Relative Clauses — Adding Information Without Starting a New Sentence
🎯 B1–B2
⏱️ 5 min
💬 Grammar that sounds smart: Instead of writing two short sentences — “This is the student. She won the prize.” — you can say: “This is the student who won the prize.” One sentence. More elegant. Cambridge exams reward this.
Relative Clauses — Adding Information Smoothly
| Pronoun | Refers to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people | The teacher who inspired me retired last year. |
| which | things / animals | The book which she recommended was excellent. |
| that | people or things (defining) | The bag that I lost had my passport in it. |
| whose | possession | The student whose essay won is from Paris. |
| where | places | The café where we met has closed. |
Defining vs Non-Defining
Defining (no commas)
Essential — tells us which one:
The woman who called left a message.
(We need the clause to identify the woman)
Non-Defining (with commas)
Extra info — remove it, sentence still works:
My mother, who lives in Chittagong, called me.
No “that” in non-defining clauses.
🎯 Quick Practice — Add who, which, that, whose, or where
- The city ___ I was born has changed a lot.
- The man ___ wallet was stolen called the police.
- Have you seen the film ___ everyone is talking about?
- My sister, ___ is a nurse, works nights.
Reveal Answers ▼
- where
- whose
- that / which
- who
✅ Takeaway: who (people) · which (things) · that (people/things, defining only) · whose (possession) · where (places). Commas = non-defining. No “that” in non-defining clauses.
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