Subordinate clauses are introduced in order to provide additional information about an object or person. Thus, subordinate clauses are part of a complex sentence and help to miss some repetitive words.

The girl who lives next to me is a student. Who lives next to me is the qualifying part of the sentence.

There are two types of subordinate clauses - clauses(identifying) and indefinite clauses(non-identifying).

Identifying Relative Clauses are entered into the sentence with relative pronouns or relative adverbs:

1. Who / whom / that used when talking about people

The person whom I talked to is my brother.

2. Which / that when it comes to subjects

The boxes that I carried were very heavy.

3. Whose used with both animate and inanimate objects, in order to show belonging ( possessive case)

The man whose house is opposite my house is a famous writer.

• Who, which, that can be omitted in a sentence if they are an addition to a subordinate clause. For example,

That is the book (that) I was telling you about.

• Whom can be used instead of who if it is the object in a relative clause. Also, whom is always used after a preposition:

He is someone with whom I used to study.

• Who, which, that are not omitted if they are subject in the subordinate clause:

The movie that was shown yesterday is a comedy.

Relative adverbs:

1. When, that are used to indicate time and may be overlooked:

That was the day (when) I first met him.

2. Where to point to the location:

The island where we spent our holiday belongs to Greece.

3. Why to indicate the reason may be omitted in the sentence:

The reason (why) she stayed at home is only to be guessed.

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Relative spreading(non-defining relative clauses) sentences provide additional information about the noun to which they refer. However, the information in the subordinate clause is optional and optional.

Unlike defining relative clauses, which cannot be removed from a sentence without losing meaning, generalizing subordinate clauses can be omitted, the main idea will be preserved and will be understandable, the structure of the sentence will not suffer. They are introduced by relative pronouns.

Education and punctuation

Distributional clauses are entered using relative pronoun which, who, that and in writing in English are always separated by commas. They can appear in the middle after the noun being defined or at the end of a sentence, but never at the beginning.

Important!

Distributional clauses on both sides are highlighted with commas, and in speech intonationally. Sometimes, in writing, instead of commas, you can find parentheses.

Sample sentences

His wife, who works at as a teacher at a local school, speaks French and Italian. His wife, who works at a local school, speaks French and Italian. The company, which sells sports equipment, will move to new office in London. The company that sells sports equipment moves to a new office in London. Melanie told me about her new job, which she is enjoying a lot. Melanie told me about her new job, which she really likes.

Relative pronouns who and which

Important!

Which and who can act as subject and object in a subordinate clause. As a complement, the pronoun who can be replaced with whom.

Sample sentences

The sun, which is an enormous star, provides the Earth and people with the necessary heat and light (subject). The sun, which is a huge star, provides the planet Earth and people with the necessary warmth and light. The severe thunderstorms, which nobody had forecast, caused floods in several cities (object). Severe thunderstorms, which no one predicted, caused flooding in many cities.

Note that after the words all, both, many, neither, some, first, last, as well as numerals and adjectives in a superlative degree, pronouns must be used in combination with a preposition: of which or of whom.

Examples of Proposals

The newspaper has millions of readers, many of whom made donations. The publication has millions of readers, many of whom have made donations. There are a number of radio stations in Chicago, the most popular of which is probably the Newsradio. There are many radio stations in Chicago, the most popular of which is perhaps the news radio.

Sample sentences

The building, where I used to live, can be demolished. The building where I used to live may be demolished. Friday, when I had a day off, was the last day when I saw Jim. On Friday, when I had a day off, I saw Jim for the last time. In the summer, when the tourists are here, there are a lot of jobs in bars and restaurants. In the summer, when there are a lot of tourists here, there is a lot of work in bars and restaurants.

Sample sentences

Van Gough, whose paintings now sell for millions, hardly managed to sell any during his lifetime. Van Gogh, whose paintings are selling for millions, could hardly have sold even one in his life. People, whose luggage was lost, had to fill in all the form. People whose luggage was lost had to fill out all the paperwork.

Using prepositions in non-defining clauses

Prepositions are usually used at the end of a relative clause, and in a formal style before a relative pronoun.

Sample sentences

The editor, who the journalist wrote to, thought it was a great article (informal). The editor to whom the journalist wrote found the article wonderful. They did not mention that case, for which we were grateful (formal). They did not mention the incident, for which we were very grateful.

Watch the video on non-defining clauses:

1 Relative clause

A subordinate clause that performs the function of a definition in a sentence.

It is formed with the help of a relative pronoun, which is placed at the beginning of a subordinate clause after the word being defined; the relative pronoun can sometimes be omitted. For the peculiarities of using relative pronouns, see Relative pronouns; For rules on omitting a relative pronoun, see Zero relative pronoun.

1) There are two types of clauses: restrictive(clarifying the meaning of the word being defined) and disseminative(providing additional information about the word being defined). For more on defensive and non-defining relative clauses, see Defining and non-defining relative clauses.

2) A definitive subordinate clause can refer not only to a single word, but to the entire main clause as a whole. Such a clause can only be introduced by a union which... It is always found after the main sentence.

2 relative clause

See also other dictionaries:

Relative clause- Relative Rel a * tive (r? L? T? V), a. 1. Having relation or reference; referring; respecting; standing in connection; pertaining; as, arguments not relative to the subject. I ll have grounds ... ... The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

relative clause- relative clauses N COUNT In grammar, a relative clause is a subordinate clause which specifies or gives information about a person or thing. Relative clauses come after a noun or pronoun and, in English, often begin with a relative pronoun such…… English dictionary

relative clause- noun count LINGUISTICS a CLAUSE joined to a previous one by words such as who, which, or that. Relative clauses give extra information about a person or thing in a sentence ... Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

relative clause- n technical a part of a sentence that has a verb in it, and is joined to the rest of the sentence by who, which, where etc, for example the phrase who lives next door in the sentence The man who lives next door is a doctor ... Dictionary of contemporary English

Relative clause- A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun. For example, the noun phrase the man who wasn t there contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn t there. In many languages, relative clauses are…… Wikipedia

relative clause- noun a clause introduced by a relative pronoun who visits frequently is a relative clause in the sentence John, who visits frequently, is ill Hypernyms: clause * * * noun 1.: an adjective clause introduced by a relative pronoun expressed or…… Useful english dictionary

relative clause- a subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb, either expressed or deleted, esp. such a clause modifying an antecedent, as who saw you in He s the man who saw you or (that) I wrote in Here s the letter (that) I wrote ... Universalium

relative clause- UK / US noun Word forms relative clause: singular relative clause plural relative clauses linguistics a clause joined to a previous one by words such as who, which, or that. Relative clauses give extra information about a person ... ... English dictionary

relative clause- rel′ative clause ′ n. gram. a subordinate clause that is introduced by a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb, either expressed or deleted, and modifies an antecedent, as who saw you in That s the woman who saw you or (that) I wrote in Here s ... ... From formal English to slang

relative clause- dependent clause, clause that modifies a word in the main clause (Grammar) ... English contemporary dictionary

relative clause- noun A subordinate clause that modifies a noun ... Wiktionary

English-Russian translation DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining and defensive clauses There are two types of defining clauses: defining and non-defining. 1) Restrictive qualifying sentences contain information that clarifies the meaning of the word to which they refer. They choose from the class of objects designated by the defined word, only those that meet certain characteristics. The omission of a restrictive subordinate clause often leads to ambiguity or incorrectness of the main sentence, to a change in its meaning. Restrictive attributive clauses are not comma-separated. He married a girl who he met at the library - He married a girl whom he met in the library (... a girl (which one?) With whom ... When omitting the subordinate clause, the main sentence also changes the meaning: He married a girl ) People who don "t smoke live longer - People who do not smoke live longer (People (which ones?) Who ... When the subordinate phrase is omitted, the main sentence also changes the meaning: People live longer) 2) Distributing attributive sentences contain information that additionally characterizes the word to which they refer and which is sufficiently defined in itself so that the main sentence does not change the meaning when the clauses are omitted.Such sentences are less common restrictive; they are used mainly in written speech. This is Mary, who was my classmate - This is Mary, with whom I studied in the same class (- with her I ...) (... Mary, (with ka What other properties?) with which ... When the subordinate clause is omitted, the meaning of the main thing is preserved: This is Mary) 3) There is no clear distinction between restrictive and generalizing sentences. Often, the type of sentence is determined by intonation (diffuse sentences are emphasized by voice), the importance of information in the subordinate clause (diffuse sentences contain less important information), or which interpretation is more natural. 4) Some grammatical differences between restrictive and pronouncing subordinate clauses: a) the pronoun that is not used in the pronouncing relative clauses - see Relative pronouns, 2. b) the relative pronoun cannot be omitted in the pronouncing subordinate clauses - see Zero relative pronoun.

English-Russian grammatical dictionary. English-Russian grammatical dictionary. 2004

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More meanings of the word and the translation of DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES from English into Russian in English-Russian dictionaries and from Russian into English in Russian-English dictionaries.

More meanings of this word and English-Russian, Russian-English translations for the word "DEFINING AND NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES" in dictionaries.

• DEFINING
  Webster English Dictionary
• DEFINING - (p. Pr. & Vb. N.) Of Define
  
• DEFINING - / di fuy "ning /, adj. Decisive; critically important: Taking a course in architecture was a defining turn in her life.
  
• DEFINING - p.pr. & · Vb.n. of define.
  Webster English vocab
• DEFINING - Synonyms and related words: categorical, characteristic, classificational, classificatory, confining, definitive, denominative, differential, distinctive, divisional, divisionary, exclusive, limitary, limitative, limiting, ...
  
• DEFINING - adj.
  Oxford Collocations Dictionary Second Edition
• DEFINING - adj. Defining is used with these nouns: attribute, characteristic, feature, moment, ...
  Oxford Collocations English Dictionary
• DEFINING
  Large English-Russian Dictionary
• DEFINING - Definition
  American English-Russian Dictionary
• DEFINING - Determinant
  British English-Russian Dictionary
• DEFINING - setting [marking] the dialing limits on the display
  English-Russian Dictionary of Printing and Publishing
• DEFINING - defining, definition of global defining function ≈ global defining function orienting defining set ≈ orienting defining set set of defining relations ...
  New Comprehensive English-Russian Dictionary
• DEFINING - define defining
  English-Russian dictionary
• RELATIVE - adj relative (1. not absolute; 2.); pronomine relative relative pronoun; relative a relating to, relative to
  Interlingua English vocab
• NON - adv 1. not; 2. no; non! no !; si non 1.if not; 2. except, unless it be non- prefixo [Word Family: noun:…
  
• NON- - non- / nɒn $ nɑːn / BrE AmE prefix [Language: Old French; Origin: Latin non "not"] 1. If something is relative to a particular subject, it is connected with it.
  Cambridge English vocab
• RELATIVE - Synonyms and related words: affiliated, affinitive, agnate, allied, analogical, analogous, ancestry, appertaining, applicable, approximate, apropos, associated, associative, aunt, blood, ...
  Moby Thesaurus English vocabulary
• NON - pref. non compos mentis non placet sine qua non
  Collegiate Thesaurus English vocab
• RELATIVE - n. 25B6; adjective the relative importance of each factor: COMPARATIVE, respective, comparable, correlative, parallel, corresponding. the food required is ...
  Concise Oxford Thesaurus English vocabulary
• RELATIVE - adj. 1 related, connected, associated, allied, affiliated, interconnected, interrelated, pertinent, relevant, germane, applicable; apropos Your comments are not relative to ...
  Oxford Thesaurus English vocab

Sooner or later, everyone who learns English is faced with the concept Relative clause... This mysterious name hides subordinate clauses (parts of complex sentences). In other words, in a complex sentence, the subordinate (dependent) part - Relative clause- reveals in detail the main one and carries clarifying information.

Here are examples of the formation of one phrase with Relative clause of two simple, fairly short and related sentences:

A train goes to Manchester. It leaves from platform 3. - The train goes to Manchester. It departs from platform 3.
The train which goes to Manchester leaves from platform 3. - Train, which the goes to Manchester, leaves from platform 3.

A lady teaches us German. She lives next door. - The lady teaches us German. She lives next door.
The lady who teaches us German lives next door. - Lady, which teaches us German, lives next door.

I saw a film yesterday. It was fantastic. - Yesterday I watched the film. He turned out to be amazing.
The film that I saw yesterday was fantastic. - Movie, which the I looked yesterday, turned out to be amazing.

As you can see, the integral components Relative clause are, above all, words which, who and that... All of them correspond to the Russian word "which". However, apart from them Relative clause can be entered in words whose(whose, who), whom(which, with which), where(where, in which), when(when, in which), why(why, by which):

The guy whose laptop had been stolen called the police. - Boy, which one stole a laptop, called the police.

Every summer John goes to the town where his parents were born. - John goes to town every summer, where (wherein) his parents were born.

There were 2 reasons why she mentioned it. - There were 2 reasons, by which she mentioned it.

Also note that the indefinite article a before nouns train, lady, film in a sentence with Relative clause is replaced by the, since the subordinate clause complements the specified nouns, making them specific.

By the way, about the difference between which, who and that(and this question will certainly interest you) we advise you to read in. You can also learn more about her by watching the video from Rebecca.

Types of Relative Clause in English

Getting to know Relative clause in the textbooks of foreign authors, you will certainly notice that this phenomenon, as a rule, is supplemented with numbers 1 and 2. What do they mean? Let's figure it out.

The number 1 hides the so-called Defining(or Identifying- restrictive) Relative clause, representing important and meaningful information for the expression. It should be remembered that such a subordinate clause in English, unlike in Russian, is not separated by commas:

Richard is the man who married my cousin Janet. “Richard is the man who married my cousin Janet.

That’s the cat that I saw in my garden - This is the same cat that I saw in my garden.

The number 2 means Non-Defining(or Non-Identifying- disseminative) Relative clause, which introduces additional, clarifying information, which is not always important for the statement. Therefore, in this case, the relative clause is separated by commas:

The girl from my college, who I have never spoken to before, asked me for help today. - A girl from my college, with whom I have never spoken before, asked me for help today.

That red car, which is in my garage now, was bought by my sister. - That red car, which is now in my garage, was bought by my sister.

Learn more about comma placement in complex sentences, including examples with Relative clause, you can find out in.

It is worth noting that in some proposals the union, which is the beginning Relative clause, can be skipped. To see if we can omit which, who or that, you must first determine what the subordinate clause agrees with: the subject or the object.

Let's look at 2 examples:

The young man who lives upstairs is very friendly. - The young man living above us (one floor above) is very friendly.

The young man ( who) you met yesterday lives upstairs. - The young man you met yesterday lives above us (one floor above).

In the first case, we are dealing with Subject Relative Clause, in which the subject of the relative clause coincides with the subject of the main ( the man). In such a proposal, the presence of a union (in this case - who) necessarily.

In the second case, the main and subordinate clauses have different subjects:

The young man lives upstairs.
You met him(addition) yesterday.

The clauses of this kind have the name Object Relative Clause and does not require the presence of relative pronouns which, who or that.

To better consolidate the above material, we will give other examples of sentences with the presence and absence of relative pronouns:

• Subject Relative Clause:
  

  The doctor told him not to worry. A doctor treated him. = The doctor who treated him who treated him told him not to worry.

• Object Relative Clause:
  

  The doctor told him not to worry. He talked to a doctor. = The doctor he talked to told him not to worry. - Doctor, with whom he spoke, asked him not to worry.

Note that prepositions in clauses Object Relative Clause more often placed after relative pronouns which, who or that and verbs (both with and without an object):

It’s the movie I told you about... - This is the film that I told you about.

This is the book she has been looking for... “This is the book she was looking for.

To help you master the topic better, we have prepared a small test.

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Test

Relative Clause in English: types and rules of use