Relative clause

Relative pronouns used in restrictive clauses

From the OWL at Purdue:

Reference to:
Function in
the sentence:		 People Things/concepts Place Time Explanation
           
Subject who, that which, that      
Object (that, who, whom)* (which, that)* where when what/why
Possessive whose whose, of which      

Introduction and General Usage in Defining Clauses

AND SEE:
• Restrictive and nonrestrictive modifiers | ALL POSTS

Quiz on sentence combining

The quiz will ask you to combine sentences using adjectives, adverbs, and relative clauses.

Some relative clauses will be restrictive, others nonrestrictive. For a very short and clear explanation of restrictive & nonrestrictive clauses, see Restrictive Clauses at ESL Gold.

Combining sentences using adjectives

The cat napped on the windowsill.
The cat was black.
Combined: The black cat napped on the windowsill.

Combining sentences using relative clauses

Restrictive relative clause:
The bird is perched in the tree.
The bird is singing.
Combined: The bird which is perched in the tree is singing.
or:
The bird that is perched in the tree is singing.*

Nonrestrictive relative clause:
This china belonged to my mother.
I’ve always loved this china.
Combined: This china, which I’ve always loved, belonged to my mother.

Sentences drawn from the news and other sources:

Restrictive relative clause:
Some people shouldn’t throw stones.
Those people live in glass houses.
Combined: People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

Restrictive  relative clause:
The NFL agreement doesn’t change the record.
The record belongs to the teams.
The teams voiced their displeasure.
Combined: The NFL agreement doesn’t change the record for the teams who voiced their displeasure.

Nonrestrictive relative clause:
The window air conditioning unit in our classroom is insanely loud.
The window air conditioning must be 20 years old.
Combined: The window air conditioning unit, which must be 20 years old, is insanely loud.

Nonrestrictive relative clause:
The agreement hinged on working out pension and retirement benefits for the officials.
The officials are part-time employees of the league.
Combined: The agreement hinged on working out pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are part-time employees of the league.
Adapted from “Roger Goodell apologizes to fans” | Associated Press | 9/27/2012

Nonrestrictive relative clause:
Justice O’Connor co-authored the opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The opinion upheld Roe v. Wade.
Combined: Justice O’Connor co-authored the opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe v. Wade.
(Adapted from an Ann Coulter sentence quoted on Language Log)

* Two notes:
I myself like to use the word “who” to refer to animals and birds, but I’m in a minority.
American editors, teachers, and presumably professors strongly prefer the word “that” in restrictive clauses, to the point that many consider “which” an error. I disagree, but I’m in a minority. My advice: use that for restrictive clauses and which for nonrestrictive.

J.D.’s sentences

A few weeks ago, in class, everyone wrote sentences that contained:

I love J.D.’s sentence:

The man who ate 50 Baconators won the contest.

J.D.’s sentence can be “resolved” into these two:

The man won the contest.
He ate 50 Baconators.

Here’s another sentence by J.D.:

A person who is thin eats differently.

A person eats differently.
The person is thin.

*Relative clauses are sometimes called adjective clauses.

Adjective, adjective phrase, adjective clause

SEE ALSO: Phrase versus clause

An adjective “modifies” (“adds information to”) a noun. Adjective phrases and adjective clauses also modify nouns.

adjective
black cat
“Black” is the adjective.

adjective phrase
the cat in the hat
“In the hat” is an adjective phrase.
(remember: A phrase does not have a subject-predicate structure.)

adjective clause (also called “relative clause“)
the cat who lives in the house
“Who lives in the house” is an adjective clause.
(remember: A clause has a subject and a predicate. And: a clause can be independent or dependent. A sentence has at least one independent clause.)

structure of the adjective clause:
who || lives in the house
who [SUBJECT] || lives [VERB] in the house [PREDICATE]
“Who” is the SUBJECT.
“Lives” is the VERB.
“Lives in the house” is the COMPLETE PREDICATE.
NOTE: An adjective clause is a dependent clause. It cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

REVIEW
“Who” is a pronoun. It stands in for (or refers to) “cat.” Pronouns take the place of nouns or noun phrases.

fyi:
Technically, you’re not supposed to use “who” to refer to animals. “Who” refers to people; “that” or “which” refers to animals.

I break this rule intentionally, but I want you to know that the rule exists.

Phrase versus clause

This is a phrase:
in the hat
This is not a phrase:
hat the in

This is a phrase (not a clause):
Rex the dog
This is a clause:
Rex barked

The easiest type of clause to identify has a stated subject and a predicate:
Rex [SUBJECT] || barked [PREDICATE].
Rex [SUBJECT] || barked at the cat [PREDICATE].
(“Barked” is the verb. “Barked at the cat” is the complete predicate. The predicate includes the verb.)
Rex the dog [SUBJECT] || barked at the cat [PREDICATE].
(“Rex the dog” is the complete subject. “Barked at the cat” is the complete predicate.)

A phrase does not have the subject-predicate structure of a clause: 
on the boat
in the classroom
would have been
stand up

Note: In everyday language the term “phrase” refers to two or more “grammatically related” words. (“the big dog” not “dog big the”) Grammarians, however, also use the word “phrase” to apply to just one word because a single word can serve the same function as a phrase:

Sentence Verb phrase
Rex is barking. is barking
Rex barked. barked
   
Sentence Noun phrase
Rex barked. Rex
Rex the neighbor dog barked. Rex the neighbor dog