English Language Arts
Grade 10
15 min
Combine sentences using relative clauses
Combine sentences using relative clauses
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify relative clauses and their function within complex sentences.
Differentiate between restrictive (essential) and non-restrictive (non-essential) relative clauses.
Correctly punctuate sentences containing non-restrictive clauses using commas.
Select the appropriate relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) based on its grammatical function and antecedent.
Combine two or more simple sentences into a single, more sophisticated complex sentence using a relative clause.
Revise their own writing to improve sentence fluency and eliminate choppiness by incorporating relative clauses.
Ever feel like your writing sounds robotic and choppy? 🤖 Let's learn a technique professional writers use to create elegant, flowing sentences.
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
ClauseA group of words that contains both a subject and a verb.The protagonist faced a dilemma.
Independent ClauseA clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence; it expresses a complete thought.Gilgamesh mourned his friend Enkidu.
Dependent (Subordinate) ClauseA clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence; it depends on an independent clause to complete its meaning....who was the king of Uruk.
Relative ClauseA type of dependent clause that starts with a relative pronoun and functions as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun.The epic, which is one of the oldest known literary works, tells his story.
Relative PronounA word that introduces a relative clause and connects it to the word it modifies (the antecedent).who, whom, whose, which, that
Anteced...
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Key Rules & Conventions
Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive Clauses
Restrictive clauses are essential to the sentence's meaning and are NOT set off by commas. Non-restrictive clauses provide extra, non-essential information and ARE set off by commas.
Use this rule to determine punctuation. If you can remove the clause without changing the fundamental meaning of the sentence, it's non-restrictive and needs commas. If removing the clause makes the sentence unclear or changes its meaning, it's restrictive and does not use commas.
Choosing the Correct Relative Pronoun
WHO/WHOM for people. WHICH for things/animals. THAT for people or things (in restrictive clauses only). WHOSE for possession.
Select the pronoun based on the antecedent. 'Who' is a subject pronoun (performs an action)...
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Challenging
Evaluate the options for combining these ideas: 'The historian wrote a book about the Roman Empire. The book became a bestseller. The historian is a professor at the university.' Which is the most stylistically effective and concise combination?
A.The historian, who is a professor at the university, wrote a book about the Roman Empire that became a bestseller.
B.The book about the Roman Empire that became a bestseller was written by the historian who is a professor at the university.
C.The historian wrote a bestselling book about the Roman Empire, and this historian is a professor at the university.
D.The historian, a professor at the university, wrote the bestselling book about the Roman Empire.
Challenging
For a formal research paper, which sentence best combines these facts using a correctly punctuated relative clause? 'Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher. Her book 'The Second Sex' is a foundational text of modern feminism.'
A.Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher whose book 'The Second Sex' is a foundational text.
B.Simone de Beauvoir, a French philosopher, her book 'The Second Sex' is a foundational text.
C.Simone de Beauvoir, whose book 'The Second Sex' is a foundational text of modern feminism, was a French existentialist philosopher.
D.Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher and her book 'The Second Sex' is a foundational text.
Challenging
Analyze this sentence from a literary critique: 'The anti-hero, for whom the reader feels a reluctant sympathy, represents a rejection of traditional heroic values.' What is the function and type of the clause 'for whom the reader feels a reluctant sympathy'?
A.It is a restrictive clause that specifies which anti-hero is being discussed.
B.It is a non-restrictive clause that provides additional, descriptive information about the anti-hero.
C.It is an independent clause that could stand alone as a complete sentence.
D.It is a restrictive clause that functions as the subject of the sentence.
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