They may add meaning, but if they are removed, the sentence will still function grammatically. Defining vs nondefining there are two types of relative clauses, defining and nondefining. Relative clauses exercise 1 perfect english grammar. A relative clause is an added part in a sentence that is used in relation to the main sentence. Fernandez carmona, english grammar with exercises, longman, 2000.
Defining and nondefining relative clauses who, whom, whose, which, that. Complete the sentences with whose, who, which, or where. A nondefining relative clause also called nonidentifying relative clauses or nonrestrictive relative clauses provide interesting additional information which is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence. English grammar relative clauses relative clauses introduction there are two types of relative clauses. It is not essential information to understand the sentence. Nondefining relative clauses are placed after nouns which are definite already. Nondefining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun, a verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. The house, which was built in 1883, has just been opened to the public. Defining and nondefinining relative clauses exercises pdf. We use relative clauses to combine two simple sentences with the same noun phrases. Another possible answer is which is a familyrun organisation. You may remove the relative pronoun and reduce your sentence in certain conditions. In defining clauses, we can omit the relative pronoun in the position of object. The man next door, who works from home, kept an eye on the house for us.
Defining and nondefining relative clauses intermediate. Welcome to esl printables, the website where english language teachers exchange resources. Defining and nondefining relative clauses english grammar. Defining and nondefining relative clauses nondefining relative clauses. Relative clauses defining and nondefining that, which. We use those to give extra information, which isnt absolutely necessary. A nondefining or nonessential clause gives us more information about the person or thing we are talking about. Nondefining relative clauses english grammar b2 level. Relative clauses defining and nondefining give extra information about a person, a thing etc. To understand the distinctions between that and which it is necessary to understand defining restrictive and nondefining nonrestrictive clauses learning these distinctions is one technical aspect of grammar that every user of english should understand, because it is at the root of an assortment of grammatical errors. In nondefining relative clauses, you cannot replace other pronouns with that. A nondefining relative clause gives us extra information about something. Nondefining relative clauses are more often used in written english than in spoken english. Defining and non defining relative clauses by mespada4 its a short explanation to help students see the difference between essential and nonessential information in relative clauses.
These are nondefining relative clauses or nonrestrictive relative clauses. Defining and non defining relative clauses 2 pages worksheet with grammar guide. Generally, there are two types of relative clauses. A nondefining relative clause gives extra information about a noun or noun phrase and has commas at both ends my sister, who lives in france, is coming to stay with me next week. If a nondefining relative clause is removed from a sentence, we lose some detail, but the overall meaning of the sentence remains the same. Add the phrase in brackets to the sentence using that or who and a relative clause. Exercises with answers and grammar rules with examples. Relative clausesrelative pronouns mixed relative pronouns 1 level.
The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. The pronoun can never be omitted in a nondefining relative clause. In defining relative clauses, the pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken english. The information in a defining relative clause is essential, so we cant leave out the relative clause. This smartphone, i bought last week, takes great photos. Please contact me if you have any questions or ntact me if you have any questions or comments. Relative clause exercises about defining and nondefining relative clauses. Nondefining relative clauses definition of nondefining. Make one sentence by changing the sentence in italics into a defining relative clause. The modern olympic games, which take place every four years, were first held in 1896. It tells us more about someone or something, but do not define it.
Look at these examples to see how nondefining relative clauses are used. Relative clauses learnenglish teens british council. Relative clauses are nonessential parts of a sentence. Turn the underlined sentence into a relative clause. Advanced choose the correct response to complete each relative clauses. This type of clause is separated from the main clause by commas. Nondefining relative pronouns exercise three things about nondefining relative clauses. Nondefining relative clauses non defining clauses add extra information.
Nondefining relative clauses are not used in spoken english. We could miss out the relative and the meaning would still be clear. First, lets consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause. Exercise 2 nondefining relative clauses solutions oxford. This example contains information about the noun the river nile. Add the phrase in brackets to the sentence using a relative clause. You also cannot leave out the relative pronoun in nondefining relative clauses, in the way you sometimes can in defining relative clauses. Nondefining relative clauses defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way to. Nondefining clauses nonrestrictive clauses we use nondefining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing. Relative clauses exercise 3 perfect english grammar.
Defining and nondefining relative clauses test english. See a list of all the exercises about relative clauses here. Relative clauses nondefining relative clauses grammar. The man who wants to talk to you is waiting for you. We cant drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause. They are also known as nonrestrictive relative clauses and they are particularly common in written english. Dublin, is the capital of ireland, is my favourite city. A worksheet where students must combine sentences with the appropriate relative pronoun and then deciding if these are defining or nondefining. Buckingham palace, the queen of england lives, is in the. Restrictive relative clauses are also called defining relative clauses.
Printable english grammar pdf rules to download for free. A defining relative clause gives essential information about the noun or noun phrase it modifies, without which the sentence wouldnt make sense as the listener or reader would not be able to identify the noun in the sentence the hotel that we stayed in wasnt bad. Please contact me if you have any questions or ntact me. The relative clause is closed off by commas and is quite similar to information in brackets. The ring that was stolen from my room hasnt been found yet. We can use that in defining relative clauses we can use that instead of. We use commas to separate them from the rest of the sentence, unless they come at the end of the sentence, when we use a comma and a full stop. Relative clauses defining and nondefining test english. A defining relative clause gives us information necessary to understand the sentence. Going to present perfect tense past perfect tense future perfect tense regular, irregular verbs modal auxiliary verbs. Amelia, mother is from shanghai, speaks english and chinese fluently. Practice on the defining and nondefining relative clauses.
They are seperated by commas in writing, and by a pause on either side. Nondefining relative clauses english grammar rules. Grammar quiz relative clauses complete these sixteen sentences to score your knowledge of relative clauses. Nondefining relative clauses give us more nonessential information about a noun. Relative clauses there are two types of relative clause. Have they found the prisoner who escaped last week. As the name suggests, nondefining relative clauses tell us more about someone or something, but the information in these clauses does not help us to define. Relative clauses exercise 2 perfect english grammar. When there is a preposition in a relative clause, this usually goes at the end of the sentence. The information in a nondefining relative clause is extra information which isnt essential, so we can leave out the relative clause.
A collection of english esl worksheets for home learning, online practice, distance learning and english classes to teach about nondefining, relative, claus. Nonrestrictive relative clauses are also called nondefining relative clauses in both restrictive and nonrestrictive relative clauses, the relative pronoun can act as the subject or object. Mr brown, whom we studied english with, is a very nice. Relative pronouns relative pronouns are the words that introduce relative clauses. The other type of relative clause adds extra information to the whole of the main clause. Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned.
Learn more about using defining relative clauses correctly nondefining clauses. Commas or parentheses are always used to separate nondefining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence. It is important to distinguish between them because it affects the choice of pronoun used to introduce the clause. Bbc learning english quiznet nondefining relative clauses. In the grammar chart below, you can see the main differences between them. Relative clauses exercise 4 perfect english grammar. Relative pronouns and sentences in english grammar exercises. Nondefining relative clauses also called nonidentifying relative clauses or nonrestrictive relative clauses give additional information on something, but do not define it. Relative clauses nondefining relative clauses learnenglish. The information that is given by nondefining relative clauses is extra and it is not necessary. The award was given to sara, whose short story impressed the judges. Use who, that the girl who is the best in our class is nayad. English esl defining relative clauses worksheets most downloaded 27 results prev. Nondefining relative clauses give us extra information about someone or something.
Nondefining relative clauses give us information about a person or a thing, just like defining clauses. However, sometimes a relative clause is so important that the main sentence will be difficult to understand or have no meaning without it. They are not essential in the sentence and can be omitted without causing confusion. Nondefining relative clauses give information about nouns the river nile, which is over 6,500 kilometres long, is egypts main source of water. Defining relative clauses defining relative clauses carry essential information, because they identify which thing or person we are talking about, and they are used without commas this is the music which was used at the show. A non defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. There are two types of relative clauses 1 defining 2 nondefining defining relative clauses specify a particular noun.
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