Lesson 14 - Animals
Navigation: Home → Advanced Level → Lesson 14 → Grammar
Pages in this lesson: Vocabulary - Grammar - Listening - Dialogue - Reading - Expressions - Dictation - Game
This page: Learn how to form restrictive and non-restrictive clauses in English.

John Wilkes Booth was the man who shot Abraham Lincoln.
 

Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses
Grammar

Restrictive Clauses

Restrictive clauses provide essential information in a sentence. The sentence doesn't make sense without the clause. The restrictive clause is the part in red in the examples below. Note in the examples below how the clause provides information to describe and define the noun. For example, in the first sentence, it doesn't make sense to say only "He's the man." You wouldn't know which man you're talking about.

• He's the man that interviewed the president.
• That's the place where I lost my earring.
• The man who stole the necklace is now in jail.

A restrictive clause begins with a relative pronoun.

Relative pronouns
Pronoun	The pronoun is used for...
that, who, whom*	a person
whose	a possessive
that, which	a thing
where	a place
when	a time
why	a reason

*Who is a subject pronoun and "whom" is an object pronoun.

 

Exercise - Restrictive Clauses

Combine the two sentences into one to form a sentence with a restrictive clause. Use the relative pronoun in parentheses. Note that when you combine the two sentences, you eliminate the repeated information (the noun is in both sentences). That's why we eliminate "He" in the first example below and "The woman" in the second example. Make sure you use correct capitalization and include a period at the end.

examples
He's the man. He broke the world record in running. (who)

The woman gave me a rose. The woman works in the flower shop. (that)

 

1. That's the book. The book won a national award. (that)

 

2. She's the teacher. She teaches science and math at my school. (who)

 

3. That's the restaurant. We go to eat pizza there. (where)

 

4. We go to the park. It is near our house. (that)

 

5. Susan wrote a letter. It was published in the newspaper. (which)

 

 

Non-Restrictive Clauses

Non-restrictive clauses provide extra information (not essential to the meaning of the sentence). The non-restrictive clause is the part in red in the examples below. Note that the clause is separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

• John, who lives near my house, is in my Spanish class this year.
• He went on vacation to San Diego, which is in the United States.
• Helen, whose mother is the school principal, volunteered to help with the program.

A non-restrictive clause also begins with a relative pronoun, but the word "that" is not used in non-restrictive clauses.

Relative pronouns
Pronoun	The pronoun is used for...
who, whom*	a person
whose	a possessive
which	a thing
where	a place
when	a time
why	a reason

*Who is a subject pronoun and "whom" is an object pronoun.

 

Exercise - Non-Restrictive Clauses

Combine the two sentences into one to form a sentence with a non-restrictive clause. Use the relative pronoun in parentheses. Note that when you combine the two sentences, you eliminate the repeated information (the noun is in both sentences). That's why we eliminate "She" in the first example below and "It" in the second example. Also remember that you have to separate the clause from the rest of the sentence with commas.

examples
I called Jane Thomas. She used to work at the pharmacy. (who)

San Francisco is a beautiful city. It is in northern California. (which)

 

1. I ate at Gino's Restaurant. It is on Main Street. (which)

 

2. Norma is a great cook. She is my friend's mother. (who)

 

3. We went to the beach. They had a sand castle competition at the beach. (where)

 

4. The senator spoke to the audience. The senator's book was published recently. (whose)

 

5. The building was recognized for its architecture. It was rebuilt after the fire. (which)

 

 

Instructions Identify the error in the following sentences and write the corrected version. example He are a teacher. → He is a teacher.  1. The products, who were sold in five countries, are very popular.   2. The television, wich broke yesterday, is now working.   3. Anfibians, which include frogs and toads, are cold-blooded animals.   4. Sharon, who helped me in class is a very nice person. *   5.  He wrote the report, that was presented to the board of directors. *   *The error in these sentences is that a comma is missing or is not needed.

 

Writing

Write one sentence with a restrictive clause and one with a non-restrictive clause in English.

Write in the comments section below. Passport to English is a community of people who want to learn English for free. Please be supportive of each other. If you see a mistake in someone's writing, please respond with the correction. Remember that comments other than those written by Janet Castrejon (the author of this website) do not represent Passport to English. If someone posts inappropriate comments on this page, please send a message to mail@passporttoenglish.com and include the page where you saw the comment.

 

 

Listening Exercise

 

Advanced English - Lesson 14 - Animals
Vocabulary - Grammar - Listening - Dialogue - Reading - Expressions - Dictation - Game

 

Important Links

Beginning - Intermediate - Advanced - Teachers

Pronouns - Pronunciation Rules - Verbs - Irregular Verbs

Vocabulary - Grammar - Pronunciation - Spelling

Common Words - Study Abroad

Dialogues - Reading