Relative Clause for Dummies

Well, let me tell you about relative clauses. They're actually not as complicated as they might sound at first. See, when we talk or write, we often want to provide additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence. And that's where the relative clause comes in!

A relative clause is a group of words that starts with a relative pronoun like "who," "whom," "whose," "which," or "that" and provides extra details about the noun or pronoun it refers to.

Let's break it down a bit. Imagine you have a sentence like, "I have a dog." You want to add more information about your dog, like its name or what it looks like. Instead of making a separate sentence, you can use a relative clause. So you might say, "I have a dog that loves to play fetch."

In this example, the relative clause "that loves to play fetch" is giving us more information about the noun "dog." We know that it's the dog that loves to play fetch.

Relative clauses can also give us information about people, places, or things. For example, "She is my friend who always makes me laugh." Here, the relative clause "who always makes me laugh" tells us more about the person who is our friend.

And it's not just about adding descriptions. Relative clauses can also help us connect ideas or provide more context in our sentences. They are like little puzzle pieces that fit into our sentences and make them more complete.

So, to summarize, a relative clause is a group of words that starts with a relative pronoun and gives us extra information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence. It adds more detail, connects ideas, and helps us express ourselves more clearly.