Relative clauses, coordination and apposition

Relative clauses give more information about something we have just mentioned in a sentence. They are subordinate clauses, defining the noun phrase and introduced by a special class of pronouns called relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, whoever, whosoever, whomever, which, what, whatever, and that).

Preposition can come either before a relative pronoun or at the end of a relative clause. (This is the room in which I was born. This is the room I was born in. = formal. The girl who spoke to him is Nancy. The girl to whom he spoke is Nancy. = to whom)

 There are two types of relative clauses:

Restrictive (defining)

This type identifies which person or thing we mean exactly and as it is vital information for the meaning of the sentence, it cannot be omitted. (It's the car that I saw here yesterday. x It's the car. – does not make sense). We do not use commas in defining relative clauses!

Who/that/which/when/why can be omitted if they refer to the object of the sentence, not if they refer to the subject! (It's the job (which/that) I'd like to have. Tell me the exact reason (why) you want to leave.) You cannot omit whose. You can omit the relative pronouns and the auxiliary verb but only when it refers to the subject. (Buildings (that were) constructed recently are now open.)

Non-restrictive clauses (non-defining)

This type gives additional information about a person or thing so the sentence still makes sense without the non-identifying relative clause. We use commas! (The summer here, which I don't like, lasts for months. The summer here lasts for months. – both make sense as it is really only extra information). We cannot omit the relative pronouns in non-defining clauses and we cannot use THAT since it cannot be used with commas.

Sentential relative clauses

Sentential relative clauses relate to the whole preceding clause or sentence. They are non-defining in its nature, giving extra information so they can be omitted. However, their head is not a noun phrase but a whole sentence.

He admires Steve Jobs, which does not surprise me.

The book will not be published until next year, which is disappointing.

When we want to add information about the particular part of the sentence we can use a non-defining relative clause with of which or of whom after words such as all, both, each, many, most, neither, one.

The President had made many visits to Japan, the most recent of which began today.

Coordination and apposition

Coordination means that two different things are put together. There is a concord between a subject containing two different items and a verb reflects plural.

My husband      and                                             my co-author     are        dissatisfied with the last chapter.

one person     coordinating conjunction       another person

Apposition means that one subject is named differently. There are more items in the subject but they all refer to one entity. Therefore, the verb is in singular.

Our president, Václav Klaus, seems to be anti-ecological. Václav Havel, our President, was also a playwright.

My husband and my co-author is dissatisfied with the last chapter. = the husband and the co-author are the same person.

Linguistics or the study of language attracts many students. = one subject of study

Appositive clauses resemble relative clauses in being capable of introduction by THAT but it is not really an element (like subject or object) in the clause structure.

The belief that immortality can be achieved is not well-founded in science.

I agree with the old proverb that absence makes the heart grow fonder.