Relative clauses for complex sentences
Relative clauses are the quickest route from simple sentences to the 'variety of complex structures' that band 7 requires. Master defining vs non-defining clauses (and the commas that change meaning), who/which/that/whose/where/when, formal patterns like 'the extent to which' and 'many of whom', and reduced clauses with -ing and past participles.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Choose correctly between who, which, that, whose, where and when
- Distinguish defining and non-defining clauses and punctuate them correctly
- Use formal patterns such as preposition + which/whom (the extent to which) and many of whom / most of which
- Reduce relative clauses to participle phrases (people living in…, goods produced in…)
- Combine short simple sentences into accurate band 7+ complex sentences
Relative words and what they refer to
| Word | Refers to | Example (IELTS context) |
|---|---|---|
who | people (subject or object) | Students who work part-time often have less time to revise. |
whom | people as the object; formal, especially after a preposition | the candidates to whom the scholarships were awarded / many of whom |
which | things, animals and ideas; in non-defining clauses it can also refer to a whole clause | The bridge, which opened in 2022, … / Prices rose sharply, which hit poorer families hardest. |
that | people or things, in defining clauses only | The policy that the government introduced… / The doctor that treated me… ('who' is more common for people) |
whose | possession, for people and things | Families whose children study abroad… / a country whose economy depends on garment exports |
where | places (= in which / at which) | the village where I grew up |
when | times (= in which / on which) | the year when the metro opened / the day when I received my results |
why | after 'the reason' | the reason why many graduates emigrate (or 'the reason that…', or simply 'the reason many graduates emigrate') |
Defining vs non-defining: commas change the meaning
Defining (no commas): tells you WHICH ones
Students who work part-time often struggle with deadlines. → Only the students who work part-time struggle.
My brother who lives in Sylhet is a doctor. → I have more than one brother. I mean the one in Sylhet.
The passengers who were sitting at the front were injured. → Only some passengers were injured.
Non-defining (commas): adds EXTRA information
Students, who work part-time, often struggle with deadlines. → ALL students work part-time, and they struggle. (Probably not what you meant!)
My brother, who lives in Sylhet, is a doctor. → I have only one brother. The clause is just extra information.
The passengers, who were sitting at the front, were injured. → All the passengers were at the front, and all were injured.
Commas are not decoration: they change the meaning. Here is a test. Remove the clause. If the sentence still points to exactly the same people or things, the clause is extra, so use commas. If removing it means the reader no longer knows WHICH ones you mean, it is defining, so don't use commas.
Defining vs non-defining: the rules
| Feature | Defining clause | Non-defining clause |
|---|---|---|
Purpose | Identifies which person or thing you mean | Adds extra information about something already identified |
Commas | No commas | Commas before and after (or a comma before and a full stop at the end) |
Can you use 'that'? | Yes | Never |
Can you leave out the pronoun? | Yes, when it is the object: the course (that) I chose | Never |
Typical nouns | General nouns: people, students, the policy, a country | Names and unique things: Dhaka, the Padma Bridge, my mother, Bangladesh |
Referring to a whole clause | Not possible | Possible with 'which': Rents doubled, which forced many families to move. |
In Speaking | Very common | Common. Pause briefly where the commas would be. |
Subject or object? When you can leave out the pronoun
In a defining clause, the relative pronoun can be the subject or the object of the verb in the clause.
- Subject: The students who passed the exam… ('who' = the students, and they passed)
- Object: The course (that) I chose… ('that' = the course, and I chose it)
When the pronoun is the object, you can leave it out: The course I chose was demanding. The essay you wrote last week was excellent.
You cannot leave out a subject pronoun: ✗ The students passed the exam celebrated. → ✓ The students who passed the exam celebrated.
Never add a second pronoun
- ✗ The essay which I wrote it yesterday… → ✓ The essay which I wrote yesterday…
- ✗ My uncle, who he works in Dubai, … → ✓ My uncle, who works in Dubai, …
who or whom?
Whom is formal. It is used for the object, especially after a preposition: the person to whom I spoke, many of whom. In everyday speech, who (or no pronoun at all) is normal: the person I spoke to. In Task 2, use whom after prepositions and in many of whom / some of whom. Everywhere else, who is fine.
Check your understanding
7 questions- 1
'Families ___ children study abroad often have to sell land to pay the fees.'
- 2
Cox's Bazar, has one of the longest natural beaches in the world, attracts millions of tourists every year.
- 3
Which sentence means that ALL the passengers were injured?
- 4
I still remember the day I received my university admission letter.
- 5
In which sentence can the relative pronoun be left out?
- 6
The village my grandparents live has no hospital.
- 7
Choose the correct sentence.
Answer every question to check.
Prepositions in relative clauses: the formal band 8 pattern
There are two places to put the preposition:
- Informal (fine in Speaking): the city which I grew up in / the people I work with
- Formal (best in Writing): the city in which I grew up / the people with whom I work
After a preposition, use only which (for things) or whom (for people). Never use that or who there:
- ✗ the city in that I grew up → ✓ the city in which I grew up
- ✗ the people with who I work → ✓ the people with whom I work
Quantifier + of + whom / which
This is one of the most efficient structures in academic English. It joins a statistic to a group in a single sentence:
- The survey questioned 500 students, most of whom wanted to study abroad.
- Bangladesh has hundreds of rivers, many of which flood during the monsoon.
- The government considered two options, neither of which was popular.
Use whom for people and which for things. Never use a pronoun here: ✗ many of them after a comma creates a run-on sentence (…500 students, most of them wanted…) and is a punctuation error in writing.
Fixed academic phrases with preposition + which
| Phrase | Example |
|---|---|
the extent to which | Opinions differ on the extent to which governments should regulate social media. |
the degree to which | The degree to which a child succeeds at school often depends on family support. |
the way in which | The way in which people consume news has changed dramatically. |
the rate at which | The rate at which Himalayan glaciers are melting has accelerated. |
the means by which | Mobile banking has become the main means by which migrant workers send money home. |
the conditions under which | The conditions under which garment workers are employed have improved since 2013. |
the period during which | Bus use fell throughout the period during which the metro was expanding. |
the purpose for which | Funds must be spent on the purpose for which they were collected. |
Bangladesh is a country whose economy depends heavily on garment exports, which account for well over 80% of its export earnings. This dependence carries real risks. The factories, most of which are located around Dhaka and Chattogram, employ around four million workers, the majority of whom are women. If global demand falls, these workers, many of whom support entire families, could lose their income almost overnight. Diversifying into sectors in which the country could also compete, such as pharmaceuticals or software, would reduce the extent to which the national economy is exposed to a single industry.
- whose economy'Whose' is correct for things (a country) as well as people. It is far more elegant than 'a country that its economy…', which is a common error.
- , which account for…A non-defining clause adds a fact about 'garment exports'. The verb 'account' is plural because it agrees with 'exports'.
- most of which / the majority of whom / many of whomQuantifier + of + which/whom. This pattern packs a statistic into the sentence without starting a new one.
- sectors in whichPreposition + which: the formal written pattern (rather than 'sectors which the country could compete in').
- the extent to whichA fixed academic chunk that examiners associate with sophisticated range.
- A word of warningThis paragraph is deliberately dense so that you can see the patterns. In your own essays, two or three relative clauses per paragraph is plenty. Mix them with other structures such as conditionals, passives and participle clauses.
Reduced relative clauses: the advanced shortcut
You can often shorten a relative clause by removing the pronoun and be, or by changing the verb into a participle.
-ing participle (active meaning)
- People who live in coastal areas… → People living in coastal areas…
- households that own a car → households owning a car
Past participle (passive meaning)
- The bridge which was completed in 2022… → The bridge completed in 2022…
- Goods that are produced in Bangladesh… → Goods produced in Bangladesh…
to-infinitive after first, last, only, next and superlatives
- She was the first woman in her village who went to university. → …the first woman in her village to go to university.
Appositive (a non-defining clause with no verb)
- Dhaka, which is the capital of Bangladesh, … → Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, …
Task 1 introductions use this all the time
- The graph shows the number of people using public transport in…
- The table compares the amount of electricity generated from four sources…
- The pie charts illustrate the proportion of household income spent on food…
Rules and limits
- Use -ing for ongoing actions or permanent states. Don't use it for a single completed past action: ✗ The student winning the prize last year… → ✓ The student who won the prize last year…
- Use the past participle for a passive meaning: ✗ the amount of rice producing in 2010 → ✓ the amount of rice produced in 2010.
- If the reduced version is unclear, keep the full clause. Clarity always beats compression.
Combining short sentences: a four-step method
- 1
1. Find the shared noun
Look for two sentences about the same person or thing.
The metro opened in 2022. It has cut journey times dramatically. → shared noun: the metro / it.
- 2
2. Decide: identifying or extra?
The metro is already identified (the reader knows which one), so the new information is extra. That means a non-defining clause with commas.
- 3
3. Replace the pronoun and place the clause next to its noun
Swap it for which and put the clause right after the metro:
The metro, which opened in 2022, has cut journey times dramatically.
- 4
4. Reduce if natural, then check commas and agreement
The metro, opened in 2022, has cut journey times dramatically. (optional)
For a bigger combination:
Rickshaw pullers earn very little. Many of them come from northern districts. Seasonal poverty is common there. →
Rickshaw pullers, many of whom come from northern districts where seasonal poverty is common, earn very little.
Task 2 paragraph: Band 6 vs Band 8
Band 6: correct but simple
Many young people want to study abroad. They believe it will improve their careers. However, studying abroad is very expensive. Families often sell land to pay the fees. This creates financial pressure. Some students cannot find jobs after they return. This is a serious problem.
Band 8: ideas connected with relative clauses
Many young people who dream of studying abroad believe that a foreign degree will transform their careers. However, the cost is considerable, and families often sell land to pay the fees, which places them under enormous financial pressure. This pressure becomes a serious problem for graduates unable to find work on their return, many of whom spend years repaying debts that their degree was supposed to clear.
The ideas and vocabulary level are almost the same. But the left side is seven simple sentences, which signals 'limited range' and keeps GRA at around band 5–6. The right side uses a defining clause (who dream of…), a sentence-level 'which', a reduced clause (graduates unable to…), 'many of whom', and an object clause (debts that…). It isn't longer for the sake of it: each clause shows how the ideas connect.
Find and fix the relative clause error
8 questions- 1
Find and correct the mistake:
The teacher which taught me English now works in Canada.
- 2
Find and correct the mistake:
Chattogram, that is the country's main port, handles most of its foreign trade.
- 3
Find and correct the mistake:
The essay which I wrote it yesterday was too short.
- 4
Find and correct the mistake:
People, who exercise regularly, tend to live longer.
- 5
Find and correct the mistake:
Rajshahi is a city who's mangoes are famous across the country.
- 6
Find and correct the mistake:
Many students move to Dhaka for university. Which puts pressure on housing.
- 7
Find and correct the mistake:
The graph shows the amount of electricity producing from coal.
- 8
Find and correct the mistake:
I will never forget the year where I passed my HSC exams.
Answer every question to check.
Writing Task 2 practice
100+ words · 15 minIn many countries, young people are moving from rural areas to large cities. What problems does this cause, and what measures could be taken to solve them?
Lesson task: Write one body paragraph (100–150 words) about the problems. Include at least:
- one defining relative clause (no commas)
- one non-defining clause (with commas)
- one preposition + which/whom or quantifier + of whom/which
- one reduced clause (-ing or past participle)
Self-check before submitting
- ☐ At least one defining clause with no commas (e.g. migrants who cannot find formal jobs…)
- ☐ At least one non-defining clause with a comma on both sides (e.g. Dhaka, which…, …)
- ☐ A formal pattern: in which / for whom / the rate at which / many of whom / most of which
- ☐ A reduced clause: settlements lacking…, the villages left behind…
- ☐ No 'that' after a comma, no extra pronoun (which… it), no sentence starting with 'Which'
- ☐ Verbs inside relative clauses agree with the noun they refer to (migrants who live…, a city which has…)
Final quiz: relative clauses
10 questions- 1
Put the parts in order to make one sentence.
Drag the cards (or use the arrows) into the correct order.
- 1said that
- 2most of whom
- 3to study abroad.
- 4they would prefer
- 5The survey questioned 500 students,
- 2
Match each noun with the preposition + which that completes the fixed phrase.
the extentthe ratethe meansthe conditionsthe period - 3
Opinions differ on the extent which governments should control the internet.
- 4
The survey questioned 300 farmers, most of said their incomes had fallen.
- 5
Which is the correct reduced version of: 'The chart shows the number of people who use the metro every day.'
- 6
You have TWO sisters and want to say which one is a nurse. Which sentence is correct?
- 7
Choose TWO correct sentences.
Select 2.
- 8
Find and correct the mistake:
The people with who I share a flat are all from Sylhet.
- 9
Find and correct the mistake:
The new law, which it was passed last year, has reduced road accidents.
- 10
Bangladesh is a country economy has grown rapidly over the past two decades.
Answer every question to check.
Key takeaways
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