English Relative Clauses Practice

Relative clauses are pieces of information we add to a sentence to describe a person, place, or thing. They function essentially like adjectives, providing necessary or extra details about a noun. Mastering relative clauses allows you to combine simple sentences into more complex, natural-sounding English structures.

Defining vs. Non-Defining

There are two main types of relative clauses: Defining (which provide essential information) and Non-defining (which provide extra, non-essential information and are separated by commas).

Relative Pronoun	Used For	Example
Who / That	People	The man who lives next door is a pilot.
Which / That	Things / Animals	I lost the pen which you gave me.
Whose	Possession	The girl whose bag was stolen is crying.
Where	Places	This is the park where we first met.
When	Time	I remember the day when it happened.

A common mistake for learners is forgetting that that can only be used in defining clauses. In non-defining clauses (with commas), you must use who or which. For example: "My brother, who (not that) lives in London, is a doctor."

English Relative Clauses Practice

Defining vs. Non-Defining

Discussion

Grammar Series