RESTRICTIVE AND NON -RESTRICTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSES
I. Restrictive relative clauses with who, whom, which and that
1. Study examples: I spoke to the woman who owns the hotel
Did you see the letter which came this morning ?
“who owns the hotel and which came this morning” are restrictive relative clauses. These clauses tell us which
person or thing the speaker means
2. Usage of who, whom, which, and that
Eg 1: That is the man. He works in the post office That is the man who works in this office
The woman was very nice. She interviewed me The woman who interviewed me was very nice
* we use Who for people
Eg 2: The keys have disappeared. They were on the table The keys which were on the table have disappeared
I don’t like stories. They have unhappy ending I don’t like stories which have unhappy ending
* we use Which for things
Eg 3 : That is the man. He works in the post office That is the man that works in this office
I don’t like stories. They have unhappy ending I don’t like stories that have unhappy ending
* we can use that instead of who, which
3 Leaving out who, which, and that in defining relative clauses
Eg1: The woman who I want to see was on holiday.
I want to see the woman. ( who = “woman” is the object)
Have you found the book that you lost ?
You lost the book. ( that = “book” is the object)
When who/ which/ that is the object, we can leave it out. So we can say:
The woman I want to see was on holiday.
Have you found the book you lost?
4. Usage of whose, whom, and where
Eg1: we saw some people. Their car had broken. We saw some people whose car had broken
I‘ve got a friend. His brother is an actor I’ve got a friend whose brother is an actor
* We use Whose in relative clause instead of his, her, your, my, its, our, … to talk about possession
Eg2: The woman was on holiday. I want to see her. The woman whom I want to see was on holiday
Tom is my brother’s friend. I met him yesterday Tom whom I met yesterday is my brother’s friend
* We use whom instead of who when it is the object of the verb in the relative clause
Eg3: The hotel wasn’t clean. We stayed there. The hotel where we stayed wasn’t clean.
* We can use where in relative clause to talk about places, when about times, and why for reason.
II. Non – restrictive relative clause
Restrictive relative clauses Non – restrictive relative clause
Eg1: The woman who lives next my door is a doctor. My brother Jim, who lives in London, is a doctor
We stayed at the hotel where Ann told us. I stayed at the Grand Hotel, which Ann told us.
Restrictive relative clause tells which person or thing the speaker means.(“The woman who lives next my
door” tell us which woman)
Non - restrictive relative clause do not tell which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which
thing or person is meant (“my brother is Jim”, “Grand Hotel”). It gives extra information about person or
thing. We use (,) in the clauses.
Choose the best option
1 Darwin, ................theory of evaluation is famous throughout the world was an English scientist.
A. who B. whose C. whom D. that
2 The telephone, ................was invented by Graham Bell, has changed our way of communication.
A. that B. when C. which D. who
3 Marie Curie, ................ won a Nobel prize in Physics, is among the greatest scientists of all times.
A. who B. whose C. that D. whom
4 Jane Eyre, which ................ by Charlotte Bronte, is one of my favourite novels.
A. wrote B. written C. was written D. writes
5 . ................ was a French Emperor, fought his final battle in Waterloo.
A. Napoleon Bonarparte who B. Napoleon Bonarparte, who
C. Napoleon Bonarparte, that D. Napoleon Bonarparte, whose
6 Charles Dicken, whose .................... all over the world, was not very successful with his career at first.
A. books read B. books reading C. books are read D. books to read
7 Johan,.................... the first prize in the inter- university marathon race, is my classmate.
A. winning B. won C. who winning D. who won
8 Bill Gates, .................... among the software engineers, is one of the richest men in the world.
A. whose name is famous B. whose famous name is
C. whose is famous name D. whose name famous is
9 Who .................... wrote Pride and Prejudice?
A. the English writer who B. was the writer English who
C. was the English writer who D. the English writer who was
10 A conference …………….takes place every year is called a yearly conference.
A. where B. which C. when D. who
11 I come from Seattle, …………….. many successful companies like Microsoft and Boeing are situated.
A. which B. where C. that D. X
12 This is the factory ................... my father used to work.
A. who B. which C. where D. whose
13 Don’t you know the writer ................... wrote this novel?
A. who B. where C. whose D. which
14 I took the damaged watch to my watch maker ................. knows how to repair all sorts of things.
A. which B. whose C. who D. where
15 She will take us to the town ................. we can see old temples.
A. which B. when C. where D. whom
16He thought much of his childhood ................ he lived with his family in the country.
A. that B. where C. when D. which
17. Dr. Sales is a person ................ I don’t have much confidence.
A. whom B. in whom C. in that D. that
18. The boy ................ is standing there is my son.
A. which B. whose C. who D. whom
20. I’ll introduce to you the man ................ support is necessary for your project.
A. who B. whom C. that D. whose
21. Do you know the boy ................ father is a teacher?
A. that B. whom C. whose D. which
22.The place ...................we spent our holiday was really beautiful.
A. what B. who C. which D. where
23. She doesn’t understand ................... I am saying.
A. what B. whose C. that D. where
25.I have always wanted to visit Paris, ................... of France.
A. is the capital B. which the capital is
C. that is the capital D. the capital
26. “Is this the dress to ................... you want the package sent?”
A. where B. that C. which D. whom
27.The new shopping centre is big. It’s advertised as a place .......you can find just about anything you
may want to buy.
A. where B. which C. in where D. in that
28. The children, ...................parents work late, are taken home by bus.
A.Whom B. whose C. that D. their
29.The place ...................we spent our holiday was really beautiful.
A. what B. who C. which D. where
30.We are going to visit Hanoi,……..is the capital of Vietnam.
A. which B. that C. where D. who
31.This man studies biology. What do you call him?
A. What do you call a man who studies biology? B. What do you call a man, who studies biology?
C. What do you call a man studies biology? D. What do you call a man whom studies biology?
32.Hemingway developed a very concise writing style. His name is well- known throughout the world.
A. Hemingway, his name is well- known throughout the world, developed a very concise writing style.
B. Hemingway, whose is name well- known throughout the world, developed a very concise writing style
C. Hemingway, whose name is well- known throughout the world, developed a very concise writing style
D. Hemingway, who developed a very concise writing style, his name is well- known throughout the world.
33 This is the battle field. The soldiers fought there.
A. This is the battle field which the soldiers fought. B. This is the battle field that the soldiers fought.
C. This is the battle field where the soldiers fought there. D. This is the battle field where the soldiers fought.
34 He was born in 1983.There was a severs drought that year.
A. He was born in 1983 when there was a severe drought.
B. He was born in 1983 when was there a severe drought
C. When there was a severe drought in 1983 he was born.
D. He was born in 1983, there was a severe drought when
35 Marie Curie,/ discovered/ who/ French/ was/ radium/,/ a/ famous/ physicist/
A. Marie Curie, who was radium, discovered a famous French physicist.
B. Marie Curie, who discovered radium, was a famous French physicist.
C. Marie Curie was a famous French physicist, who discovered radium
D. Marie Curie, who discovered radium was a famous, French physicist.
35.Solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon. It happens at different times around the world.
A. Solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon happens at different times around the world.
B. Solar eclipse, which is a natural phenomenon, happens at different times around the world.
C. Solar eclipse, a natural phenomenon, happens at different times around the world.
D. Both (B) and (C)
36The Green World is a conference on environment. It is organized every two years.
A. The Green World, which is a conference on environment, is organized every two years.
B. The Green World, is organized every two years, is a conference on environment
C. The Green World a conference on environment which is organized every two years.
D. The Green World which a conference on environment is organized every two years.
37 The moon is the nearest planet to the earth. It causes tides on the earth.
A. The moon is the nearest planet to the earth, which causes tides on the earth.
B. The moon which nearest planet to the earth, causes tides on the earth.
C. The moon, which is the nearest planet to the earth, causes tides on the earth.
D. The moon causes tides on the earth is the nearest planet to the earth.
38 The earth used to be considered the centre of the universe. It is actually just a satellite of the sun.
A. The earth, which used to be considered the centre of the universe, is actually just a satellite of the sun.
B. The earth, using to be considered the centre of the universe, is actually just a satellite of the sun.
C. The earth, used to be considered the centre of the universe, which is actually just a satellite of the sun.
D. The earth, which used to be considered the centre of the universe, which is actually just a satellite of the sun.
39 I attended a course on the solar system. That course was taught by Professor Harvey.
A. I attended a course on the solar system, which taught by Professor Harvey.
B. I attended a course on the solar system, which was taught by Professor Harvey.
C. I attended a course which on the solar system Professor Harvey taught.
D. I attended a course which on the solar system Professor Harvey taught by
40 John Montagu was an English Earl. He invented the sandwich.
A. John Montagu, whose invented the sandwich, was an English Earl.
B. John Montagu, who invented the sandwich, was an English Earl.
C. John Montagu, that invented the sandwich, was an English Earl.
D. John Montagu, invented the sandwich, was an English Earl.
41 We know a lot of people……………….live in London.
A. which B. thet C. whom D. who
42 I live in a city……………population is over one million.
A. which’s B. that’s C. who’s D. whose
43.Last month we spent our holiday in Tokyo,…………..there are many temples.
A. which B. that C. where D. who
44.Where is the T-shirt…………….she gave you on your birthday.
A. which B. who C. whom D. of which
45.It would be hard to name areas……………..computers are not being used.
A. where B. how C. what D. when
46.He wanted to know the reason ................... I was late.
A. why B. for C. as D. because
47. A magazine which publishes every month is called a monthly magazine.
A B C D
48 The painting Sun Flower, which painted by Van Goh, was stolen many times.
A B C D
49 My father, that has a special craze for cars, has just brought another sports car.
A B C D
50. Earnest Hamwi, who invention of the ice cream cone brought him a lot of money, was a pastry vendor.
A B C D
51 Professor Thompson, gave a lecture at our university last week, is a worlds famous physicist.
A B C D
52 HCM city, that used to be called Sai Gon, is the biggest city in southern Vietnam.
A B C D
53 He is working in Nha Trang, where has one of the most beatiful beaches in Vietnam.
A B C D
54. Ho Chi Minh city, which named is after President Ho Chi Minh , is quite a young city.
A B C D
55.Marilyn Monroe, who a famous actress, died of drug overdose.
A B C D
56. I’m very grateful to Mr Anderson, whom taught me the first lessons of computer skills.
A B C D
EXERCISE I : Write who, that, which, or nothing to complete these sentences :
1/ Have you got the money ___________ I lent you yesterday ?
2/ Peter, ___________ I had seen earlier, wasn’t at the party.
3/ This is the machine ___________ cost half a million pounds.
4/ Mary, ___________ had been listening to the conversation, looked angry.
5/ Have you read the book ___________ I gave you ?
6/ The house, ___________ they bought three months ago, looks lovely.
7/ Mrs.Jackson, ___________ had been very ill, died yesterday.
8/ Is this the person ___________ stole your handbag ?
9/ The dog, ___________ had been very quiet, suddenly started barking.
10/ I didn’t receive the letters ___________ she sent me.
11/ My mother, ___________ hadn’t been expecting visitors, looked surprised.
12/ The old man, ______ had been talking to them earlier, knew that they were in the building.
13/ The horse, _________ had been injured by the flying stones, was very frightened.
14/ We didn’t like the secretary ___________ the agency sent.
15/ I didn’t find the money ___________ you said you’d left
16/ We visited the school ___________ my father taught.
17/ I met her last month, ___________ she came to our house.
18/ We all looked at the place ___________ the fire had started.
19/ Did they tell you the reason ___________ they were late?
20/ The cat sat on the wall ___________ it had a good view of the birds.
21/ They arrived in the evening, at a time ___________ we were all out.
22/ I couldn’t understand the reason ___________ they were so rude.
23/ I met him in the cafeù ___________ he was working as a waiter.
24/ I listen to music late at night, ___________ the children have gone to bed.
25/ I bought them in August, ___________ I was in France.
EXERCISE II : Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns :
1/ This is the man. I met him in Paris.
- ________________________________________________
2/ I wanted the painting. You bought it.
- ________________________________________________
3/ This is the chair. My parents gave it to me.
- ________________________________________________
4/ She’s the woman. She telephoned the police.
- ________________________________________________
5/ He’s the person. He wanted to buy your house.
- ________________________________________________
6/ We threw out the computer. It never worked properly.
- ________________________________________________
7/ This is the lion. It’s been ill recently.
- ________________________________________________
8/ The man was badly injured. He was driving the car.
- ________________________________________________
9/ The children broke the window. They live in the next street.
- ________________________________________________
10/ That’s the woman. I was telling you about her.
- _______________________________________________.
11/ We need a room. We can study in that room.
____________________________________________
12/ Swimming makes people strong. It is a good sport.
- ______________________________________________
13/ This is Mrs.Jones. Her son won the championship last year.
- ________________________________________________
14/ The Smiths were given rooms in the hotel. Their house had been destroyed in the explosion.
- ________________________________________________
15/ He invited her to eat out on a day. It rained heavily on that day.
- ________________________________________________
16/ The house was built in 1945. They are living in that house.
- ________________________________________________
17/ The reason was that he didn’t want to make her worried. He didn’t tell the truth for that reason.
- ________________________________________________
18/ The day was sunny. She arrived on that day.
- _______________________________________________
19/ I know the woman. You bought the car from her son.
- ________________________________________________
20/ Are you the man ? The man won the first prize.
- ________________________________________________