Complex Structures 2

This video is the second in a series on Complex Structures. It focuses on relative clauses, which are very common in academic writing. This video will look first at non-defining relative clauses, followed by defining relative clauses. Don’t worry about these grammar terms as we will explain them as we go.

Non-defining Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are added to independent clauses to form complex sentences using a relative pronoun, such as which, who, whose, and that, where or when. On your screen are two ideas in two separate sentences.

  • Griffith University is one of Australia’s’ leading institutions.
  • Griffith University is located in Queensland.

These sentences relate to the same topic, Griffith University, so we can combine them. For example, we could say:

  • Griffith University, which is located in Queensland, is one of Australia’s leading institutions.

Here we have used the relative pronoun ‘which’ in place of a thing (Griffith University) to place the idea from the second sentence into the first. We can choose which information from the two original sentences is more important. For example, we could also say:

  • Griffith University, which is one of Australia’s leading institutions, is located in Queensland.

The information that is less important becomes the relative clause.

The commas in these sentences show that the relative clause is extra information and not essential. Even if the relative clause was removed, the remaining idea should still be true. In other words, relative clauses with commas provide extra information and are non-defining.

It is also important to note that a relative clause should be located directly after the word or idea that it refers to. The example on the screen is incorrect for this reason:

  • Griffith University is one of Australia’s leading institutions, which is located in Queensland.

In this example, the relative clause refers back to ‘Australia’s leading institutions’, which is incorrect. It should instead refer only to Griffith University.

In the examples shown so far, we’ve been using the relative pronoun ‘which’ to refer to a thing. We use ‘who’ for people, ‘whose’ for possession, ‘when’ for time, and ‘where’ for location. For example:

  • The lecturer, who has a PhD in Applied Economics, is writing a book about the GFC.
  • The lecturer, whose previous book was a great success, hopes to use the book in next year's course.
  • The book should be available by February, when students are expected to enrol for subjects.
  • You can buy the book from the campus bookshop, where staff will readily assist you.

Note that we cannot use ‘that’ in non-defining relative clauses.

When using relative clauses to refer to a place, we can use ‘which’ or ‘where’ and sometimes this causes confusion. Consider these sentences:

  • Griffith University has won many awards.
  • Griffith University is where I study.

In the first sentence, Griffith University is functioning as an institution. In the second, Griffith University is functioning as a location. When referring to a thing, use ‘which’, and when referring to a location, use ‘where’, like so:

  • Griffith University, which has won many awards, is one of Australia’s top universities.
  • Griffith University, where I study, is one of Australia’s top universities.

If you find it difficult to know when a place is functioning as a thing, rather than a location, keep in mind that things can ‘do’ something but places cannot.

Defining Relative Clauses

So far we have looked at non-defining relative clauses. Now let’s look at defining relative clauses. These are clauses that are not surrounded by commas. You use them when something is being defined, or when the sentence would not be true without the relative clause. For example:

  • The book on Applied Economics that (or which) is being written by my lecturer will be required reading for next year’s students.

In this sentence, the relative clause is essential for the meaning of the sentence to hold true. If we removed the relative clause, the remaining sentence would be ambiguous or untrue. By not surrounding this clause in commas, we show that it cannot be removed from the sentence. Also notice that we can use the word ‘that’ or ’which’ to refer to things in defining relative clauses. Here is another example:

  • Applied Economics is a field of study that (or which) incorporates econometrics with economic theory to address practical issues.

If you removed the relative clause here, the remaining sentence would still hold true, so you might think you can add a comma before the clause. However, this relative clause is defining something within the sentence; in other words, providing a definition, a form of identification, so in fact we don’t use commas.

It can be difficult to recognise when a relative clause should be defining or non-defining, so take the opportunity to practise this area of grammar when you can.

Finally, you should know that it’s possible to omit the relative pronoun in some relative clauses. Consider this:

  • The course that (or which) I most enjoyed taking was Applied Economics.
  • The course I most enjoyed taking was Applied Economics.

Here, ‘I’ is the subject of the relative clause. The word ‘that’ is referring to the object of the clause, not the subject, so it can be removed. This is called a reduced relative clause.

In the next example, we cannot omit the relative pronoun because it is the subject of the sentence. This means it is doing the action in the relative clause and is followed immediately by a verb.

  • The course that received the best reviews from students was Applied Economics.

If you are not sure about whether you can take out the relative pronoun, then don’t.

Now complete the exercises on relative clauses below, before moving on to next video in this series.