There are essentially two types of relative clauses: non-restrictive and restrictive. Today’s lesson will focus on non-restrictive relative clauses. A relative clause connects related information to a subject, object or possessor in the main clause of the sentence.

Now, let's practice. For each pair of sentences that follow select the one that you feel is the most important. There is no incorrect answer! It's up to you which piece of information is important.

In each of the relative clauses below, notice that the information that is given is ADDITIONAL, not necessary information.

Subjects
Jeff, who is an American, loves Japanese food.
Japanese noodle soup, which is served hot, should be slurped.
Objects
I spoke to Jeff, (who) whom we all knew, about his diet.
I tried not to slurp my ramen soup, which was quite hot, but it was impossible.
Possessors
Jeff, whose knowledge of Japanese food is good, gave me some advice.
Jay, whose favorite NBA player is Russell Westbrook, says that he can beat Len in basketball.

Practice
Conjoin each of the following pairs of sentences into one sentence with a non-restrictive relative clause. Keep in mind that the information in the relative clause is to be considered additional, that is, not the main part of the sentence.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio is a famous actor. Leonardo is Len’s cousin.

2. Captain Yossarian is a pilot. Captain Yossarian wants us to believe that he is crazy.

3. UCLA is the second largest university in California. UCLA is in Los Angeles.

4. My parents used to live in Orange County. My parents live in San Diego now.

5. Ksenia is the tallest student in class. Ksenia speaks English well.

6. Angelina Jolie is coming to Nikita’s party tomorrow. I just called Angelina Jolie.

7. Megumi‘s photo of Jay was stolen. Megumi is unhappy.

8. I saw Nina dancing last night on Hawthorne Boulevard. Nina is my classmate.

9. Huyen is very happy. Huyen stole Megumi’s photo of Jay.

10. Sayuri was talking to Megumi. Megumi is my classmate.

Let’s look at another sentence which contains a restrictive relative clause.

The man who is sitting next to Elena is Brad Pitt’s younger, more handsome brother.

The restrictive relative clause IDENTIFIES or points out which man (out of perhaps many possibilities) is Brad Pitt’s brother.

The information in the restrictive relative clause provides the necessary information to identify Brad Pitt’s brother. In other words, without this information, we would not know who the man is.

Practice

Look at the picture below.

Then, create sentences which use restrictive relative clauses to identify the following:

1. Elena’s secret husband
2. Nikita’s girlfriend
3. The California Chardonnay
4. The hostess of the party
5. The man sitting on the right

The following are examples in which the general pronoun that is substituted for the relative pronoun.

1. The boy that is playing the piano…(or who)
2. The wine glass that Miyuki put on the table… (or which)
3. The man that we met…(or who/m)
4. The concert that we loved…(or which)
5. The boy that the dog ran towards…(or towards whom)
6. The table that the boy crawled under…(or under which)

The boy (who/m, that) we met is very clever. [boy is not the subject]
The boy is playing the piano is very clever. [WRONG]

Although there is some choice in placing a preposition which a Wh-pronoun has as its complement, there is no such choice with the general pronoun that.

Wh-
• The table which the boy crawled under…
• The table under which the boy crawled…
That
• The table that the boy crawled under…
• The table under that the boy crawled… [WRONG]

As you can see in the above examples, we must postpose, that is, place the preposition after the word that. The possible options are shown in the table below.