Relative Clauses: Make It Clear Which Person or Thing You Mean

Help the reader identify the right person or thing

A relative clause adds information about a noun or noun phrase. It may identify which person or thing the writer means, or add information about someone or something already identified. That difference affects the sentence’s meaning, its relative form and its punctuation.

Start with the facts. Ask “Which noun does this clause describe?” and “Does the reader need this information to identify the intended referent?” A comma is not a decoration to insert wherever the voice pauses. The fictional fact cards supply context.

Find the antecedent and the clause’s job

The noun phrase described by a relative clause is its antecedent. In “The folder that contains the drawings is missing”, the folder is the antecedent and that contains the drawings identifies the folder.

The test is not simply whether deleting the clause leaves a grammatical sentence. “The helper is waiting” is grammatical, but it may no longer tell the listener which helper. Identification depends on context, not just on whether the shortened sentence has a subject and verb.

Who commonly refers to people; which refers to things; that can refer to either in defining clauses. Whose links a person or thing with something belonging or related to it. Where describes a place relationship. Choose the form by its role in the clause, not by the last word alone.

Worked fact card 1: identifying people

Facts: Six helpers are at a reading event. Two completed the catalogue training. Those two will guide visitors to the shelves; the other four will manage the entrance.

Combined sentence: The helpers who completed the catalogue training will guide visitors to the shelves.

Who completed the catalogue training identifies a subset of the six helpers. It is defining, so no commas separate it. Who is the subject of completed inside that clause. “The helpers who they completed the training” duplicates the subject and is incorrect in this construction.

Changed claim: “The helpers, who completed the catalogue training, will guide visitors to the shelves.” In this context, the commas present the training as extra information about the whole identified group of helpers and say that group will guide visitors. That no longer preserves the division between two trained guides and four entrance helpers.

For an individually identified guide, write “Ena, who completed the catalogue training, will guide visitors to the shelves.” Ena already identifies the person in this scenario. The relative clause supplies an additional fact. A name is not an automatic guarantee of non-defining meaning, however: a situation involving two people called Ena could require further identification.

Worked fact card 2: equipment and omitted objects

Facts: A club owns three recorders. Members borrowed one particular recorder yesterday. That recorder needs a new label.

Combined sentence: The recorder that we borrowed yesterday needs a new label.

The recorder is the thing borrowed, while we is the subject of borrowed. That therefore serves as the object within the relative clause. We can omit it in this defining construction: “The recorder we borrowed yesterday needs a new label.”

“The recorder which we borrowed yesterday needs a new label” is also acceptable British English. Do not impose a blanket ban on defining which. Choose a consistent style without labelling a legitimate British-English form ungrammatical.

Subject contrast: “The recorder that records most clearly needs a new label.” Here that is the subject of records. Removing it gives “The recorder records most clearly needs a new label”, which does not form the intended sentence. Omission depends on the relative word’s job, not merely on wanting a shorter sentence.

Duplicate-object error: “The recorder that we borrowed it yesterday” uses both that and it for the same object. Remove it, not the information about borrowing. The full repaired sentence remains clear about which recorder is meant.

Worked fact card 3: places and possession

Facts: The route includes a single named venue, Acacia Hall. Rehearsals take place there. Its entrance faces the garden. Toma designed a route card, and that card has won the club’s design vote. Toma will introduce the route, starting at Acacia Hall.

Place sentence: Acacia Hall, where we rehearse, has an entrance facing the garden.

Where we rehearse describes what happens at the place. It adds information about the already identified hall. “Acacia Hall, in which we rehearse, has an entrance facing the garden” is a more formal equivalent.

Possession sentence: Toma, whose route card won the design vote, will introduce the route.

Whose replaces the possessive relationship in “Toma’s route card”. Do not write “whose his route card”. Whose can also refer to a thing: “Acacia Hall, whose entrance faces the garden, is our starting point.” It is not limited to human owners.

Compare “Acacia Hall, which we visited yesterday, is our starting point.” Here we visited the hall: which is the object of visited. Where cannot simply replace which because “we visited there” does not express the same direct-object construction. The role inside the clause determines the choice.

Repair an ambiguous attachment

Unclear: We placed the folder beside the recorder that had a torn label.

The position of the relative clause encourages readers to attach it to recorder. If the folder had the torn label, the wording misleads. Repair it as “We placed the folder that had a torn label beside the recorder.” If the recorder had it, “Beside the recorder with the torn label, we placed the folder” makes that intended attachment explicit.

Do not decide which object was damaged by grammar alone. Find out what the writer means. Repositioning a phrase is useful only if it preserves the actual fact.

A complete mini-paragraph revision

Facts: Nura is already identified as the coordinator. One of several boxes contains the route cards. The hall is the place used for rehearsals.

First version: Nura that coordinates the walk checked the box which it contains the route cards. She carried it to the hall which we rehearse. The box that she carried it was light.

Revision: Nura, who coordinates the walk, checked the box which contains the route cards. She carried it to the hall where we rehearse. The box she carried was light.

Who with commas adds information about Nura; standard non-defining clauses do not use that. Which is the subject of contains, so the duplicate it disappears. Where expresses the rehearsal location. In the final defining clause, she is the subject and box is the object of carried; both the duplicate it and the optional relative object word can be absent.

Three solved practice tasks

Practice 1: preserve a subset

Five boxes are on a table. Two contain maps and must stay indoors. Combine “The boxes contain maps” and “Those boxes must stay indoors” without saying that all five contain maps.

Solution: “The boxes that contain maps must stay indoors.” Which may replace that in British English. No commas are used because the clause identifies the relevant boxes. The relative word is the subject of contain and cannot be omitted in this construction.

Practice 2: add information about a known person

The reader already knows Lemi, the event photographer. Lemi’s photograph appears on the programme. Lemi will speak first. Combine the last two facts using whose.

Solution: “Lemi, whose photograph appears on the programme, will speak first.” Commas mark supplementary information about the identified person. Whose photograph expresses possession; adding her before photograph would duplicate that relationship.

Practice 3: choose object omission and location

Combine and shorten where possible: “We borrowed a trolley. The trolley is beside the room. We store costumes in that room.” The purpose is to identify the trolley by the borrowing and the room by its use.

Solution: “The trolley we borrowed is beside the room where we store costumes.” The omitted relative object refers to trolley; we is the subject of borrowed. Where supplies the location relationship with room. “The room in which we store costumes” is also correct but less concise.

Frequently asked questions

Does every relative clause need commas?

No. Defining clauses identify their referent and are not set off by commas. Non-defining clauses are separated as supplementary information.

Can which introduce a defining clause?

Yes, in British English, when referring to things. That is another option; a preference for it is not a universal grammatical rule.

Can that introduce a non-defining clause?

Not in the standard construction taught here. Use who, which, whose, where or another suitable relative form.

When may I omit the relative word?

In an appropriate defining object-relative clause, such as “the card we designed”. Keep a relative subject and keep the relative form in a non-defining clause.

Can whose refer to equipment or a building?

Yes. “The cupboard whose handle is loose” is possible. Choose a clear antecedent and avoid a duplicate possessive.

Why is where wrong in some sentences about places?

Where expresses a location relationship. If the place is the direct object, as in “the room which we painted”, which or that fits instead.

How can I spot an unclear antecedent?

Ask which nearby noun the reader will attach the clause to. Move or rewrite the clause if that is not the intended noun.

Reference

See the British Council explanations of defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses. All fact cards, repairs and practice answers here are original.

Combine clauses without inventing a relationship

Relative clauses identify or describe a noun. Other subordinate clauses can express time, reason, condition or concession. Combining two true statements is not enough: the chosen linker must express the relationship the evidence supplies.

Worked combinations from a connected fact card

Original facts: Rain began while the group was painting signs. They carried the signs indoors because wet paint would be damaged by rain. They continued painting despite the room being cramped. Tomorrow they will display the signs only if the paint is dry. Noor, already introduced as the coordinator, will check them.

While locates one event during another. Because gives the supplied cause. Although acknowledges a difficulty without making it stop the work. Only if makes dry paint necessary for display; it does not promise that dryness alone guarantees display. In the final pair of sentences, who coordinates the group describes Noor, while only if the paint is dry limits the group’s display. The relative clause and conditional clause perform different jobs.

Meaning-changing error: “Because the room was cramped, the group continued painting.” The fact card says they continued despite the cramped room, not because of it. Changing although to because invents motivation. “Although the room was cramped, but the group continued painting” also combines two competing linkers for this standard construction. Use either “Although …, the group …” or “The room was cramped, but the group …”.

Whole model: “While the group was painting signs, rain began. They carried the signs indoors because rain would damage the wet paint. Although the room was cramped, they continued working. Noor, who coordinates the group, will check the signs. The group will display them tomorrow only if the paint is dry.” The model preserves time, cause, difficulty and condition rather than turning all four into vague and-links. A comma marks each opening subordinate clause; the because-clause follows its main clause without a necessary separating comma.

Independent sentence-combining passage

Facts: The learners were arranging chairs when the bell rang. They kept the doorway clear because visitors needed access. The available space was small, but they found room for every supplied chair. They will bring additional chairs if the organiser requests them. Asha is the already identified organiser and has the list. Combine the facts into a coherent paragraph using a time clause, a reason clause, a concession clause and a conditional clause. Include a suitable relative clause without changing who has the list.

Review: underline each dependent clause and label its job. Then read the main clauses alone. Check the original fact card before calling a combination meaning-preserving; grammar cannot establish a cause that the facts never supplied.