Relative clauses: defining relative clauses

Do you know how to define who or what you are talking about using relative clauses? Enhance your knowledge with a lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.

Look at these examples to see how defining relative clauses are used.

• Is she the artist who painted that mural?

• The car which won the race is now on display.

• This is the book that inspired me to write.

• The teacher we met yesterday was very knowledgeable.

Grammar explanation - Relative clauses: defining relative clauses

Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned.

Defining relative clauses provide essential information—information that tells us who or what we are talking about.

• The man who works in the bookstore is very knowledgeable.

• These are the documents that need to be signed.

We usually use a relative pronoun or adverb to start a defining relative clause: who, which, that, when, where, or whose.

1. who/that

We can use who or that to talk about people. That is more common and a bit more informal.

• She's the teacher who helps me with my homework.

• He's the friend that introduced me to this hobby.

2. which/that

We can use which or that to talk about things. That is more common and a bit more informal.

• I found a recipe which uses only five ingredients.

• The book that you lent me was fascinating!

3. Other pronouns

When can refer to a time.

• Christmas is the holiday when families gather together.

Where can refer to a place.

• That's the café where we first met.

Whose refers to the person that something belongs to.

• She's an author whose novels have won several awards.

4. Omitting the relative pronoun

Sometimes we can leave out the relative pronoun. For example, we can usually leave out who, which, or that if it is followed by a subject.

• The chef [that] we spoke to was very inspiring. (we = subject, can omit that)

We can't usually leave it out if it is followed by a verb.

• The chef that prepared our meal was outstanding. (prepared = verb, can't omit that)

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