Relative clauses: non-defining relative clauses

Relative clauses: non-defining relative clauses

Do you know how to give extra information about someone or something using relative clauses? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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

Jack, who's retired now, spends a lot of time with his grandchildren.
We want to see the new Tom Carter film, which was released on Friday.
My sister, whose dog I'm looking after, is visiting a friend in Australia.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar B1–B2: Relative clauses – non-defining relative clauses: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

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

Non-defining relative clauses give us extra information about someone or something. It isn't essential for understanding who or what we are talking about.

My grandfatherwho's 87, goes swimming every day.
The house, which was built in 1883, has just been opened to the public.
The award was given to Sara, whose short story impressed the judges

We always use a relative pronoun or adverb to start a non-defining relative clause: who, which, whose, when or where (but not that). We also use commas to separate the clause from the rest of the sentence.

who, which and whose

We can use who to talk about people, which to talk about things and whose to refer to the person or thing that something belongs to.

Yesterday I met my new boss, who was very nice.
The house, which is very big, is also very cold!
My next-door neighbour, whose children go to school with ours, has just bought a new car.
After the port there is a row of fishermen's houses, whose lights can be seen from across the bay.

Places and times

We can use which with a preposition to talk about places and times. In these cases it's more common to use where or when instead of which and the preposition.

City Park, which we used to go to, has been closed down.
City Park, where we used to go, has been closed down.
December, which Christmas is celebrated in, is a summer month for the southern hemisphere.
December, when Christmas is celebrated, is a summer month for the southern hemisphere.

However, when we use which without a preposition, we can't use where or when.

Centre Park, which we love, is always really busy on Saturdays.
February, which is my favourite month, lasts 29 days this year.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Grammar B1–B2: Relative clauses – non-defining relative clauses: 2

 

Language level

Average: 4.1 (85 votes)

Hell BobMux,

We use defining relative clauses when we want to indicate which thing we are talking about.

 

In your example there is only one global warming conference, so there is no need to indicate which one the speaker means. However, imagine a situation in which there are two global warming conferences, one in The Hague and one is another city.

In this case you would need to indicate which of the two conferences you are talking about, so a defining relative clause would be appropriate:

The global warming conference which was held in The Hague has ended...

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Yacine babacine on Fri, 04/12/2020 - 07:56

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In this sentence the relative clause gives information about the person, doesn't it?? Jack, who's retired now, spends a lot of time with his grandchildren.

Hello Yacine babacine,

Yes, that's correct. The relative clause describes 'Jack' in this sentence. The relative clause almost always directly follows the word or phrase which it describes.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Via on Mon, 19/10/2020 - 22:08

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Dear team, I'm slightly confused about this. e.g, City Park, which we used to go to, has been closed down. e.g, City Park, where we used to go, has been closed down. From the examples, it show that "where" is used in the sentences without preposition. But, the explanation said that I can't use "where" or "when" without preposition. However, when we use which without a preposition, we can't use where or when. e.g, Centre Park, which we love, is always really busy on Saturdays. e.g, February, which is my favourite month, lasts 29 days this year. Thanks a lot

Submitted by Arjun Yadav on Sat, 26/09/2020 - 12:30

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Hello Sir. I don't understand what is this mean. (When we use "which" with a preposition, we can't use "where or which.")

Hello again Arjun Yadav,

I don't understand that, either. Does my answer to your comment below help you understand this?

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Arjun Yadav on Sat, 26/09/2020 - 10:23

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Hello sir In these sentences, " The hostel, where we've stayed at several times, is simple but clean." " I sometimes go and study in my local park, where I can get some fresh air". why we cannot use "which" instead of "where(s)"?
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sat, 26/09/2020 - 14:15

In reply to by Arjun Yadav

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Hello Arjun Yadav,

Notice that in the example sentences in the explanation above, the relative clause begins with 'which' when a preposition of place (like 'to' or 'in') is used and it begins with 'where' when there is no preposition:

City Park, which we used to go to, has been closed down.
City Park, where we used to go, has been closed down.

The first of your two sentences is not correct -- it has 'where' and the preposition 'at'. You could correct it by saying 'where we've stayed several times' or 'at which we've stayed several times'.

The second of your two sentences is correct, but, as you say, you can't use 'which' in it. This is because there is no preposition that would work in the prepositional clause. You could change it to put a preposition there, e.g. 'I study in my local park, which I go to to get fresh air'.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by CHÉKYTAN on Wed, 12/08/2020 - 08:36

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Hello sir, Relative clause defining: The woman who lives next door works in a bank. Relative clause non-defijing: My grandfather, who's 87, goes swimming every day. Cal you please explain the difference between these two sentences in terms of how “relative clause defining” is different from “relative clause non-defining”?

Hello Chekytan,

We're happy to help you with a specific question, but if you are seeking explanations of relative clauses, please see the explanations above, on this page, and on this page.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team