Empower C1 Unit 5 (Relative clause)

Unit 5
Relative clause

Empower C1

What is a relative clause?

A relative clause is a clause that modifies a noun (the head noun) and gives extra information about it. Relative clauses let us join ideas, avoid repetition, and add detail in a more natural way than using many short sentences.

What is a clause?

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.

It can express a complete idea or just part of an idea, depending on the type of clause.

✳️ Examples of Clauses:

• I like pizza. 🍕 → (subject = I, verb = like)

• Because I was hungry → (subject = I, verb = was — but this one is not a complete idea)

So, every clause = subject + verb ✅
But not every clause is a complete sentence ❌

Two Main Types of Clauses

A. Independent Clause

➡️ A clause that expresses a complete idea and can stand alone as a sentence.

Examples:

• I went to the market.

• She loves music.

• The dog barked loudly.

✅ Each one makes sense by itself → it’s a complete sentence.

Two Main Types of Clauses

B. Dependent (Subordinate) Clause

➡️ A clause that cannot stand alone; it depends on another clause to make sense.

Examples:

• because I was tired

• when she arrived

❌ These sound incomplete if you stop there, right?

To make sense, you need to combine them with an independent clause:

✅ I went to bed early because I was tired.
✅ We went home when she arrived.

So, What’s the Difference Between a Clause and a Sentence?

Feature	Clause	Sentence
Definition	A group of words with a subject and verb	A group of words that expresses a complete thought
Completeness	Can be complete (independent) or incomplete (dependent)	Must be complete
Can it stand alone?	Only independent clauses can	Always
Example	“Because I was late” (dependent clause)	“I missed the bus.” (complete sentence)
Structure	May form part of a sentence	May contain one or more clauses

Two main types of relative clause — Defining vs Non-defining

A. Defining (restrictive) relative clauses

• Function: Identify which person/thing you mean. The information is essential.

• No commas.

• Example: The student who sits in the front row always asks good questions.
  (If you remove the relative clause, we don’t know which student.)

Two main types of relative clause — Defining vs Non-defining

B. Non-defining (non-restrictive) relative clauses

• Function: Add extra, non-essential information about the noun.

• Use commas (or dashes) around the clause.

• Example: Mr Brown, who is our neighbour, used to be a pilot.
  (If you remove the clause, the sentence still gives a full idea.)

Common relative pronouns & connectors — forms and uses

Pronoun / connector	Refers to	Example (defining / non-defining)
who	people (subject)	The woman who phoned is here.
whom	people (object; formal)	The man whom we met was kind.
which	animals/things/ideas	The book which you lent me was great.
that	people or things (informal; mainly defining)	The film that won the prize was brilliant.
whose	possession (people/things)	A student whose laptop was stolen reported it.

Common relative pronouns & connectors — forms and uses

where

place

The cafe where we met is closed.

when

time

The day when we met was rainy.

why

reason (after “reason”)

The reason why she left was unclear.

the result of which

consequence referring back to whole clause

He missed the deadline, the result of which was disaster.

most of which / all of whom

partitive relative (refers to a portion of a whole)

— most of which → things; all of whom → people.

Notes:

• that is common in defining clauses (spoken/written) but is not used in non-defining clauses.

• whom is increasingly formal; many speakers use who in informal speech except after prepositions (e.g., “the man to whom I spoke” vs “the man who I spoke to”).

Structure & word order

• Basic:
  [Noun] + [relative pronoun] + [subject + verb + ...]

  Examples:

  • The house that Jack bought is near the sea.

  • The teacher who teaches chemistry is here.

  Object relative (relative pronoun is object → can sometimes be omitted):

  • The book (that) I read was excellent. (Here that or which can be omitted in spoken/written defining clauses.)

  When relative pronoun is the subject, you cannot omit it:

  • The person who phoned is my aunt. → cannot drop who.

Omitting relative pronouns (zero relative) — when allowed

• You can omit the relative pronoun when:

  • The clause is defining.

  • The relative pronoun functions as object (not subject).

  • Example: The film (that/which) I saw last night was inspiring. → correct

  • You cannot omit when pronoun is subject: The woman (who) lives there → cannot drop who.

Prepositions with relative pronouns — placement options

• Two patterns:

  1. Preposition + relative pronoun (formal; more precise)

     • The person to whom I spoke was helpful.

  2. Relative pronoun + preposition at end (informal / common)

     • The person who I spoke to was helpful.

  • Formal writing → fronting the preposition.

  • Speech / informal writing → preposition at the end (natural).

Reduced relative clauses (shortening)

• We can reduce relative clauses to make sentences shorter — common and useful.

  A. Reduced with present participle (-ing) — when the relative clause has a continuous meaning:

  • Original: The woman who is wearing a red coat is my teacher.

  • Reduced: The woman wearing a red coat is my teacher.

Reduced relative clauses (shortening)

B. Reduced with past participle (for passive meaning):

• Original: The car which was parked outside got a ticket.

• Reduced: The car parked outside got a ticket.

C. Reduced with infinitive (occasionally):

• Original: A book which to read first is difficult to choose. (rare)

• Use more with adjectives: “It’s the best book to read.” (not typical relative reduction)

Caution: Reductions are only possible when meaning is clear and structure allows (no subject/object confusion).

Relative clauses that refer to whole clauses (conjunctive use)

Sometimes relative expressions refer back to the whole idea before them:

• He lost the job, which surprised everyone.
  → which = the fact that he lost the job.

• He missed the train, the result of which was that he was late.
  → the result of which explicitly links cause and effect.

Special relative forms and expressions

• most of which / some of which / part of which / all of whom
  Useful when referring to a portion of a group or thing:

  • We visited five islands, most of which were uninhabited.

  • They invited ten experts, all of whom accepted.

• the reason why
  Common but sometimes wordy—the reason (that) or simply why can be used:

  • The reason why she left → The reason (that) she left → Why she left...

• whose with non-human nouns
  Permitted: “a country whose economy…” (common in formal English).

Punctuation rules and tone

• Non-defining (extra info): use commas.

  • My sister, who lives in Tokyo, will visit us.

• Defining (essential): no commas.

  • The sister who lives in Tokyo is a doctor. (implies other sisters exist)

• That should not be used in non-defining clauses:

  • Wrong: My car, that I bought last year, ... → use which with commas: ..., which I bought last year, ...

Common errors & how to fix them

• Comma misuse

  • Error: My friend, who passed the exam, is proud. (If you have only one friend, this is wrong.)

  • Fix: If clause is essential, remove commas: My friend who passed the exam is proud. (implies you have more than one friend)

• Using that in non-defining clauses

  • Wrong: John, that is my teacher, … → Use who or which: John, who is my teacher, …

Common errors & how to fix them

• Omitting subject when it’s required

  • Wrong: The woman phoned is my aunt. → Must keep who: The woman who phoned is my aunt.

• Confusion with prepositions

  • More natural: the company she works for (informal)

  • More formal: the company for which she works

Meaning distinctions — why relative choice matters

• who / which / that — choice affects formality and referent (person vs thing).

• where / when / why — better when the relative relates to place/time/reason respectively.

• whose — expresses possession; more compact than “the X of which …”

• that vs which — in American style: that for defining, which for non-defining (with commas). In British usage there’s more flexibility.