Defining and Non-defining Relative Clause

Defining relative clause

Defining relative clauses define or identify the noun. This clause is necessary to make the meaning of a sentence
clear. Defining relative clause never preceded by a comma.

 We can use who, that or which as the subject or object of the verb in the relative clause. But we normally omit
who or which or that when it is the object in a defining relative clause.

Example:

That’s the car he sold me. (Without)

That’s the car which he sold me. (With)
I don’t like the dress Marta is wearing. (Without)
I don’t like the dress that Marta is wearing. (With)
We can also omit who, which or that when it is the object of a preposition in defining relative clause.
Example: He hit the man. His girlfriend was dancing with him.

- He hit the man his girlfriend was dancing with.

- He hit the man that his girlfriend was dancing with.
The man is a guard. The police arrested the man yesterday.

In the first sentence ‘the man’ is in the subjective case while ‘the man’ in the second sentence is in the objective
case. Thus when we join them in to one sentence by using relative pronouns, we will focus on the sentence that is
made in to the relative clause.
The man whom the police arrested yesterday is a guard.

In this sentence, the italicized clause is a relative clause and the man for this clause is an object. So we can omit the
man from the relative clause because it is in the objective case.

The man the police arrested yesterday is a guard. (whom omitted)

We can use whom instead of who when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause.
Eg. He hit the man whom they arrested yesterday.
We can also use preposition + which or whom. If we omit the relative pronoun in these case, the preposition goes
to the end of the sentence.
Eg. He bought the bed in which queen Zewditu had slept.
He bought the bed queen Zewditu had slept in.
He met the man with whom he argued.
He met the man he argued with.

Non-defining relative clause

Non-defining relative clause is a clause that is not necessary to make the meaning of a sentence clear. We use
comma to set off non-essential clauses.

- We don’t use ‘that’ in non-defining relative clauses.

- We cannot omit who, whom, which and whose in extra information clauses.
Example:
- My father, who went to America, has just come back.
- Love, which is a wonderful experience, comes to everyone once in life.
- Gambling, which is a bad habit, is popular with some people.
- The cook, whose food is delicious, is very fat.
- Addis Ababa, which is a capital city of Ethiopia, is home for African Unity.
Exercise A: Combine the following pair of sentences using non defining relative clause. The first one is given
for you as an example.
1) Penicillin has saved a lot of lives. Alexander Fleming discovered it.
2) The Parthenon is very famous. The Greeks built it.
3) I gave some medicine to the man. His wife is sick.
4) She gave some roses. The roses have died.
5) I saw the film. You recommended it.
6) The photo is beautiful. You are looking at it.
7) The hotel is very comfortable. We are staying in it.
8) We ate the dinner. Eyob had prepared it.
9) She wore the ring. Her boyfriend gave it to her.
Exercise B: Add relative pronoun where necessary.
1) God help those…………… help themselves.
God help those who help themselves.
2) The dinner ……………… she cooked was delicious.
3) Pass me the magazine ………………. is on the shelf, please.
4) I’m reading the book ……………….. my teacher lent me.
5) Let’s visit the church ……………… we got married.