Dependent clauses are

nominal, adjectival, and adverbial clauses

Dependent clauses may work like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in

complex sentences.

Adjectival clauses

There are various ways of supplying more information about a noun in

English. Frequently we use adjectives (e.g: a helpful teacher) and often other

nouns (e.g: a university teacher).

Relative clauses (adjectival clauses) are another very common way of supplying more specific information about a noun

referring to a person, thing or group

Adjectival clauses always follow the person, place, or thing they describe,

usually immediately.

   Which book did Joe read? 

Answer:  the one that I gave him

Like a single-word adjective, an adjectival clause describes a noun   

Joe read the book that I gave him.

main clause adjectival clause describing book

What kind of politician has the support of the people? 

Answer:  one who is trustworthy

A politician who is trustworthy has the support of the people.

adjectival clause describing politician

main clause

The teacher who looked after our class today doesn’t normally work here.

The flowers that I bought yesterday have already died.

What is the name of the person who phoned you?

We know a lot of people who live in the country.

An adjectival clause usually begins with a relative pronoun, which makes the

clause subordinate (dependent).

Common relative pronouns: that       which      who     whom     whose

NOTE:  Use who, whom, and whose to describe people.               Use that and which to describe things.

Anna is someone that I really admire.

Is there anyone who knows how this machine works?

There's something that you should know.

Relative clauses can also be used after some pronouns. They are quite common after indefinite pronouns such as something, someone, anything, anyone, everything everyone, nothing, all, and superlatives.

Everyone who has worked with her will miss her very much.

It was the best film that I've ever seen.

Relative clauses are also sometimes used after words like some, many, much, all, or those which can function as pronouns, e.g:

Like many who were taking the exam, I felt very nervous.

A small bar of chocolate was all that we had to eat.

There's something that you should know.

A relative pronoun can act as the subject or object of the verb in a relative clause, compare:

She’s the only person who offered to help. (who clause is subject)

She’s the only person who Janice offered to help. (who clause is object)

When a relative pronoun is functioning as the subject of the verb in a relative clause and is referring back to a person or people, the relative pronouns who or that are used (who is used more frequently than that ), e.g:I paid the man delivered the flowers.

thatwho

I met a woman knows your sister.

thatwho

I didn’t trust the builders fitted our new kitchen.

thatwho

When a relative pronoun is functioning as the subject of the verb in a relative clause and refers back to a thing or things, the relative pronouns which or that are used, e.g:

I’ve bought a new oven comes on automatically.

whichthat

whichthatThere are systems are much

more reliable.

They were a group of college friends I hadn’t seen for several years.

whom who that Ø

I’m afraid Annabel is someone

I really dislike.

whom who that Ø

When a relative pronoun is functioning as the object of the verb in a relative clause and refers back to a person or people, the relative pronouns who, that or whom are used, or the relative pronoun is left out altogether (zero relative pronoun ø ), e.g:

He was a distant cousin whom she had never met.

Whom is rather formal and is only used in written English and formal spoken English.

As a general rule, when the relative pronoun refers back to a person and is functioning as object of the verb in the relative clause, who/that, or the zero relative pronoun (ø) are more common in informal contexts.

The doctor whom/who/that/ø I was hoping to see wasn't on duty.

the room in which we are standing an achievement of which I am very proudthe man to whom she is talking

the article to which he is referring

However if the relative pronoun occurs immediately after a preposition, whom and which must be used, e.g:

* the man with who she livedthe man with whom she lived

But most people tend to avoid this by using who or that or zero relative and placing the preposition at the end of the clause, i.e: the man who she lived with

the man that she lived with

the man she lived with

the room which we are standing in

an achievement which I am very proud of

the article which he is referring to

When a relative pronoun is functioning as the object of the verb in a relative clause and refers back to a thing or things, the relative pronouns which or that are used, or the zero relative (ø) pronoun, e.g:

On the dining room wall was a photograph

my sister had taken.

whichthatø

This is the kind of flour we usually use.

whichthatø

You could put the stones you’ve collected into that bucket.

whichthatø

A relative clause with the relative pronoun whose can be used to talk about something which belongs to a person or an animal, or something or someone that is associated with a person

Is she the woman whose bag was stolen?

Help is needed for families whose homes were flooded.

That must be the cat whose tail got cut off.

He had a sister whose name I’ve forgotten.

She’s the friend whose brother went to a boarding school.

The relative pronoun whose can sometimes be used to refer to countries, organizations or other nouns which imply a group of people, e.g:

I’d prefer to use a bank whose services are reliable.

It was a small country whose population was steadily rising.

The man whose car was stolen is here.

A tree whose leaves have fallen can be transplanted.

The relative clauses we have discussed so far are often referred to as defining or restrictive relative clauses.

This is because they supply information which is needed or essential in order to identify a particular person or thing - they define exactly who or what we are referring to.

Obviously, this is only necessary if there is more than one person or thing involved.

But, a second type of relative clause exists in English.

This kind of relative clause, usually separated by commas, gives additional information about a person or thing.

They are referred to as non-defining or non-restrictive relative clauses.

These two sentences contain relative clauses: My sister who’s a nurse moved to Italy.This sentence contains a defining relative clause.

I have more than one sister and it is needed to tell

you which sister I am talking about.

This sentence contains a non-defining relative clause.

It just adds information, but could be omitted without loss of meaning.

Such clauses are more common in written English.

My sister, who's a nurse, moved to Italy.

I could see two girls standing on the platform. The girl who was carrying a small child got onto the train. (defining relative clause)

I could see two girls standing on the platform. One of the girls, who was carrying a small child, got onto the train. (non-defining relative clause)

Defining Relative Clauses

The information provided in a defining relative clause is crucial in understanding the meaning of the sentence.

The woman who lives in apartment No. 34 has been arrested. The document that I need has 'important' written information at the top.

If a defining relative clause is removed from a sentence, the meaning of the

main clause changes.

The purpose of a defining relative clause is to clearly define who or what we are talking about.

Without this information, it would be difficult to know who or what is meant.

The house is being renovated.

In this case it is not necessarily clear which house is being renovated. The house my parents bought is being renovated.

People who can’t swim should not jump into the ocean. The team that wins will receive a cup and 1,000 €.

The man who lives next door is always making a noise.

The man who spoke to me told me the story of his life.

The man that I spoke to told me the story of his life.

Non-defining Relative Clauses

Non-defining relative clauses provide interesting additional information which is not essential to understanding the meaning of the sentence. Mrs. Jackson, who is very intelligent, lives on the corner.

If a nonrestrictive relative clause is removed from a sentence, the

meaning of the main clause does not change.

Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on the Mediterranean coast.

My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every year.

The bank manager, to whom he addressed his complaints, was very unhelpful. - formal.

The local branch manager, who I talked to about my problems, was very helpful. - informal

Correct punctuation is essential in non-defining relative clauses.

If the non-defining relative clause occurs in the middle of a sentence, a comma is put before the relative pronoun and at the end of the clause.

If the non-defining relative clause occurs at the end of a sentence, a comma is put before the relative pronoun.

Non-Defining relative clausesWhen the relative pronoun refers back to a person and is the subject of the non-defining relative clause, who is used, e.g:

The woman, who later died in hospital, has not yet been named.When the relative pronoun refers back to a thing and is the subject of the non-defining relative clause, which is used, e.g:

This new project, which begins in September, will cost several million pounds.

When the relative pronoun refers back to a person and is the object of the non-defining relative clause, who or whom are used, e.g:

Her previous manager, who she had never liked, retired six months ago.

Edward’s brother, whom she later married, never spoke to his parents again.

When the relative pronoun refers back to a thing and is the object of the non-defining relative clause, which is used, e.g:

This bar of chocolate, which he devoured immediately, was the first thing he had eaten in two days.

Note that, unlike in defining relative clauses, there is no zero relative pronoun, i.e. the pronoun cannot be left out when it is functioning as the object of the relative clause, eg:

He was a distant cousin she had never met. (defining)

A distant cousin, who/whom she had never met, was meeting her for lunch. (non-defining)

In general, we use relative clauses to provide extra information. But as you can see this information can either define something (defining clause), or provide unnecessary, but interesting, added information (non-defining clause). There are several facts to consider when deciding which relative pronoun to use: Is the subject or object or possessive of a relative clause? Does it refers to a person or an object? Is the relative clause a defining or non-defining relative clause?

A restrictive relative clause is not separated from the main clause by a comma or commas. A non-restrictive relative clause is separated from the main clause by a comma or commas.

So, comma use with adjectival clauses depends upon essentiality of the adjectival clause.

If the adjectival clause is essential (or "needed"), no commas should be used to separate it from the main clause.  

In a restrictive relative clause, the relative pronoun can be omitted (ø) when it is the object of the clause:

The mouse that the elephant loved was very beautiful.

OR The mouse the elephant loved was very beautiful.

The relative pronoun that cannot be used in nonrestrictive relative clauses.

The relative pronoun cannot be omitted from a nonrestrictive clause. Here is an example: Billy, who couldn’t swim, should not have jumped into the ocean.

Person Thing

Subject who/that which/that

Object who/whom/that/ ø who/whom/that/ ø

Possessive whose whose

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Defining relative clauses

Person Thing

Subject who which

Object who/whom which

Possessive whose whose

Non-Defining relative clauses

RELATIVE PRONOUNS