copy of The Alchemist which had been
signed by the author.
7. I found some old books which were hidden
behind a cupboard.