Relative Clauses
Grammar Rules Guide - Chapter 31
A relative clause acts as a clause that modifies a noun or pronoun. Relative clauses begin with a relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that, whose). Relative clauses can either be restrictive or nonrestrictive.
Restrictive Relative Clauses
A restrictive relative clause is essential in order to complete the meaning of the main clause.
Examples:
Where is the girl who is going?
That's the one which I like best.
Is he the one whose house is on fire?
Nonrestrictive Relative Clauses
A nonrestrictive relative clause adds definition to the main clause, but is not necessary for meaning. Nonrestrictive relative clauses are set off by commas.
Examples:
That girl, who is going to the concert, has a green dress.
The orange car, which is my favorite, has seating for six.
The tuba player, whose house is on fire, just went to band practice.
Common Usage Problems
Beware of sentence fragments when trying to use a relative clause:
He was a loser. Who never thought he would win. [incorrect]
He was a loser who never thought he would win. [revised]
The relative pronoun should immediately follow the antecedent in a relative clause. Violating this rule leads to confusion:
She saw the guy who dated Sheila who has a red mohawk. [unclear] Does Sheila or the guy have a red mohawk? [confusing]
Revised:
She saw the guy, who has a red mohawk, who dated Sheila.
Grammar Rules Guide Index
Active and Passive Voice - Chapter 1
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses - Chapter 2
Adjectives - Chapter 3
Adverbs - Chapter 4
Appositives - Chapter 5
Auxiliary Verbs - Chapter 6
Common and Proper Nouns - Chapter 7
Comparatives and Superlatives - Chapter 8
Complements - Chapter 9
Conjunctions - Chapter 10
Conjunctive Adverbs - Chapter 11
Dangling Modifiers - Chapter 12
Direct and Indirect Objects - Chapter 13
Fused Sentences, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices - Chapter 14
Homophones - Chapter 15
Independent and Dependent Clauses - Chapter 16
Interjections - Chapter 17
Mass and Count Nouns - Chapter 18
Misplaced Modifiers - Chapter 19
Noun and Pronoun Case - Chapter 20
Noun and Verb Phrases - Chapter 21
Nouns - Chapter 22
Parallelism - Chapter 23
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms - Chapter 24
Prepositional Phrases - Chapter 25
Prepositions - Chapter 26
Principal Parts of Verbs - Chapter 27
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement - Chapter 28
Pronouns - Chapter 29
Regular and Irregular Verbs - Chapter 30
Relative Clauses - Chapter 31
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses - Chapter 32
Sentence Fragments - Chapter 33
Sentence Types - Chapter 34
Subjects and Predicates - Chapter 35
Verb Mood - Chapter 36
Verbals and Verbal Phrases - Chapter 37
easyfuncandlebiz.com homeandcareers.com ocnsignal.com walking101.com wicksworks.com