Material Unit 4

Non-defining relative clauses give extra information which is not essential about the noun that they follow. So, if you remove the relative clause, the sentence will still make sense.

'Zain Hasan is entering the competition' This sentence is complete, but we can add extra information to it in a non-defining relative clause:

' Zain Hasan, who was last year's winner, is entering the competition'.
'I went with Al, who's always good company'.

We can not omit the relative pronoun from a non-defining relative clause.

Xavi, who's vegetarian, couldn't eat anything.
Madrid, where I was born, is a huge city.

We always use commas to separate the non-defining clause from the rest of the sentence.

'David, whose brother lives near me, works in the Odeon. 'David works in the Odeon, which is next to the bank.

We can combine two simple sentences by using a non-defining relative clause.

Hugo's sister is called Ana. She's a nurse.  → Hugo's sister, who's a nurse, is called Ana.

Or

Hugo's sister, who's called Ana, is a nurse.

Do not use 'that' at the start of a non-defining relative clause.

My car, which I bought in 2003, has never broken down.

NOT

My car, that I; bought in 2003, has never broken down.