Clause Logic
What is the function of a defining relative clause?
To identify exactly which person or thing is being referred to.
Explain the difference in meaning between these two sentences.
The students who studied all night passed the exam.
The students, who studied all night, passed the exam.
Sentence 1: Only some students studied all night, and those students passed.
Sentence 2: All students studied all night, and the clause is extra information.
Combine the sentences using who.
The girl is my neighbor.
She sings in the choir.
The girl who sings in the choir is my neighbor.
Upgrade this sentence so it sounds more natural in English.
The student who is sitting in the front row looks terrified.
The student sitting in the front row looks terrified.
Words:
students / studied / passed / exam
Write a sentence using a defining relative clause.
The students who studied passed the exam.
Why are commas used in non-defining relative clauses?
Because the clause adds extra information that is not necessary for identifying the noun.
Which sentence implies that there is only one brother?
A) My brother who lives in Paris is visiting.
B) My brother, who lives in Paris, is visiting.
B
The commas signal a non-defining clause, implying there is only one brother.
Combine the sentences using a relative clause.
The restaurant is famous.
It serves the best ramen in the city.
The restaurant that serves the best ramen in the city is famous.
(Which is also acceptable.)
One of these sentences sounds like something a native speaker would say. Which one?
A) The man who is standing by the door is the principal.
B) The man standing by the door is the principal.
B
(The reduced clause sounds more natural.)
Words:
students / studied / passed / exam
Write a sentence using a non-defining relative clause.
The students, who studied, passed the exam.
Why can “that” not be used in non-defining clauses?
Because non-defining clauses require formal relative pronouns such as who / which, separated by commas.
Why is the following sentence logically strange?
The sun, which rises in the east, appears every morning.
The clause is unnecessary because the information is universally true and already known, making the non-defining clause redundant.
Combine the sentences without using "who" or "that."
The students are sitting in the back row.
They look very confused.
The students sitting in the back row look very confused.
(reduced relative clause)
Your friend writes this sentence in an essay:
“I have five chapters finishing tonight.”
Fix the sentence.
I have five chapters to finish tonight.
Words:
friends / live / Madrid / visiting
Write a sentence that implies only some friends live in Madrid.
My friends who live in Madrid are visiting.
Explain why the clause below must be defining.
The students who missed the exam must speak to the teacher.
Because the clause identifies which students, meaning the information is essential.
Explain why the comma changes the meaning.
The doctors who treated the patient were praised.
The doctors, who treated the patient, were praised.
Sentence 1: Only the doctors who treated the patient were praised.
Sentence 2: All doctors treated the patient and were praised.
Rewrite the sentence using a non-defining relative clause.
My sister is a doctor. She lives in London.
My sister, who lives in London, is a doctor.
A student tries to reduce a clause and accidentally creates a weird sentence.
Original sentence
The students who were invited to the conference arrived early.
Student version
The students inviting to the conference arrived early.
What is the correct reduction?
The students invited to the conference arrived early.
(passive reduction)
Words:
friends / live / Madrid / visiting
Write a sentence that implies all friends live in Madrid.
My friends, who live in Madrid, are visiting.
Explain the grammatical difference between these sentences.
The teachers who work hard deserve recognition.
The teachers, who work hard, deserve recognition.
Sentence 1: Only some teachers work hard.
Sentence 2: All teachers work hard; the clause adds extra information.
Explain why this sentence creates ambiguity.
The students who cheated said the exam was unfair.
The clause implies that only some students cheated, but it leaves unclear whether the cheating students or all students believe the exam was unfair. The defining clause restricts the subject group.
Rewrite the sentence using a reduced clause OR an infinitive clause.
The athlete was the first person who finished the marathon.
The athlete was the first person to finish the marathon.
A student writes this sentence:
“The students who were selected for the program will travel next month.”
Your teacher says the sentence can be made more concise without changing the meaning.
Rewrite it using a reduced relative clause.
The students selected for the program will travel next month.
Words:
students / cheated / yesterday / spoke
Write a sentence where yesterday refers to when you spoke, not when they cheated.
Yesterday I spoke to the students who cheated.