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A2 · ⑯ Joining
Relative clauses and the first conditional
Two ways to hang a second sentence onto the first — and a comma that changes the meaning.
50minthe whole
sheet
28questions
in the practice
3pages,
one at a time
01 · First page · which word, and does it need a comma
The joins
The thing you are describing is a person
who (or that)
the man who called you
It is a thing or an animal
which (or that)
the book which won the prize
It is a place
where
the town where I grew up
You are saying WHICH one — the sentence needs it to make sense
no commas
The man who called you is here.
You are adding extra information — the sentence works without it
two commas
My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor.
The relative word is the OBJECT of its own clause
you may drop it
the book (that) I read
A real future possibility, with a condition
if + present, will + verb
If it rains, I'll stay home.
relative clause: A relative clause is a small sentence glued onto a noun to say more about it. It begins with who, which, that, where or whose, and it stands immediately after the noun it describes — never anywhere else.
defining or not: A defining clause says WHICH one, and the sentence collapses without it: The man who called is here. A non-defining clause only adds a detail, and it is wrapped in two commas: My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor. The commas are not decoration — they change what the sentence claims.
first conditional: The first conditional talks about a real possibility in the future. The half with if takes the PRESENT, and only the other half takes will: If it rains, I will stay home. Putting will in the if half is the mistake almost everybody makes at least once.
- The woman who lives next door is a nurse.
- This is the book that I told you about.
- My sister, who works in Berlin, is visiting.
- If you help me, we'll finish sooner.
- I'll call you if I hear anything.
| How it behaves | ||
|---|---|---|
| Word | Used for | Can it be dropped? |
| who | people | yes, if it is the object |
| which | things and animals | yes, if it is the object |
| that | people or things · defining only | yes, if it is the object |
| where | places | no |
| whose | possession | no |
| after a comma | extra information | never — and never that |
Golden rule
Read the sentence without the clause. If it still says who or what you meant, the clause is extra and takes two commas. If it no longer makes sense, the clause is doing essential work and takes none. And in a conditional, the half that carries if never carries will — exactly as after when.
that can never follow a comma. After a comma the choice is who for people and which for things, and nothing else: My car, which is ten years old, still works. My car, that is ten years old is wrong, and it is one of the few relative mistakes that a reader notices immediately.
02 · Second page · the comma, and the tense after if
The uses
Defining · no commas
It tells you which one. Remove it and you no longer know who is meant.
The man who called is waiting.The train that leaves at six is full.
Non-defining · two commas
It adds a detail about something already identified. The sentence survives without it.
My father, who is 70, still works.
Dropping the word
If the relative word is the object of its clause, you may leave it out entirely.
the film (that) we sawthe man (who) I met
whose
whose replaces a possessive and works for people and things alike.
the woman whose car was stolen
if + present
The condition takes the present, even though it is about the future.
If it rains…If you come early…
will in the other half
The result takes will, or a modal, or an imperative.
…I'll stay home.…we can start.…call me.
Either order
The if half may come first or second. First means a comma, second means none.
If I see her, I'll tell her.I'll tell her if I see her.
unless
unless means if not, so it never takes a second negative.
Unless it rains, we'll walk.
One comma, two completely different families
My brother who lives in Rome is a doctor means I have several brothers, and I am telling you which one. My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor means I have one brother, and Rome is just extra news. Same eleven words, two commas of difference, two different families. This is why the comma cannot be treated as a matter of taste: it carries information that nothing else in the sentence carries.
🌍 For everyone
Neither language forbids the future after if, so both produce if it will rain. English does forbid it: the if half stays in the present. It is the same rule already met after when, and meeting it twice is what finally makes it stick.
Se pioverà, resto a casa. → If it rains, I'll stay home.
The relative word must sit immediately after the noun it describes. Moving it produces sentences that are grammatical but say something absurd: I saw a man in the park who was reading is fine, but I saw a man who was reading in the park now says the reading happened in the park. Position is meaning here, as everywhere else in English.
If it will rain, I'll stay home. → If it rains, I'll stay home.
The if half never takes will: it stays in the present.
My car, that is very old, still works. → My car, which is very old, still works.
that can never follow a comma: use who or which.
The man which called you is here. → The man who called you is here.
which is for things; people take who or that.
This is the town where I was born there. → This is the town where I was born.
where already means in that place: there is one word too many.
Unless you don't hurry, we'll be late. → Unless you hurry, we'll be late.
unless already means if not: a second negative reverses it.
The woman who her car was stolen called us. → The woman whose car was stolen called us.
Possession inside a relative clause takes whose.
- The people who live upstairs are very quiet.
- That's the restaurant where we met.
- If you finish early, call me.
- We'll go out unless it rains.
03 · Third page · now it's your turn
Exercises
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