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  • Person 1: So my new boyfriend is tall  and he's so funny and very clever,  

  • he has the most beautiful green eyes and he loves  to go to museums, which is why we get on so well.  

  • We actually went to a museum on our first date and  it was so romantic. We just think exactly the same  

  • thing about everything. So yeah, he's really  kind and he teaches children to play football  

  • on Saturday mornings and I usually go to watch  so we can go out for lunch afterwards. Anyway,  

  • what was your question again? Person 2:  

  • What does he do for work? Person 1: Oh, he's a dentist.

  • Giving more information than necessary is  something we do quite often. Sometimes you just  

  • decide to give more detail or you really want  someone to understand more about a situation.  

  • When giving non-essential extra informationwe use a non-defining relative clause.  

  • Non-defining means that this extra information  does not change the meaning of the sentence,  

  • it is purely used to give more detail. If you need to add an essential piece  

  • of information into a sentence, you can usedefining relative clause instead. There's already  

  • a video on my channel about those so I will put  a link in the description so that you can watch  

  • that one next and learn the differences. A sentence which includes a non-defining  

  • relative clause must also have a main  clause, which is split into two parts  

  • after the subject. Let's use the example ofmeal which is delicious and is also vegetarian

  • The main clause would be 'The meal is delicious'.  The subject in this sentence is the 'meal', so we  

  • put the non-defining relative clause in the middle  of the main clause, after the subject to get 'The  

  • meal, which is vegetarian, is delicious'. The word  'which' in this sentence is a relative pronoun.  

  • In the case of objects, places and things, you can  use the word 'which'. However, when the subject  

  • of the sentence is a person, you should use the  word 'who' as the relative pronoun. For example:  

  • 'My sister, who is younger  than me, works in a school'. 

  • When putting an additional clause  into the middle of an existing clause,  

  • it is important to use commas to separate them  so that the sentence is easier to read and  

  • understand. In this case, you should put a comma  on either side of the non-defining relative clause  

  • when writing it down to show this and you'll  often hear Native English speakers naturally  

  • pausing in the place of these commas to make  it clear when speaking and listening too

  • Our wedding, which is in Julyis going to have 120 guests

  • Their French teacher, who is new to  the school, is absolutely brilliant

  • My cooking skills, which are very limitedhave improved since I bought this cookbook

  • So now you know all about how to  add additional information using  

  • a non-defining relative clause  in the middle of a sentence.  

  • It's time to put that knowledge to the test. I am  going to give you 5 people or objects and I would  

  • like you to describe them in the comments usingsentence with a non-defining relative clause, like  

  • the ones we have been practicing. Your answers  can be real or you can use your imagination to  

  • describe things that don't really exist butwould like you to be as creative as you can

  • First of all, I would like you  to describe your ideal pet

  • Next, I would like you to describe the  most important teacher you had at school

  • Thirdly, I would like you to  describe your favourite city

  • Now I would like you to describe  your childhood best friend

  • Lastly, I would like you to  describe your favourite meal

  • So there were 5 sentences for you to  write in the comments for your homework.  

  • I'm looking forward to reading them and  seeing your new English skills in action  

  • with your non-defining relative clausesTake care for now. I'll see you soon

Person 1: So my new boyfriend is tall  and he's so funny and very clever,  

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A2 UK

Non-Defining Relative Clauses - English Grammar Explained

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    Elise Chuang posted on 2021/11/01
Video vocabulary