relative clauses

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• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

relative clauses

defining (restrictive) clauses

My house that has a blue door needs painting.

the blue door is describing a characteristic, it helps to distinguish my house from other houses.

defining clauses or phrases are not seperated off with commas. A restrictive clause or phrase is essential to the meaning of sentence. Eliminating a restrictive element from a sentence changes its meaning entirely

non-defining (non-restrictive) clauses

 My house, which has a blue door, needs painting.

The real point is that the house needs painting, the blue door is incidental and could be deleted.

commas are used to set of non-defining elements, which contribute to, but not determine the meaning of the sentence. If you would take away the non-defining clause, the meaning of the sentence would stay the same.

That's the girl ... loves to read

1. who/that
2. which/that
3. whose
4. when

The smartphone, ... he bought yesterday, is 6 months old

1. which
2. whose
3. that
4. who

That's the girl ... father owns an expensive car

1. who/that
2. where
3. whose
4. which/that

The team, ... was unbeaten in the last 10 games, made it to the playoffs

1. that
2. whose
3. who
4. which

Christmas is a day ... everyone is happy

1. who/that
2. when
3. which/that
4. whose

The girl ... you saw yesterday is my best friend

1. who/that
2. whose
3. which/that
4. where

The final manuscript, ... was well formatted, was submitted on time

1. that
2. whose
3. who
4. which

I will never forget the day ... I graduated

1. when
2. which/that
3. where
4. whose

My pet dog, ... is a papillon, is adorable

1. that
2. whose
3. who
4. which

Her caretaker, ... is responsible for her, is heartbroken

1. that
2. who
3. which
4. where

The writer, ... lives in London, accepted the award

1. which
2. that
3. who
4. whose