8.85 kinds of relative clause

There are two kinds of relative clause.

Defining relative clauses explain which person or thing you are talking about. For example, if you say 'I met the woman', it might not be clear who you mean, so you might say, 'I met the woman who lives next door'. In this sentence, 'who lives next door' is a defining relative clause.

• Shortly after the shooting, the man who had done it was arrested.
• Mooresville is the town that John Dillinger came from.

Defining relative clauses are a kind of qualifier. Qualifiers are explained in paragraphs 2.289 to 2.320.

Non-defining relative clauses give further information which is not needed to identify the person, thing, or group you are talking about. For example, if you say 'I saw Kylie Minogue', it is clear who you mean. But you might want to add more information about Kylie Minogue, so you might say, for example, 'I saw Kylie Minogue, who was staying at the hotel opposite'. In this sentence, 'who was staying at the hotel opposite' is a non-defining relative clause.

• He was waving to the girl, who was running along the platform.
• He walked down to Broadway, the main street of the town, which ran parallel to the river.

Non-defining relative clauses are used mainly in writing rather than speech.