Relative Clauses — English But Better

Pronouns Defining Non-defining Exercises

Relative pronouns

Pronoun	Refers to	Example
who	People	The woman who* called is my aunt.*
which	Things / animals	The book which* I borrowed was great.*
that	People or things (defining only)	The car that* he drives is very fast.*
where	Places	The café where* we met is closed now.*
when	Times	I remember the day when* we first met.*
whose	Possession (people or things)	The student whose* phone rang left the room.*

Defining relative clauses

A defining clause identifies which person or thing we mean. Without it, the sentence loses its meaning.

Rule	Example
No commas	The man who* lives next door is a doctor.*
Can use that instead of who/which	The film that* / which I watched was amazing.*
Pronoun can be omitted when it is the object	The book (that) I borrowed was great.

The police arrested the man who stole a woman's handbag. ← defines which man
He likes films that come from Asia. ← defines which films

Non-defining relative clauses

A non-defining clause adds extra information about something already identified. Remove it and the sentence still makes sense.

Rule	Example
Always use commas (or dashes)	My sister, who lives in Paris, is a chef.
Cannot use that	My car, which is red, needs a service. ✗ "my car, that is red"
Pronoun cannot be omitted	London, which I love, is very expensive.

Commas = extra info test: If removing the clause makes the sentence incomplete or changes who/what you mean — no commas (defining). If the sentence still identifies the noun perfectly — use commas (non-defining).

Defining (no commas)	Non-defining (commas)
You have many friends — tells us which one	You have one sister — adds extra detail
My friend who* lives in Barcelona is called Sam.*	My sister, who works in a hotel, got a promotion.

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