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Defining relative clause Exercises

( Free Online English Grammar Lessons )

Read time : 2 minutes

In English we use defining relative clauses to give important information about a person, place or thing.

We use :

"who" or "that" for people

He's the man who lives next door.
She's the woman that works in the cafe.
People who smoke often develop breathing problems.

"which" or "that" for things

A clock is a thing which tells the time.
This is the letter that I was talking about.
This is the dress that I bought for $5.
The novel that I am reading is part of a trilogy.

"where" for places where an activity takes place

A post office is a place where you can buy stamps.
This is the restaurant where we had our first date.
Perth is the city where I grew up.

"whose" for possessives

Jason is the boy whose parents own the newsagent.
That's the girl whose mother is a ballet dancer.

"when" for times

My grandmother lived at a time when women were expected to become either teachers or nurses.

Note : We don't use "what" in relative clauses!

eg. These are the jeans that I want to buy. NOT ~~These are the jeans what I want to buy.~~

In defining relative clauses, we can leave out "who", "that" or "which" when these words aren't the subject of the defining relative clause.

He's the man (that) I met yesterday.
Mary found the watch (that) I lost last week.

We never leave out "whose'" in defining relative clauses. We can leave out "where" if we add a preposition at the end of the relative clause.

That's the city where I was born. = That's the city I was born in.

We can leave out "when" if the time reference is clear.

Next Tuesday is the day (when) my sister arrives.

Note : We don't use commas with defining relative clauses.

Defining relative clause example sentences
There is an old guy on the phone who can't hear anything I say...	C’è un vecchio al telefono che non riesce a sentire quello che dico…
Yes, of course, he is the nicest man I've ever known!	Sì, naturalmente, è l’uomo più simpatico che conosco!
I don't know, maybe I like seeing the canals going around the buildings.	Non so, magari mi piace vedere i canali che girano attorno agli edifici.
You could have asked if she knew the girl you were going to meet.	Avresti potuto chiedere se conosceva la ragazza che doveva incontrare.
Yes, because it's the only French restaurant we have been to.	Sì, perché è l’unico ristorante francese in cui siamo stati.
It's nice to have a landlord who fixes things before we know about them!	È bello avere un padrone di casa che ripara le cose prima di scoprirlo!
You know the people who take tourists sightseeing on bicycles?	Sai quella gente che porta i turisti a fare i giri panoramici in bicicletta?
Where I'm supposed to be having the meeting.	Dove dovevo fare la riunione.
Do you remember those girls we met last week?	Ti ricordi quelle ragazze che abbiamo conosciuto settimana scorsa?
They are the kind of people who like to party...	Loro sono persone a cui piace fare festa…
What about the houses you found?	E le case che trovato tu?
And you could be the first man I've known who doesn't snore.	E tu potresti essere il primo uomo che conosco che non russa.
Is there any news from the houses you went to see today?	Qualche notizia dalle case che sei andata a vedere oggi?
What's the reason you don't want to leave the house?	Qual è il motivo per cui non vuoi lasciare la casa?
Do you remember the French restaurant we went to before?	Ti ricordi il ristorante francese in cui eravamo andati?
The one you told me shouted at you before...	Quella che mi hai detto che aveva gridato contro prima…
You're the one who's been living here longer than me.	Sei tu quella che ha vissuto qui più a lungo di me.
And I tried to find the rice I was talking about.	E ho provato a trovare il riso di cui parlavo.

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