When we speak or write in English, we often need to give extra information about a person, a place, or a thing.
For example:

• I met a woman. She works at the museum.
  → I met a woman who works at the museum.

We combine the two sentences using a relative clause.

Defining relative clauses help us identify exactly who or what we are talking about — they define the noun. Without this information, the sentence would be unclear.

What Is a Defining Relative Clause?

A defining relative clause gives essential information about a noun.
It tells us which person, thing, or place we mean.

Without relative clause	With defining relative clause
The man is my teacher.	The man who is wearing a blue jacket is my teacher.
I read the book.	I read the book that you recommended.
The café is closed.	The café where we had breakfast is closed.

🟢 The information in the relative clause is necessary to understand the sentence.
If we remove it, the meaning changes.

Relative Pronouns

We use relative pronouns to connect the main clause and the relative clause.

Relative Pronoun	Refers to	Example
who	people	She’s the student who won the prize.
that	people / things	This is the song that I like.
which	things	That’s the laptop which I bought yesterday.
where	places	This is the park where I go running.
whose	possession/ relationship	I met a man whose car was stolen. I met a woman whose husband is an actor.
when	time	Do you remember the day when we met?

🟡 Tip: In defining relative clauses, we don’t use commas because the information is essential.

When Can We Omit the Relative Pronoun?

We can leave out “who,” “which,” or “that” when it’s the object of the clause (not the subject).

✅ The book that I read was interesting. → The book I read was interesting.
❌ The teacher teaches English is great. → (cannot omit — “who” is the subject)

We can omit	We cannot omit
The film (that I watched) was amazing.	The film that won the award was amazing.
The man (who I met) is from Spain.	The man who lives next door is from Spain.

Examples in Context

• She’s the woman who teaches our English class.
• That’s the shop where I bought my shoes.
• He’s the actor whose movies are very popular in Asia.
• This is the place where we met for the first time.

Each clause gives key information that helps the listener understand exactly who or what we’re talking about.

Introduction to Relative clauses

Let’s Practice

Practice 1

Practice 2

Speaking

Practice 1

Practice 2