Main points
*You use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing you are talking about.
*Non-defining relative clause must be introduced by a relative pronoun such as ‘which’, ‘who’, ‘whom’, or ‘whose’.
* A non-defining relative clause comes immediately after a noun and needs a main clause to make a complete sentence.
a) You use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about the person or thing you are talking about. The information is not needed to identify that person or thing.
- Professor Marvin, who was always early, was there already.
‘Who was always early’ gives extra information about Professor Marvin. This is a non-defining clause. Because it is not needed to identify the person you are talking about. We already know that you are talking about Professor Marvin.
Note that in written English, a non-defining relative clause is usually separated from the main clause by a comma, or by two commas.
- I went to the cinema with Mary, who I think you met.
- British Rail, which has launched an enquiry, said one coach was badly damaged.
b) You always start a non-defining relative clause with a relative pronoun. When you are talking about people, you use ‘who’. ‘Who’ can be the subject or object of a non-defining relative clause.
- Heath Robinson, who died in 1944, was a graphic artist and cartoonist.
- I was in the same group as Janice, who I like a lot.
In formal English, ‘whom’ is sometimes used instead of ‘who’ as the object of a non-defining relative clause.
- She was engaged to a sailor, whom she had met at Dartmouth.
c) When you are talking about things, you use ‘which’ as the subject or object of a non-defining relative clause.
- I am teaching at the Selly Oak centre, which is just over the road.
- He was a man of considerable inherited wealth, which he ultimately spent on his experiments.
Remember that you don’t normally use ‘that’ in non-defining relative clauses.
d) You can also use anon-defining relative clause beginning with ‘which’ to say something about the whole situation described in a main clause.
- I never met Brando again, which was a pity.
- She was a little tense, which was understandable.
- Small computers need only small amount of power, which means that they will run on small batteries.
e) When you are talking about a group of people or things and then want to say something about only some of them, you can use one of the following expressions:
| many of which | none of which | one of which | some of which |
| many of whom | none of whom | one of whom | some of whom |
- They were all friends, many of whom had known each other for years.
- He talked about several very interesting people, some of whom he was still in contact with.
f) You can use ‘when’ and ‘where’ in non-defining relative clauses after expressions of time or place.
- This happened in 1957, when I was still a baby.
- She has just come back from a holiday in Crete, where Alex and I went last year.
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Top Tips Abz Ingles: Part A - Part B
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See also:
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