1. Review: different types of clauses
Sentences are made up of parts called clauses.
There are two main types of clauses:
- The main clause (independent clause) – can be a sentence by itself
- Surrounding clauses (dependent clause) – cannot be a sentence by itself, and must connect to an independent clause
Therefore a sentence centres around a main clause, then adds further main clauses and independent clauses. It can have multiple additional clauses.
| Independent clause (can be a sentence by itself) | Dependent clause (must connect to independent clause) | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I like chicken | because it is delicious | I like chicken because it is delicious. |
| Sienna plays badminton | although she is not very good at it | Sienna plays badminton although she is not very good at it. |
| Terry builds cars | 1. and makes model railways 2. because he likes technical projects | Terry builds cars and makes model railways because he likes technical projects. |
2. Relative clauses
Relative clauses are added to a main clause to give more information about the main clause or the noun in the main clause.
They can be made by:
- relative pronoun + subject + verb
- relative pronoun acting as subject + verb
- relative adverb + subject + verb
3. Relative pronoun + subject + verb
Relative clauses can be made with the structure:
- independent clause + relative pronoun (+ subject) + verb
*Relative pronouns: what, which, who
| Independent clause | Relative pronoun | Subject | Verb | Full sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave and Anna live in the old house | that | his grandma | left | Dave and Anna live in the old house that his grandma left him. |
| The car broke down last night | which | you | gave | I don’t like the car which you gave me. |
| I want to know the person | who | – | gave | I want to know the person who gave you these shoes. |
4. Relative pronoun acting as subject + verb
Relative clauses can be made with the structure:
- independent clause + relative pronoun acting as subject + verb
This means a new subject is not needed because the relative pronoun refers to the subject in the independent clause.
| Independent clause | Relative pronoun acting as subject | Verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave and Anna live in an old house | that | frightens | Dave and Anna live in an old house that frightens children. |
| I don’t want a car | that | breaks | I don’t want a car that breaks all the time. |
| I want to know the man | who | thinks | I want to know the man who thinks giving gifts to my wife is OK. |
5. Relative adverb + subject + verb
Relative clauses can be made with the structure:
- independent clause + relative adverb + subject + verb
Relative adverbs: when, why, where
| Independent clause | Relative adverb | Subject | Verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave and Anna live in the old house | where | he | grew up | Dave and Anna live in the old house where he grew up. |
| I don’t like it | when | the car | breaks down | I don’t like it when the car breaks down. |
| I want to know | where | this man | lives | I want to know where this man lives. |
6. Relative clause positions
The position of the relative clause depends on about what the relative clause is talking:
If the relative clause relates to the whole main clause, put it after the main clause.
If the relative clause relates only to the noun in the main clause, put it after the noun.
| Relates to whole clause | Relates only to noun |
|---|---|
| The man is an idiot who thinks he is smart. | The man to whom we gave our dog is an idiot. |
| The house is damaged where the roof is leaking. | The house that we bought with our lottery money is damaged. |
7. Formal Language
- In formal language, ‘whom’ replaces ‘who’.
- Prepositions, in phrases like ‘upon which’ and ‘to whom’, are put in front of relative clauses to make them formal. Informal language often puts these at the end
| Informal | Formal |
|---|---|
| The man who he was speaking to was most unpleasant. | The man to whom he was speaking was most unpleasant. |
| The boat that we sailed on was very nice. | The boat upon which we sailed was very nice. |
| The man that we bought the house from was quite old. | The man from whom we bought the house was quite old. |
8. Exercises
1. Identify the main clauses and relative clauses in these sentences:
(i) The dog chased the bird that flew into the garden.
(ii) Georgie burnt the car that she stole so the police could not search it.
(iii) Herman threw away the gift that his company gave him because he wanted to forget working there.
2. Add relative clauses to these main clauses:
(i) She and I are best friends.
(ii) The bag is next to the sofa.
(iii) The TV show was interesting.
(iv) He cooked a delicious meal.
(v) The city is dirty.