On this page, we will learn about relative clauses, why they are so important for the IELTS exam, and things you must know about them.
Complex sentences often include relative clauses.
If you want to perform well on the IELTS writing test, you must be able to create complex sentences.
Here are some illustrations from IELTS task 1:
Consumption of French fries was far higher than vegetable burgers, which were consumed approximately 7 times a year.
Community contributions, the second-largest revenue source, contributed 10.4% percent of total income. Program revenue came in at 2.2 percent.
Here are some illustrations from IELTS task 2:
There are several sources of CO2, which weakens the ozone layer, but fossil fuel combustion in power plants is the worst offender.
Online communities that are on a worldwide scale have been developed thanks to email and social networking sites like Facebook and MSN.
People = who / that
Things = which / that
Places = where
Here are a few fundamental guidelines you need to be aware of while using these kinds of clauses.
Make sure you comprehend independent and dependent clauses before applying the rules.
1) Relative clauses modify nouns, and they must come after the noun they are modifying:
noun relative clause
The bag, which is my mother’s, is in the garbage.
noun relative clause
The bag is in the garbage, which is black.
The relative clause follows the noun "the bag" in the first clause because it refers to "the bag." The garbage is referred to in the second sentence.
2) There must be an independent and dependent clause:
Ind Clause Dep Clause Ind Clause
The bag, / which is my mother’s, / is in the garbage.
3) As there are two clauses, there must be a subject and verb in each:
S S V V
The bag, / which is my mother’s, / is in the garbage.
This is because a relative clause is two simple sentences joined together. In other words:
S V
The bag is in the garbage.
S V
The bag is my mother’s.
4) You will make a fragment (an incomplete sentence) if you leave out a section of one of the phrases, one of the subjects, or one of the verbs:
S S V
The bag / which is my mother’s.
This is incorrect as there must be a full dependent and independent clause.
5) The verb in the relative clause must be in agreement with the noun it is modifying (singular subject accepts singular verb):
Sub (sing) verb (sing)
The bag, / which is my mother’s, / is in the garbage.
6)There are commas if the information is "additional" information:
The bag, which is my mother’s, is in the garbage.
The relative clause merely adds details about who owns the noun; it does not really identify the noun.
7) There are no commas if the information is "essential":
The bag which is in front of the bed is yours.
It is crucial to determine which car has this. Without the relative clause, we won't know which automobile is being discussed because there are presumably more cars.
In other words, if you said "the bag is yours", this would not help us. Which bag?
8) With ‘essential’ relative clauses, ‘that’ can replace ‘who’ or ‘which’:
The bag that is in front of the bed is yours.
The police have not found the thief that stole my bag.