Intermediate 📐 Grammar · #110 of 305

Relative Clauses: Defining

Essential info with no commas.

Examples

  • The girl who won is my niece.

Key rules

  • Defining clauses give essential information
  • Use who/that for people, which/that for things, whose for possession
  • The pronoun can be dropped when it is the object
  • No commas are used

Common mistakes

  • The man who he lives next door is nice → The man who lives next door is nice
  • The book what I read was good → The book that I read was good
💡 Tip: If removing the clause changes the meaning, it is defining.
Practise this topic in the appPractise Intermediate quiz
← Reporting VerbsRelative Clauses: Non-defining →

Related Intermediate topics

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Present Perfect Continuous

have been + -ing stresses duration up to now.

Past Perfect

had + past participle for an earlier past action.

Past Perfect Continuous

had been + -ing for duration before a past moment.

Future Continuous

will be + -ing for actions in progress at a future time.

Future Perfect

will have + past participle for completion before a future time.

Future Perfect Continuous

will have been + -ing for duration up to a future point.