Non-defining relative clauses worksheet
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Name: ____________________ Date: ____________________
My brother, ___ lives in Leeds, is visiting.
that / who / what
My answer: ________________________________________
The museum, ___ we visited on Sunday, was fascinating.
which / that / no pronoun
My answer: ________________________________________
Choose the correct punctuation.
Leila who is my tutor helped me. / Leila, who is my tutor, helped me. / Leila, who is my tutor helped me.
My answer: ________________________________________
Can we use that after the comma here?
Yes / No / Only for people
My answer: ________________________________________
Our teacher, ___ office is upstairs, is available today.
whose / who / which
My answer: ________________________________________
My sister, ___ lives in Leeds, is visiting.
where / who / that
My answer: ________________________________________
Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.
Paris, which is in France, attracts visitors. / Paris which is in France, attracts visitors. / Paris, that is in France, attracts visitors.
My answer: ________________________________________
Our car, ___ we bought last year, needs repairs.
that / who / which
My answer: ________________________________________
Can you omit which in “My laptop, which I bought last month, is broken”?
Only if you keep the commas. / No, retain it in this non-defining clause. / Yes, always omit object pronouns.
My answer: ________________________________________
Sam, ___ father is a chef, loves cooking.
whose / who / which
My answer: ________________________________________
Answer key & explanations
- who — Who introduces extra information about a person.
- which — Which is required; it cannot be omitted in this non-defining clause.
- Leila, who is my tutor, helped me. — The extra-information clause is enclosed in two commas.
- No — That is not used to introduce a non-defining relative clause.
- whose — Whose expresses possession in defining and non-defining clauses.
- who — Who introduces extra information about a person. That is not used in a non-defining clause.
- Paris, which is in France, attracts visitors. — The extra information is enclosed by two commas; which refers to the city.
- which — Which introduces a non-defining clause about a thing; it cannot be replaced by that here.
- No, retain it in this non-defining clause. — Unlike defining clauses, non-defining clauses retain the relative pronoun even when it is an object.
- whose — Whose expresses possession within the extra-information clause.
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Next worksheet: Defining vs non-defining clauses →Want more non-defining relative clauses practice?
The online topic pack has 40 exercises across four sets, including sentence work and original writing. This printable covers the ten-question warm-up.
Open all four practice sets →Skills to work on in this practice
- Add extra information with commas
- Choose who or which rather than that
- Keep the relative pronoun in place