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Dependent clauses are
nominal, adjectival, and adverbial
clauses
Dependent clauses may work like
nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in
complex sentences.
Adjectival clauses
There are various ways of supplying more
information about a noun in English.
Frequently we use adjectives (e.g: a helpful
teacher) and often other nouns (e.g: a
university teacher).
Relative clauses (adjectival clauses) are
another very common way of supplying more
specific information about a noun referring to
a person, thing or group
Like a single-word adjective, an adjectival
clause describes a noun
Adjectival clauses always follow the person,
place, or thing they describe, usually
immediately.
Joe read the book that I gave him.
main clause
adjectival clause
describing book
Which book did Joe read?
Answer: the one that I gave him
A politician who is trustworthy has the support of the people.
adjectival clause describing politician
main clause
What kind of politician has the support of the
people?
Answer: one who is trustworthy
The teacher who looked after our class today
doesn’t normally work here.
The flowers that I bought yesterday have already
died.
What is the name of the person who phoned you?
We know a lot of people who live in the country.
An adjectival clause usually begins with a
relative pronoun, which makes the clause
subordinate (dependent).
Common relative pronouns:
that
which
who
whom
whose
NOTE:
Use who, whom, and whose to describe
people.
Use that and which to describe things.
Relative clauses can also be used after some
pronouns. They are quite common after
indefinite pronouns such as something,
someone, anything, anyone, everything
everyone, nothing, all, and superlatives.
Anna is someone that I really admire.
Is there anyone who knows how this machine
works?
There's something that you should know.
Everyone who has worked with her will miss her
very much.
It was the best film that I've ever seen.
Relative clauses are also sometimes used
after words like some, many, much, all, or
those which can function as pronouns, e.g:
Like many who were taking the exam,
I felt very nervous.
A small bar of chocolate was all that we
had to eat.
There's something that you should know.
A relative pronoun can act as the subject or
object of the verb in a relative clause,
compare:
She’s the only person who offered to help.
(who clause is subject)
She’s the only person who Janice offered to
help. (who clause is object)
When a relative pronoun is functioning as the
subject of the verb in a relative clause and is
referring back to a person or people, the
relative pronouns who or that are used (who
is used more frequently than that ), e.g:
I paid the man that
who delivered the flowers.
I met a woman that
who
knows your sister.
I didn’t trust the builders that
who fitted our
new kitchen.
When a relative pronoun is functioning as
the subject of the verb in a relative clause
and refers back to a thing or things, the
relative pronouns which or that are used,
e.g:
I’ve bought a new oven which comes on
that
automatically.
which
There are systems that
reliable.
are much more
When a relative pronoun is functioning as
the object of the verb in a relative clause
and refers back to a person or people, the
relative pronouns who, that or whom are
used, or the relative pronoun is left out
altogether (zero relative pronoun ø ), e.g:
whom
They were a group of college friends who
that
I hadn’t seen for several years.
Ø
whom
I’m afraid Annabel is someone who
that
Ø
I really dislike.
He was a distant cousin whom she had
never met.
Whom is rather formal and is only used in written
English and formal spoken English.
As a general rule, when the relative
pronoun refers back to a person and is
functioning as object of the verb in the
relative clause, who/that, or the zero
relative pronoun (ø) are more common in
informal contexts.
The doctor whom/who/that/ø I was
hoping to see wasn't on duty.
However if the relative pronoun occurs
immediately after a preposition, whom and
which must be used, e.g:
* the man with who she lived
the man with whom she lived
the room in which we are standing
an achievement of which I am very proud
the man to whom she is talking
the article to which he is referring
But most people tend to avoid this by using
who or that or zero relative and placing the
preposition at the end of the clause, i.e:
the man who she lived with
the man that she lived with
the man she lived with
the room which we are standing in
an achievement which I am very proud of
the article which he is referring to
When a relative pronoun is functioning as the
object of the verb in a relative clause and
refers back to a thing or things, the relative
pronouns which or that are used, or the zero
relative (ø) pronoun, e.g:
which
On the dining room wall was a photograph that
my sister had taken.
This is the kind of flour
ø
which
that
ø
we usually use.
which
You could put the stones that you’ve collected
ø
into that bucket.
A relative clause with the relative pronoun
whose can be used to talk about something
which belongs to a person or an animal, or
something or someone that is associated
with a person
Is she the woman whose bag was stolen?
Help is needed for families whose homes were
flooded.
That must be the cat whose tail got cut off.
He had a sister whose name I’ve forgotten.
She’s the friend whose brother went to a
boarding school.
The relative pronoun whose can sometimes
be used to refer to countries, organizations
or other nouns which imply a group of
people, e.g:
I’d prefer to use a bank whose services are
reliable.
It was a small country whose population
was steadily rising.
The man whose car was stolen is here.
A tree whose leaves have fallen can be
transplanted.
The relative clauses we have discussed so far
are often referred to as defining or
restrictive relative clauses.
This is because they supply information
which is needed or essential in order to
identify a particular person or thing - they
define exactly who or what we are referring
to.
Obviously, this is only necessary if there is more
than one person or thing involved.
But, a second type of relative clause exists in
English.
This kind of relative clause, usually separated
by commas, gives additional information
about a person or thing.
They are referred to as non-defining or
non-restrictive relative clauses.
These two sentences contain relative clauses:
My sister who’s a nurse moved to Italy.
This sentence contains a defining relative clause.
I have more than one sister and it is needed to tell
you which sister I am talking about.
My sister, who's a nurse, moved to Italy.
This sentence contains a non-defining relative clause.
It just adds information, but could be omitted
without loss of meaning.
Such clauses are more common in written English.
I could see two girls standing on the platform. The
girl who was carrying a small child got onto the
train. (defining relative clause)
I could see two girls standing on the platform. One
of the girls, who was carrying a small child, got
onto the train. (non-defining relative clause)
Defining Relative Clauses
The information provided in a defining relative
clause is crucial in understanding the meaning of
the sentence.
The woman who lives in apartment No. 34
has been arrested.
The document that I need has 'important'
written information at the top.
If a defining relative clause is removed from
a sentence, the meaning of the main clause
changes.
The purpose of a defining relative clause is
to clearly define who or what we are talking
about.
Without this information, it would be
difficult to know who or what is meant.
The house is being renovated.
In this case it is not necessarily clear which house
is being renovated.
The house my parents bought is being
renovated.
People who can’t swim should not jump into
the ocean.
The team that wins will receive a cup and
1,000 €.
The man who lives next door is always making
a noise.
The man who spoke to me told me the story of
his life.
The man that I spoke to told me the story of
his life.
Non-defining Relative Clauses
Non-defining relative clauses provide
interesting additional information which is
not essential to understanding the meaning
of the sentence.
Mrs. Jackson, who is very intelligent, lives on
the corner.
If a nonrestrictive relative clause is
removed from a sentence, the meaning of
the main clause does not change.
Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on
the Mediterranean coast.
My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every
year.
The bank manager, to whom he addressed his
complaints, was very unhelpful. - formal.
The local branch manager, who I talked to about
my problems, was very helpful. - informal
Correct punctuation is essential in nondefining relative clauses.
If the non-defining relative clause occurs in
the middle of a sentence, a comma is put
before the relative pronoun and at the end
of the clause.
If the non-defining relative clause occurs at
the end of a sentence, a comma is put
before the relative pronoun.
Non-Defining relative clauses
When the relative pronoun refers back to a person
and is the subject of the non-defining relative
clause, who is used, e.g:
The woman, who later died in hospital, has not
yet been named.
When the relative pronoun refers back to a thing
and is the subject of the non-defining relative
clause, which is used, e.g:
This new project, which begins in September,
will cost several million pounds.
When the relative pronoun refers back to a
person and is the object of the non-defining
relative clause, who or whom are used, e.g:
Her previous manager, who she had never
liked, retired six months ago.
Edward’s brother, whom she later married,
never spoke to his parents again.
When the relative pronoun refers back to a thing
and is the object of the non-defining relative
clause, which is used, e.g:
This bar of chocolate, which he devoured
immediately, was the first thing he had eaten
in two days.
Note that, unlike in defining relative
clauses, there is no zero relative pronoun,
i.e. the pronoun cannot be left out when it
is functioning as the object of the relative
clause, eg:
He was a distant cousin she had never
met. (defining)
A distant cousin, who/whom she had
never met, was meeting her for lunch.
(non-defining)
In general, we use relative clauses to provide
extra information. But as you can see this
information can either define something (defining
clause), or provide unnecessary, but interesting,
added information (non-defining clause).
There are several facts to consider when deciding
which relative pronoun to use:
Is the subject or object or possessive of a relative
clause?
Does it refers to a person or an object?
Is the relative clause a defining or non-defining
relative clause?
 A restrictive relative clause is not separated
from the main clause by a comma or commas.
 A non-restrictive relative clause is separated
from the main clause by a comma or commas.
So, comma use with adjectival clauses
depends upon essentiality of the
adjectival clause.
If the adjectival clause is essential (or
"needed"), no commas should be used to
separate it from the main clause.
 In a restrictive relative clause, the relative
pronoun can be omitted (ø) when it is the
object of the clause:
The mouse that the elephant loved was
very beautiful.
OR The mouse the elephant loved was very
beautiful.
 The relative pronoun that cannot be used in
nonrestrictive relative clauses.
The relative pronoun cannot be omitted from a
nonrestrictive clause. Here is an example:
Billy, who couldn’t swim, should not have
jumped into the ocean.
Defining relative clauses
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Person
Thing
Subject
who/that
which/that
Object
who/whom/that/ ø who/whom/that/ ø
Possessive
whose
whose
Non-Defining relative clauses
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Person
Thing
Subject
who
which
Object
who/whom
which
Possessive
whose
whose