Grammar I Graciela Palacio

LV/UB 2012

LESSON 39
NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

In the lesson on Defining Relative Clauses we said that they have the following
characteristics:

1. In speech, they form part of the same intonation pattern as the noun they modify.
2. In spelling, they are not separated by commas.
3. From another perspective, they restrict (delimit or narrow down) the scope of reference of
the antecedent of the relative. They are said to be essential to the meaning of the
sentence, not because the sentence would be ungrammatical without the clause, but
because without the clause, the hearer would not be able to identify who the
antecedent refers to.
4. From the point of view of function, we will analyse them as post-modifiers to the
antecedent, but they are restrictive modifiers, modifiers that help to narrow down the
scope of reference of the noun

Non-defining relative clauses are different. They have the following characteristics:

1. In speech, they have a separate intonation contour.

2. In spelling, they are separated by commas.
3. From the point of view of meaning, they are not essential for the identification of the
antecedent but they add to the meaning of the sentence.
4. We will say that they function as modifiers to the already defined antecedent, non-
restrictive modifiers. We are using the word modifier in opposition to complement. We
can also call them adjuncts.
5. Quirk et al (1985) discuss them under the heading of post-modification since they make a
distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive modification, but then they go on to say
that the loose nonrestrictive relationship is often semantically indistinguishable from
coordination (with or without conjunction) or adverbial subordination, and they provide
the following paraphrases:

Then he met Barbara, who invited him to a party.

Then he met Barbara, and she invited him to a party.

Here is Ronald Walker, who(m) I mentioned the other day.

Here is Ronald Walker; I mentioned him the other day.

He got lost on Snowdon, which was enveloped in fog.

He got lost on Snowdon, when it was enveloped in fog.

He got lost on Snowdon, which he was exploring.

He got lost on Snowdon, while he was exploring it.

In the first two examples the clause seems to be semantically equivalent to a coordinate
clause. In the other two they seem to be semantically equivalent to adverbial adjuncts of
time, introduced by the subordinating conjunctions of time when and while.

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Here we will adopt the following approach: the function of the non-defining will be
modifier (in opposition to complement) but we will distinguish different semantic relations:

1) If the clause can be reduced to a noun phrase in apposition, we will say that the semantic
relation is one of apposition, e.g.:

John Smith, who is the president of the company, will be at the meeting tomorrow.

John Smith, the president of the company, will be at the meeting tomorrow.

Notice that in the reduced clause the missing elements are the relative determiner/pronoun
who and the verb be.

2) In those cases in which the clause cannot be reduced to a noun phrase in apposition, we
will have to resort to paraphrase. If we can paraphrase the clause by means of an adverbial
clause of some kind, we will say that the clause is semantically equivalent to an adverbial
clause. The following sentence, for example,

John, who broke the window, will have to pay for it.

can be paraphrased by means of an adverbial clause of reason:

John will have to pay for the window because he broke it.

Notice that I'm not saying that the clause who broke the window is an adverbial clause, it is
semantically equivalent to an adverbial clause. Non-defining relative clauses are not very
common in speech but occur quite frequently in the written language. When we speak we
tend to use simple sentences but when we write we can choose where and how to place the
information that we want to convey. The information that in speech would most probably be
expressed by an adverbial clause may, in writing, appear in the form of a non-defining
relative clause.

Consider the two examples given above:

He got lost on Snowdon, which was enveloped in fog.

Paraphrase: He got lost on Snowdon, when it was enveloped in fog.

He got lost on Snowdon, which he was exploring.

Paraphrase: He got lost on Snowdon, while he was exploring it.

The non-defining relative clauses are semantically equivalent to adverbial clauses of time,
introduced by the subordinating conjunctions of time when and while.

3) The third possibility is for the clause to be semantically equivalent to a coordinate

clause. In this case we can paraphrase the clause by means of and, e.g.:

Then he met Barbara, who invited him to a party.

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Paraphrase: Then he met Barbara, and she invited him to a party.

He has to work on Sundays, which he doesn't like.

Paraphrase: He has to work on Sundays and this he doesn't like.

The last example is an instance of a special type of non-defining relative clause called
Sentential Relative Clause, which are discussed in this same lesson. All sentential relative
clauses are semantically equivalent to coordinate clauses.

5) As was said above the non-defining relative clause is not very common in speech, but
occurs quite frequently in the written language. The reason is that in speech we tend to use
simple sentences, and the non-defining relative is a deliberate inclusion of unnecessary
decoration within the sentence. It is a mere parenthesis, a casual aside or reminder to the
listener or reader, sometimes it is marked off by means of dashes or placed in parentheses:

This boy, (who lives in the next street), broke a window in the school yesterday.
This window - which was broken by a boy yesterday - will have to be repaired.

Instead of a non-defining relative clause, separate or coordinate sentences are usually

preferred in spoken English. Compare:

My brother-in-law is a mining engineer. He's in Canada now.

My brother-in-law, who is a mining engineer, is in Canada now.

6) Non-defining relative clauses are introduced by non-defining relative pronouns,

adjectives or adverbs. As we said before, in Generative Grammar relative pronouns and
relative adjectives are considered determiners.

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE PRONOUNS:

The gardener's wife, who has been married for ten years, has just had her ninth baby.
Her father, who has been to Paris, has just returned.
Oxford University, which is one of the oldest in the world, has many different colleges.
My sister, whom you met yesterday, wants to speak to you.
Mary, to whom you lent your favourite books, wants to invite us to her birthday party.
Mr. Green, who gives me piano lessons, has been ill recently.
Mr. Green, whom you met at my home last month, is my music teacher.
Mr. Green, from whom I have piano lessons, is a good teacher.

Notice that:

1) The complementizer that is not used in non-defining relative clauses.

2) The objective form whom, rare in spoken English, is regularly used in non-defining
relative clauses.
3) In non-defining relative clauses the relative pronoun is not omitted. If the pronoun is
governed by a preposition, the preposition usually precedes (see examples above).

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE ADJECTIVES:

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 Mr Green, whose wife teaches singing, is himself a teacher of the piano.
The chief of police, whose work is very important, takes care of the public safety.
The king, whose life has been devoted to his country, deserves his popularity.
Beethoven, whose music you have just been listening to, was one of the world's finest
composers.
They stayed with me three weeks, during which time they drank all the wine I had. (= and
during this time)

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE ADVERBS:

Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare was born, is visited by thousands of tourists.

Boxing Day, when Christmas boxes used to be given to servants, is the day following
Christmas Day.
He died in l666, when the Great fire of London destroyed a large part of the city.

SENTENTIAL NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES:

Sentential relative clauses are non-defining relative clauses which do not have a single noun
or noun phrase as antecedent. They refer back to the predicate or predication of a clause
(examples 1, 2 and 3), or to a whole clause or sentence (examples 4 and 5), or even to a series
of sentences (example 6):

1) They say he plays truant, which he doesn't.

2) He walks for an hour each morning, which would bore me.
3) I was told not to go by train but by bus, which advice I followed.
4) Things then improved, which surprises me.
5) Colin married my sister and I married his brother, which makes Colin and me double in-
laws.
6) - which is how the Kangaroo came to have a pouch. [said at the end of a story]

These clauses are introduced by the relative pronoun which and by the relative adjective
which (example 3 above). Since they may be paraphrased by means of and this, and it they
are said to be semantically equivalent to coordinate clauses, e.g.:

He admires Mrs. Hewitt, which surprises me.

He admires Mrs. Hewitt, and this surprises me.

He studied hard in his youth, which contributed to his success in later life.
He studied hard in his youth, and this contributed to his success in later life.

Lesson 39 Activity 1:
Analyse the following sentences so that they can be discussed in class

1. He walked along the wall on his hands, which was a very difficult thing to do.
2. He passed his examinations with honours, which made his parents very proud of him.

Lesson 39 Activity 2: (To be handed in as Assignment 39)

1. He has to work on Sundays, which he does not like.
2. He bore a hole in my tooth, which was very unpleasant.

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EXTRA LANGUAGE PRACTICE

SENTENTIAL NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

Exercises taken from: Fowler, W. S. (1974) First Certificate English. Book 3: Use of
English. Nelson.

Study the examples below and then change the sentences from one construction to the other.

She sent the letter to our old address, which was careless of her.
It was careless of her to send the letter to our old address.

1. She looked after the children while I was out, which was kind of her.
2. He gave me twenty pounds for my birthday, which was generous of him.
3. He speaks six languages, which is clever of him.
4. He said it was all my fault, which was unfair of him.
5. They’ve invited us for dinner, which is nice of them.
6. It is typical of him to want to have his own way all the time.
7. It was honest of you to admit your mistake.
8. It was stupid of him to throw it away.
9. It was silly of her to leave her car door unlocked.
10. It was good of him to forgive me.

Study the examples below and then change the sentences from one construction to the other.

They arrived too late for the wedding, which was a pity
It was a pity (that) they arrived too late for the wedding.

1. I just caught the last train, which was a piece of luck.

2. They survived the accident, which was a miracle.
3. I haven’t brought the papers with me, which is a nuisance.
4. It was a good thing they didn’t see you take the money.
5. It’s a shame he won’t be able to go with us.

Write a short paragraph including a sentential non-defining relative clause.

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