Non-Defining Relative Clauses — Commas With Who and Which
Practice non-defining relative clauses: extra information between commas, who and which only, never that, and no leaving out the pronoun.
-
My sister, ___ lives in Canada, is visiting us next week.
Show answer
who
The part between commas is extra information about a person → 'who'. After a comma, 'that' is never used.
-
The Eiffel Tower, ___ is over 300 metres tall, was built in 1889.
Show answer
which
Extra information between commas about a thing → 'which'. 'That' can't follow a comma, and 'who' is for people.
-
Our neighbours, ___ children go to the same school as ours, have invited us for dinner.
Show answer
whose
Their children → 'whose children'. 'Who children' isn't possible, and 'that' never follows a comma.
-
My phone, ___ I only bought in March, has already stopped working.
Show answer
which
Between commas, use 'which' for things. In this kind of clause you can't use 'that', and you can't leave the pronoun out.
-
Mr Patel, ___ teaches us maths, is retiring this year.
Show answer
who
Extra information between commas about a person → 'who'. 'That' can't follow a comma.
-
We went to Venice, ___ we stayed in a tiny hotel by a canal.
Show answer
where
'We stayed there' → 'where'. It's extra information after a comma, so 'that' is impossible, and 'which' has no role in the clause.
-
A small bookshop
Anna Clarke, {1} opened the Page Turner bookshop in 2010, had never run a business before. She chose an old building on Mill Street, {2} there used to be a bakery. The shop, {3} now sells more than 20,000 books, is small but always busy. Anna's first customer was a local writer {4} novels later became bestsellers. 2015 was the year {5} things really changed: a famous actor {6} was filming in the town posted a photo of the shop online. Today Anna works with two assistants {7} she trained herself, and the café {8} she opened upstairs is full every weekend.
Show answer
1. who — Extra information between commas about a person (Anna) → 'who'.
2. where — 'There used to be a bakery there' — a place → 'where'.
3. which — Extra information between commas about a thing (the shop) → 'which'.
4. whose — The writer's novels → 'whose novels' (= his / her novels).
5. when — 'The year' is a time → 'when'.
6. who — The actor is a person, and he was filming → 'who'.
7. who — The assistants are people → 'who'. Here it's the object of 'trained' — 'she trained them'.
8. which — She opened the café — the café is the object of 'opened', not 'she opened there' → 'which'.
Non-Defining Relative Clauses: Extra Information With Commas
Some relative clauses identify which person or thing we mean; others only add extra detail about someone already identified. The second kind is set off by commas: My sister, who lives in Canada, is visiting us next week — I have one sister, and Canada is additional information. The Eiffel Tower, which is over 300 metres tall, was built in 1889. Remove the part between commas and the sentence still makes complete sense. These clauses follow stricter rules than identifying ones. Only who, which, whose, where and when are possible, never that, and the pronoun can never be left out: My phone, which I only bought in March, has already stopped working. They are typical of writing — biographies, descriptions, news — and much rarer in casual speech.