Thursday, 3 October 2013

Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses



Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses 

A)  Defining Relative Clauses  ----- introduced by Relative Pronoun /Adverb
          --  identify / explain which person (who/whose/whom) or thing (which/ the noun
               of which)  you are talking about
          --  specific / definite among so many people / things
--  Without the relative clauses, you are not sure which person/ animal/ thing/
               place/event/reason/time

          (1)  The girl who can sing so well is my cousin.
                   (Without the relative clause ‘who can sing so well’, we don’t know which
                     girl you are referring to as there are so many girls.)

          (2)  The woman whose daughter is a doctor was cheated of a few hundred
                thousand  dollars by a vice syndicate
          (3)  The old man whom I am talking to just now is very strong and healthy.
          (4)  The new printer which is of the latest model works well. 
(5)  Where is the cat which Peter saved from being drowned a few days ago?
(6)  The goose the left wing of which was injured yesterday is my grandmother’s
       pet.
          (7)  Do you know the place where he has gymnastic exercise?
          (8)  Find out the time when we have to report our presence.
          (9)  Nobody knows the reason why he reigned from his job.
          (10)  Ulrich taught his fellow cooks patiently the way how he made cheese 
                 cakes.                        

B)  Non-Defining Relative Clauses 

            --don’t define the noun phrases preceding them
           --merely provide extra information about the noun phrases

(1)    Tina’s father, who is a businessman, has gone to Hong Kong.
          (2)  Helen, whose car is blue in colour, is very cautious and meticulous.
          (3)  Siewsiew, whom Mr Wong punished just now, is very forgetful.
(4)  The refrigerator, which is frost-free, is made in Germany.
(5)  The house the colour of which is green and blue, belongs to Ahmad.
(6)  Faster, the brand of the pen, which she likes so much,  has been out of
      stock for a year already.
(7)    The central market, the place where I go for marketing every Sunday, has
       become an important landmark in Sibu.
(8)    We always remember 31st Aught, 1957, the day when the British returned 
      the power to Malaysians.
          (9)  Being ill, the reason why he was absent for 3 days, is a lame excuse.
(10)  Prising open the door to enter the house, the way how thieves do, is
        scaring.

Note: 
‘That’, the relative pronoun, is only used in Defining Relative Clause, not Non-Defining Clause.

The objective case of Relative Pronoun/ adverb is to be omitted.

          Nominative Case               Possessive Case                Objective Case
               who                                whose                             whom
               which                         the noun of which                  which              
               that                            ----------------------                 that


Relative Pronoun --> who / whose/ whom / which
Relative Adverbs -->  where / when / why / how     (also Interrogative Adverbs)

The objective case of Relative Pronoun which is followed by [S] V.

(1)  That is the student (whom) [Miss Chieng] punished a few days ago.
          (You can omit ‘whom’)
(2)  The hamster (which) [Ziwei] caught in the bushes a few weeks ago eats and sleeps 
       a lot every day.  (which)
(3)  The vase (that) [Mrs Rahman] bought last June was broken into pieces just now. 
        (that)
(4)  Do you know the place where [he] put his briefcase?  (where)
(5)  Nobody can tell us the time when [the accident] happened.   (when)
(6)  We have to find out the reason why he was absent yesterday.  (why)
(7)  He might know the way how we could solve the problem once and for all.  (how)

How to distinguish different clauses


Noun clauses answer the question  == what/who/whose/who  (Interrogative pronouns)
Indirect statement/ conjunction == that

(1)  [Nobody] dared to ask (what it was in that big box).  (What was it in that big box?)
(2)  Do [you] know (who our new English teacher is)?  (Who is our new English 
      teacher?)
(3)  [He] wants to find out (whose car it is).  (Whose car is it?)
(4)  [You] have to let (your parents) know (whom you associate with).  (Whom do you
         associate with?)
(5)  [He] told (us) (that he was sick).   (What did he tell you?)
(6)  That she has to move house soon is true.   (What is true?)
       It__________________________________________________________________     
(7)  [What he has told us] really upsets us?  (What really upsets you?)
(8)  Have [you] decided ([which girl] is to be chosen for ((the singing competition))?

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