Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses
Q : What are the relative clauses?
A: They are the dependent clauses that are basically used as adjectives to modify nouns.
Q : What do the relative clauses grammatically begin with?
A : Grammatically, they begin with the relative pronouns.
Q : How many types can the relative clauses technically be divided into?
A : Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses
Relative Pronouns
Form: [ Sub + v + noun + relative pronoun + (sub) + V ………]
- That : people and things
- Where : places
- When : times
- Who : people
- Whom : people (object)
- Whose : people (possession)
- Which : things and animals
- Why : reasons
- Chocolate, which many people adore, is fattening.
- People who are smart follow the rules.
- I can remember the time when cell phones didn't exist.
- Charlie has a friend whose daughter lives in China.
- The wine that vintners produce in Tuscany is not cheap.
- The reason why Sandra went to law school is that she didn't want to be a doctor.
Defining Relative clause
Defining relative clause is used to give essential information to the noun preceding it. Without a defining relative clause the sentence will not make a complete sense. See the examples below.
This is the book that has a lot of helpful English grammar lessons.
Let's break down the complex sentence above. As we can clearly see that there are two clauses in the example. The first clause is : This is the book, the second clause is : that has a lot of helpful English grammar lessons.
"that has a lot of helpful English grammar lessons.." is the defining relative clause that gives essential information to the noun "book" it tells us more about the book. If we remove the defining relative clause, the sentence "This is the book." It means that a general book not a cat, or dog or a pen.
Defining Relative Clause ជាប្រយោគដែលយើងប្រើប្រាស់ដើម្បីផ្តល់ពត៍មានសំខាន់ ជាក់ទៅកាន់នាមដែលនៅខាងមុខវា ដូនក្នុងឧទាហរណ៍ខាងលើ ប្រសិនបើយើងលប់ DRC ចោលនោះ ប្រយោគទាំងមួលប្រែរថា ៖ This is the book. នេះជាសៀវភៅ យើងមិនដឹងថាជសៀភៅអ្វីអោយជាក់ទាក់ទេ វាគ្រាន់តែជាសៀភៅទូរទៅ១ក្បាលប៉ុណ្ណោះ។ ប៉ុន្តែនៅពេលដែលយើង ដាក់ DRC ចូលប្រយោគទាំងមូលមានន័យគ្រប់គ្រាន់៖ នេះជាសៀវភៅដែលមានគន្លឹះមេរៀនវេយ្យាករណ៍អង់គ្លេសជាច្រើន។
- They’re the people who want to buy our house.
- Here are some cells which have been affected.
- They should give the money to somebody whom they think needs the treatment most.
Spoken English
In defining relative clauses we often use that instead of who, whom or which. This is very common in informal speaking:
- They’re the people that want to buy our house.
- Here are some cells that have been affected.
Which Vs that
Which and that can sometimes be confusing since they can be used alternatively in some cases but let's differentiate as below.
That
- It can only be used in Defining Relative Clause.
- It refers to things.
- It cannot be used to refer to people.
- It cannot be used after a comma
Which
- It cab be used in both Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clause.
- It can be used to to refer to things but no people.
- It can be used after a comma.
The relative pronoun can be the subject or the object of the verb:
- They’re the people who bought our house.
- They’re the people who she met at Jon’s party.
- Here are some cells which show abnormality
- Here are some cells which the researcher has identified.
No relative pronoun
We often leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of the verb:
- They’re the people she met at Jon’s party.
- Here are some cells the researcher has identified.
Warning:
In writing, we don’t use commas in defining relative clauses:
- This is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously.
- Not: This is a man, who takes his responsibilities seriously.
Non-Defining Relative Clause
Give extra information about the person or thing. It’s not essential to understand who or what is being referred to.
Non-Defining Relative Clause ប្រើដម្បីបន្ថែមពត៍មានទៅកាន់នាមដែលនៅខាងមុខវា។ វាជាពត៍មានបន្ថែមប៉ុណ្ណោះ វាមិនចាំបាច់ខ្លាំដូជ Defining Relative Clause ទេ។ យើងប្រើប្រាស់ សញ្ញាក្បាស ហើយជាទូទៅ នាមដែល NDRC ជានាមដែលជាក់លាក់ មានន័យថាវាជាឈ្មោះរបស់ មនុស្ស សត្វ ទីកន្លែង ឬជាអ្វីដែលអ្នកនិយាយ និងអ្នកស្តាប់ស្គាល់។
- Dara, who I work with, is also doing his own business.
- My eldest son, whose work takes him all over the world, is in Hong Kong at the moment.
- Angkor Wat, which is one of the wonders of the world, is visited by millions of tourists every year.
Defining or Non-Defining Relative clauses
Sometimes defining and non-defining relative clauses can look very similar but have different meanings.
- His brother, who works at the supermarket, is a friend of mine.
- (He has only one brother, and that brother works at the supermarket.)
- His brother who works at the supermarket is a friend of mine.
- (He has more than one brother. The one I’m talking about works at the supermarket.)
Normal and Formal Relative Clauses with Prepositions
A relative clause gives us more information about a person or thing.
When a relative clause contains a preposition, we can use two common structures:
- Normal / everyday English: the preposition comes at the end.
- Formal English: the preposition comes before whom or which.
Both structures usually have the same meaning.
1. Normal Relative Clauses
In normal everyday English, we usually put the preposition at the end of the relative clause.
Structure
person + who + subject + verb + preposition
thing + which/that + subject + verb + preposition
Examples
- The man who I work with is very friendly.
- The teacher who I talked to was helpful.
- The company that she works for is international.
- The house that they live in is very old.
- The book which I told you about is interesting.
This structure is very common in conversation and everyday English.
2. Formal Relative Clauses with Prepositions
In formal English, the preposition comes before the relative pronoun.
For people, we use whom.
For things, we use which.
Structure
preposition + whom + subject + verb
preposition + which + subject + verb
Examples
- The man with whom I work is very friendly.
- The teacher to whom I talked was helpful.
- The company for which she works is international.
- The house in which they live is very old.
- The book about which I told you is interesting.
This structure is more common in formal writing, such as academic, business, and official English.
3. Normal vs. Formal
Here are 10 examples showing both forms.
1. Work with
Normal:
The man who I work with is my friend.
Formal:
The man with whom I work is my friend.
2. Talk to
Normal:
The woman who I talked to was very helpful.
Formal:
The woman to whom I talked was very helpful.
3. Work for
Normal:
The company that she works for is very large.
Formal:
The company for which she works is very large.
4. Live in
Normal:
The house that I live in is small.
Formal:
The house in which I live is small.
5. Talk about
Normal:
The problem that we talked about was difficult.
Formal:
The problem about which we talked was difficult.
6. Sit on
Normal:
The chair which I sat on was uncomfortable.
Formal:
The chair on which I sat was uncomfortable.
7. Buy from
Normal:
The shop that I bought this phone from is near my house.
Formal:
The shop from which I bought this phone is near my house.
8. Depend on
Normal:
The person who we depend on is our manager.
Formal:
The person on whom we depend is our manager.
9. Learn from
Normal:
The teacher who I learned English from was very good.
Formal:
The teacher from whom I learned English was very good.
10. Study at
Normal:
The university that she studied at is famous.
Formal:
The university at which she studied is famous.
4. Easy Rule to Remember
Normal / Everyday English
who/which/that + ... + preposition
The man who I work with.
The house that I live in.
The company which she works for.
Formal English
preposition + whom/which + ...
The man with whom I work.
The house in which I live.
The company for which she works.
Important
Do not use who or that immediately after a preposition.
❌ The man with who I work.
❌ The man with that I work.
✅ The man with whom I work.
For normal English:
✅ The man who I work with.
Quick Comparison
Normal:
The person who I spoke to was the manager.
Formal:
The person to whom I spoke was the manager.
Normal:
The company that I work for is international.
Formal:
The company for which I work is international.
Normal:
The house that I live in is small.
Formal:
The house in which I live is small.
Remember:
Normal English → preposition at the end
Formal English → preposition before whom/which
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