Non-defining relative clauses

As the name suggests, non-defining relative clauses tell us more about someone or something, but
the information in these clauses does not help us to define what we are talking about.Take for
example the sentence: Gorillas,  which are large and originate in Africa, can sometimes be found in
zoos. In this sentence we are talking about all gorillas, not just some of them. The information in the
non-defining relative clause tells us something more about gorillas in general. It does not define a
small group of gorillas or an individual gorilla. If the non-defining relative clause were removed from
the sentence, the sentence would still be grammatically correct and the meaning would not have
changed, although we would have less detail.

Non-defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun, a verb, and optional other
elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas or parentheses are always used to
separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence.

Examples

 John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren.

 My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.

 My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.

 We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before.

 I've just come back from London, where John lives..

 Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London.

Relative pronouns

The following relative pronouns are used in non-defining relative clauses. These relative pronouns
appear at the start of the non-defining relative clause and refer to a noun that appears earlier in the
sentence.

  Person Thing Place

Subject who whic  

h

Object who/whom whic where

h

Possessive whose    

Differences with defining relative clauses

In defining relative clauses, the pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in
spoken English. In non-defining relative clauses, you cannot replace other pronouns with that. You
also cannot leave out the relative pronoun in non-defining relative clauses, in the way you
sometimes can in defining relative clauses. The pronoun is required, even when it is the object of the
verb in the relative clause. Finally, non-defining relative clauses are always separated from the rest
of the sentence by commas, unlike defining relative clauses, which have no punctuation.

Examples

 He gave me the letter, which was in a blue envelope. (non-defining clause: There was only
one letter, it happened to be blue. You must use which)

 He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope. (defining clause: There were

several letters of different colors and he gave me the blue one. Which may be replaced
by that. The commas are removed.)

 He gave me the letter, which I read immediately. (non-defining clause: There was only one
letter. which is the object of read, but it still must be included in the sentence.)

 Stratford-on-Avon, which many people have written about, is Shakespeare's birthplace.

(Any preposition that appears is normally placed at the end of the clause.)

 Stratford-on-Avon, about which many people have written, is Shakespeare's birthplace. (In

formal written English, you can also put the preposition before the pronoun.)

Introductory expressions in non-defining clauses

Non-defining clauses can be introduced by expressions like all of or many of followed by the relative
pronoun.

  Person Thing

all of, any of, some of, a few of, both of, each of, either of, half of, many of, whom which
most of, much of, none of, one of, two of, etc.

Examples

 There were a lot of people at the party, many of whom I had known for years.

 There are 14 girls in my class, a few of whom are my friends.

 He was carrying his belongings, many of which were broken.

 He had thousands of books, most of which he had read.

 He picked up a handful of stones, one of which was sharp.

Using "which" to refer to another clause

The relative pronoun which at the beginning of a non-defining relative clause can refer to all the
information contained in the previous part of the sentence, rather than to just one word.

Examples

 Chris did really well in his exams, which is quite a surprise.

 My friends were all hiding in my apartment, which isn't what I'd expected.

 She's studying to become a doctor, which is difficult.

Grammar explanation

Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned.

Non-defining relative clauses give us extra information about someone or something. It isn't

essential for understanding who or what we are talking about.

My grandfather,  who's 87,  goes swimming every day.

The house, which was built in 1883,  has just been opened to the public.
The award was given to Sara, whose short story impressed the judges. 

We always use a relative pronoun or adverb to start a non-defining relative

clause: who, which, whose, when or where (but not that). We also use commas to separate the
clause from the rest of the sentence.

who, which and whose

We can use who to talk about people, which to talk about things and whose to refer to the person or
thing that something belongs to.

Yesterday I met my new boss,  who  was very nice.

The house,  which  is very big, is also very cold!
My next-door neighbour,  whose  children go to school with ours, has just bought a new car.
After the port there is a row of fisherman's houses,  whose  lights can be seen from across the bay.

Places and times

We can use which with a preposition to talk about places and times. In these cases it's more
common to use where or when instead of which and the preposition.

City Park,  which  we used to go  to, has been closed down.
City Park,  where  we used to go, has been closed down.
December,  which  Christmas is celebrated  in, is a summer month for the southern hemisphere.
December,  when  Christmas is celebrated, is a summer month for the southern hemisphere.

However, when we use which without a preposition, we can't use where or when.

Centre Park,  which  we love, is always really busy on Saturdays.

February,  which  is my favourite month, lasts 29 days this year.

Punctuation

In writing, we use commas around non-defining relative clauses:

Etheridge,  who is English-born with Irish parents, replaces Neil Francis,  whose injury forced him to
withdraw last week.

Spoken English:

In speaking, we often pause at the beginning and end of the clause:

Unlike American firms  – which typically supply all three big American car makers –  Japanese ones
traditionally work exclusively with one maker. (formal)

And this woman  – who I’d never  met before –  came up and spoke to me. (informal)

Defining or non-defining relative clauses?

Sometimes defining and non-defining relative clauses can look very similar but have different
meanings.

Compare

non-defining defining

His brother,  who works at the His brother  who works at the supermarket  is a friend of
supermarket, is a friend of mine. mine.

He has only one brother, and that He has more than one brother. The one I’m talking
brother works at the supermarket. about works at the supermarket.

It’s hoped that we will raise £10,000

It’s hoped that we will raise £10,000 for local
for local charities,  which help the
charities  which help the homeless.
homeless.
The money is intended for local charities. Some of these
The money is intended for local
local charities help the homeless. There are other local
charities. All these local charities help
charities as well as these.
the homeless.

Warning:

The information in a defining relative clause is essential, so we can’t leave out the relative clause.
The information in a non-defining relative clause is extra information which isn’t essential, so we can
leave out the relative clause.
Compare

A defining relative clause which we

The soldier  who had gold stripes on his can’t leave out; without this
uniform  seemed to be the most important one. information we do not know which
soldier the speaker is referring to.

Non-defining relative clauses which we

The tour party was weakened when  Gordon can leave out:
Hamilton,  who played in the World Cup team,
withdrew yesterday because of  a back injury,  which The tour party was weakened when
kept him out of the Five Nations Championship. Gordon Hamilton withdrew yesterday
because of a back injury.

Warning:

We can use that instead of who, whom or which in defining relative clauses, but not in non-defining
relative clauses:

I think anyone  who  speaks in public is nervous beforehand.

I think anyone  that  speaks in public is nervous beforehand.

Her car,  which  was very old, broke down after just five miles.

Not: Her car, that was very old, broke down after just five miles.