1. RELATIVE CLAUSES

2. A RELATIVE CLAUSE gives information about the subject or the object of a sentence.

3. A DEFINING CLAUSE gives essential information to identify what it refers to. The girl who speaks English is my sister. The boy who has blue eyes is my brother.

4. A NON-DEFINING CLAUSE gives additional/extra information about something that is already clearly defined/identified. My sister, who speaks English, lives in London. My brother, who has blue eyes, looks like my father.

5. Non-defining clauses are separated by commas from the rest of the sentence and can be left out without affecting the meaning. My father, who is 62, goes running every day.

6. WHO
USED FOR PEOPLE
The people who work there are all my friends. (defining)
Mr. Collins, who lives next door to me, is an engineer. (non-defining)

7. WHOM USED IN FORMAL ENGLISH FOR PEOPLE. REPLACES THE OBJECT.
This is the boy whom I met on the train (defining)
BUT
This is the boy whom plays in the band.
This is the boy who plays in the band.

8. WHOM must be used after PREPOSITIONS.
I think he is the man to whom you must write the letter.
Mr. And Mrs. Jones, with whom we spent our holiday, live in Oxford.

9. WHICH USED FOR THINGS AND ANIMALS
Madrid is the city which I like the most. (defining)
Madrid, which is in central Spain, is the highest capital city in Europe. (non defining)

10. THAT
Replaces WHO or WHICH in defining clauses ONLY. (THAT is never used between commas).
Here’s the boy who broke our window.
Here’s the boy that broke our window.
This is the CD which I bought.
This is the CD that I bought.

11. WHERE The school where I studied has been closed. (defining)
USED FOR PLACES.
The school where I studied has been closed. (defining)
New York, where my cousin lives, is called The Big Apple. (non-defining)

12. WHEN USED FOR TIME. I remember when we first met. (defining)
I will never forget the time when we went fishing. (defining)
Every year in June, when the weather is good, we go to the beach. (non-defining)

13. WHOSE USED FOR POSSESSION.
The man whose car was stolen has called the police. (defining)
The Alhambra, whose gardens are very beautiful, is a 14th century Moorish palace.

14. WHO, WHICH and THAT can be omitted from a defining clause when they are the object of the verb in a relative clause. This is common in spoken English.

15. >She is the girl (who/that) I saw yesterday.
>This is the book (which/that) I borrowed last week.
>She is the girl (who/that) I saw yesterday.
>That is the CD (which/that) I bought yesterday.