Relative clauses
You learn to find the relative clause: the clause that starts with who, which, that or whose.
How to do the test
- Look for who, which, that, whose, where or when.
- The clause it starts tells you more about a noun.
- That clause is the relative clause.
A worked example
Tap the relative clause. The girl who won the race smiled.
- It starts with the relative pronoun who.
- It tells you more about the girl.
- It comes right after the girl.
- Who won the race is the relative clause.
More examples
Tap the relative clause. The boy whose kite flew away cried.
- It starts with the relative pronoun whose.
- It tells you more about the boy.
- It comes right after the boy.
- Whose kite flew away is the relative clause.
Tap the relative clause. The bus that goes to town was late.
- It starts with the relative pronoun that.
- It tells you more about the bus.
- It comes right after the bus.
- That goes to town is the relative clause.
Watch out
You include the noun in front of the clause, like the girl who won.
The noun is not part of the clause. The clause starts at the relative pronoun.
Tips
- Who is for people, which is for things, and that can be either.
Exceptions
- Where and when can start a relative clause too: the town where my gran was born.
Why it works
A relative clause tells you more about a noun. It starts with a relative pronoun and sits right after the noun it describes. Look for the pronoun and tap from there to the end of the clause.