What are relative clauses?
Relative clauses are clauses which use relative pronouns such as who, that and where to link ideas in complex sentences. They allow us to create longer, complex sentences in which ideas are better connected. We often link three or more phrases with a relative pronoun and commas. Consider the following example:
John is my friend. John is a doctor. He lives in Sydney.
The sentences are short, ideas are not connected and it looks like something written by a five-year-old child. John/he is repeated three times. It can be improved by reducing it to one sentence, using a relative pronoun:
My friend John, who is a doctor, lives in Sydney.
We have used the relative pronoun who and a comma to combine the sentences into one sentence. Whom, whose, that, which, when, where, and why are other commonly used relative pronouns.
More examples:
1. Sydney is a city in Australia. The 2000 Olympic Games were held in Sydney. Sydney is a wonderful city.
Sydney, the city in Australia where the 2000 Olympic Games were held, is a wonderful city.
OR
Sydney, which is a wonderful city in Australia, is the city where the 2000 Olympic Games were held.
2. Duc is a boy in my class. Duc comes from Vietnam. Duc is the smartest boy in my class.
Duc, who is the smartest boy in my class, comes from Vietnam
OR
Duc, who comes from Vietnam, is the smartest boy in my class.
3. Manchuria is a cold region in North-East China. Heavy snowfalls are common during winter in Manchuria.
Manchuria is a cold region in North-East China where heavy snowfalls are common during winter.
