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Unit 95 · Relative clauses

Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)

Study

A

There are two types of relative clause. In these examples, the relative clauses are underlined.

Compare:

Type 1 Type 2
The woman **who lives next door to me** is a doctor. My brother Ben, **who lives in Hong Kong**, is an architect.
Grace works for a company **that makes furniture**. Anna told me about her new job, **which she's enjoying a lot**.
We stayed at the hotel **(that) you recommended**. We stayed at the Park Hotel, **which a friend of ours recommended**.

In these examples, the relative clauses tell you which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means:

›

'The woman who lives next door to me' tells us which woman.

›

'A company that makes furniture' tells us what kind of company.

›

'The hotel (that) you recommended' tells us which hotel.

We do not use commas (,) with these clauses:

›

We know a lot of people who live in London.

In these examples, the relative clauses do not tell you which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which thing or person is meant: 'My brother Ben', 'Anna's new job' and 'the Park Hotel'.

The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing.

We use commas (,) with these clauses:

›

My brother Ben, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.

B

In both types of relative clause we use who for people and which for things. But:

Type 1 Type 2
You can use **that**: You cannot use **that**:
Do you know anyone **who/that** speaks French and Italian? John, **who** speaks French and Italian, works as a tour guide. (not **that** speaks)
Grace works for a company **which/that** makes furniture. Anna told me about her new job, **which** she's enjoying a lot.
You can leave out **who/which/that** when it is the object (see Unit 93): You cannot leave out **who** or **which**:
We stayed at the hotel **(that/which) you recommended**. We stayed at the Park Hotel, **which** a friend of ours recommended.
This morning I met somebody **(who/that) I hadn't seen for ages**. This morning I met Chris, **who** I hadn't seen for ages.
We do not often use **whom** in this type of clause (see Unit 94B). You can use **whom** for people (when it is the object):
This morning I met Chris, **whom** I hadn't seen for ages.
C

In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where:

We helped some people **whose** car had broken down. Lisa, **whose** car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.
What's the name of the place **where** you went on holiday? Kate has just been to Sweden, **where** her daughter lives.

Exercises (3)

0/3 exercises checked
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95.1

Make one sentence from two. Use the information in brackets to make a relative clause (Type 2). You will need to use who/whom/whose/which/where.

  1. 1
    Catherine is very friendly. (She lives next door to us.)
    Catherine, who lives next door to us, is very friendly.example
  2. 2
    We stayed at the Park Hotel. (A friend of ours recommended this hotel.)
    We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.example
  3. 3
    We drove to the airport. (The airport was not far from the city.)
  4. 4
    Kate's husband is an airline pilot. (I have never met Kate's husband.)
  5. 5
    Lisa is away from home a lot. (Lisa's job involves a lot of travelling.)
  6. 6
    Paul and Emily have a daughter, Alice. (Alice has just started school.)
  7. 7
    The new stadium will hold 90,000 spectators. (The stadium will be finished next month.)
  8. 8
    My brother lives in Alaska. (Alaska is the largest state in the US.)
  9. 9
    Our teacher was very kind. (I have forgotten her name.)
  10. 10
    We enjoyed our visit to the museum. (We saw a lot of interesting things in the museum.)
95.2

Read the information and complete the sentences. Use a relative clause of Type 1 or Type 2. Use commas where necessary.

  1. 1
    My brother is an architect. (He lives in Hong Kong.)
    My brother, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.example
  2. 2
    The strike at the factory has now ended. (The strike began ten days ago.)
  3. 3
    I was looking for a book this morning. (I've found it now.)
  4. 4
    I've had my car for 15 years. (This car has never broken down.)
  5. 5
    A lot of people applied for the job. (Few of them had the necessary qualifications.)
  6. 6
    Amy showed me a picture of her son. (Her son is a police officer.)
95.3

Are these sentences OK? Correct them (and put in commas) where necessary. If the sentence is correct, write 'OK'.

  1. 1
    Anna told me about her new job that she's enjoying very much.
    Anna told me about her new job, which she's enjoying very much.example
  2. 2
    My office that is on the second floor is very small.
  3. 3
    The office that I'm using at the moment is very small.
  4. 4
    Sarah's father that used to be in the army now works for a TV company.
  5. 5
    The doctor that examined me couldn't find anything wrong.
  6. 6
    The sun that is one of millions of stars in the universe provides us with heat and light.