Unit 95. Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)
Unit 95; Part A

Type 1 • The woman who lives next door is a doctor. | Type 2 • My brother Rob, who lives in Australia, is a doctor. |
• Barbara works for a company that makes furniture. | • Colin told me about his new job, which he's enjoying very much. |
• We stayed at the hotel (that) you recommended. | • We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended. |
In these examples, the relative clause tells you which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means: 'The woman who lives next door' tells us which woman. 'A company that makes furniture' tells us what kind of company. 'The hotel (that) Ann recommended' tells us which hotel. | In these examples, the relative clauses do not tell you which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which thing or person is meant: 'My brother Rob', 'Colin's new job' and 'the Park Hotel'. The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing. |
We do not use commas (,) with these clauses: • We know a lot of people who live in London. | We use commas (,) with these clauses: • My brother Rob, who lives in London, is a doctor. |
Unit 95; Part B

Type 1 You can use that: • Do you know anyone who/that speaks French and Italian? • Barbara works for a company which/that makes furniture. | Type 2 You cannot use that: • John, who (not that) speaks French and Italian, works as a tourist guide. • Colin told me about his new job, which (not that) he's enjoying very much. |
You can leave out who/which/that when it is the object (see Unit 93): • We stayed at the hotel (that/which) you recommended. • This morning I met somebody (who/that) I hadn't seen for ages. | You cannot leave out who or which: • We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended. • This morning I met Chris, who I hadn't seen for ages. |
We do not often use whom in this type of clause (see Unit 94B). | You can use whom for people (when it is the object): • This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn't seen for ages. |
In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where: | |
• We met some people whose car had broken down. | • Liz, whose car had broken down, was in a very bad mood. |
• What's the name of the place where you went on holiday? | • Jill has just been to Sweden, where her daughter lives. |
Exercises
![]() | Unit 94 Unit 95 Unit 96 | ![]() |