Language of the Day: Relative Clauses

Want to make your sentences richer and more precise? Learn how relative clauses add detail and flow to your writing.

✍️ What are relative clauses?

They’re parts of a sentence that give extra information about a noun. Remove them, and the sentence still works—but with less detail.

📌 Two Types:

  • Defining Clauses – Essential info that identifies the subject.
    Examples:

    • The book that I borrowed from the library is fascinating.

    • The student who scored the highest will receive an award.

    • The car that broke down yesterday is still in the garage.

  • Non-defining Clauses – Extra info, set off by commas.
    Examples:

    • My brother, who lives in Toronto, is visiting next week.

    • Paris, which is known as the City of Light, attracts millions of tourists.

    • The Eiffel Tower, which was built in 1889, is a famous landmark.

🔑 Key Tips:

  • Use relative pronouns like who, which, that, whose.

  • Defining clauses don’t use commas; non-defining clauses do.

  • In spoken English, “that” often replaces “who” or “which.”

✅ Practice Questions

Fill in the blanks with the correct relative pronoun (who, which, that, whose):

  1. The teacher _______ explained the lesson was very patient.

  2. I visited the museum _______ has the largest dinosaur exhibit.

  3. The laptop _______ I bought last week is already broken.

  4. She’s the author _______ books are bestsellers worldwide.

  5. The movie _______ we watched last night was amazing.

Minju B