Relative clauses — defining and non-defining · Oraciones de relativo — definitorias y no definitorias
Two kinds of relative clause
- A relative clause can be defining or non-defining.
- The difference is whether the information is essential.
- Commas are the key signal.
The cat, which ignores instructions, ate the note that explained the rules.
Dos tipos de oraciones relativas
- Una oración relativa puede ser restrictiva o no restrictiva.
- La diferencia radica en si la información es esencial.
- Las comas son la señal clave.
El gato, que ignora las instrucciones, se comió la nota que explicaba las reglas.
Defining (essential, no commas)
- Gives necessary information — tells you which one.
- No commas.
- The man who called you is my boss. (which man? the one who called)
Restrictiva (esencial, sin comas)
- Proporciona información necesaria: indica cuál de varios.
- Sin comas.
- El hombre que te llamó es mi jefe. (¿qué hombre? el que te llamó)
Non-defining (extra, commas)
- Gives extra information you could remove.
- Use commas around it.
- My boss, who is very kind, called me. (we already know who)
No restrictiva (extra, con comas)
- Proporciona información adicional que podría eliminarse sin alterar el sentido principal.
- Se usan comas para delimitarla.
- Mi jefe, que es muy amable, me llamó. (ya sabemos a quién nos referimos)
Do the commas matter here? · ¿Importan las comas aquí?
No commas = the clause picks WHICH one; commas = the clause just adds a fact you could delete. · Sin comas = la oración indica CUÁL; con comas = la oración solo añade un dato que podrías eliminar.
Extra (non-essential) information needs which punctuation? · ¿Qué puntuación necesita la información extra (no esencial)?
Non-defining (extra) clauses are set off with commas. · Las oraciones no definitorias (extra) se separan con comas.
Translate into English: 我老板人很好,他给我打了电话。 · Traduce al inglés: 我老板人很好,他给我打了电话。
Extra info → non-defining, commas + who: “My boss, who is very kind, called me.” · Información extra → no definitoria, comas + who: “My boss, who is very kind, called me.”
who / which, never that
- Non-defining clauses use who (people) or which (things).
- Never that, and you can't leave the pronoun out.
- This book, which I read last year, is excellent.
who / which, nunca that
- Las oraciones no restrictivas utilizan who (personas) o which (cosas).
- Nunca that y no se puede omitir el pronombre.
- Este libro, que leí el año pasado, es excelente.
Complete the non-defining clause: My phone, ___ is new, broke. (for a thing) · Completa la oración no definitoria: My phone, ___ is new, broke. (para una cosa)
Non-defining + a thing → which (never “that”): “My phone, which is new, …”. · No definitoria + cosa → which (nunca “that”): “My phone, which is new, …”.
Is this correct? “My boss, that is kind, called me.” · ¿Es esto correcto? “My boss, that is kind, called me.”
Non-defining clauses can't use “that”: use “who”: “My boss, who is kind, …”. · Las oraciones no definitorias no pueden usar “that”: usa “who”: “My boss, who is kind, …”.
Common mistakes
- ❌ My mother who lives in Beijing is kind. → ✓ My mother**, who** lives in Beijing**,** is kind. — unique things take commas.
- ❌ He failed, it surprised us. → ✓ He failed**, which** surprised us. — which can refer to the whole fact.
- Non-defining rules: never that, never drop the pronoun, commas in pairs.
Errores comunes
- ❌ My mother who lives in Beijing is kind. → ✓ My mother**, who** lives in Beijing**,** is kind. — Los nombres propios llevan comas.
- ❌ He failed, it surprised us. → ✓ He failed**, which** surprised us. — which puede referirse a toda la situación anterior.
- Reglas de las oraciones no restrictivas: nunca usar that, nunca omitir el pronombre, las comas siempre van en pares.
Match each sentence to its clause type. · Empareja cada oración con su tipo de oración.
No commas = tells you which one; commas = extra info; , which can point at the whole clause. · Sin comas = te dice cuál; comas = info extra; , which puede referirse a toda la cláusula.
Is this correct? “My boss, that is kind, called me.” · ¿Es esto correcto? “My boss, that is kind, called me.”
Non-defining clauses never take that → My boss, who is kind, called me. · Las oraciones no definitorias nunca toman that → My boss, who is kind, called me.
- Defining = essential, no commas (who / which / that, can be omitted).
- Non-defining = extra, commas (who / which only, never that, never omitted).
- Commas tell you the information is "by the way".
- Restrictiva = esencial, sin comas (who / which / that, puede omitirse).
- No restrictiva = adicional, con comas (solo who / which, nunca that, nunca se omite).
- Las comas indican que la información es un "comentario añadido".
Write one sentence with a non-defining relative clause (extra information inside commas, using who or which). · Escribe una oración con una oración de relativo no definitoria (información extra entre comas, usando who o which).
Example: “Shanghai, which is a huge city, has great food.” · Ejemplo: “Shanghai, which is a huge city, has great food.”