Relative Clauses and Connectives

A relative clause is a clause that describes a noun, joined to it by a relative pronoun such as who, which or that. A connective (or linking word) is a word or phrase that joins ideas and shows the relationship between them — addition, contrast, cause, result, purpose. Both belong to the same skill: turning short sentences into longer, better-organised ones. NEB Q7 tests them as Join the sentences using a relative pronoun, Fill in the blank with a suitable connective, or Choose the correct linker from the brackets.

28.1 Relative pronouns

Pronoun	Refers to	Function	Example
who	people	subject	The girl who won the prize is from Ilam.
whom	people	object (formal)	The teacher whom we met is retiring.
whose	people and things	possession	The boy whose bicycle was stolen is crying.
which	things and animals	subject or object	The bus which goes to Jumla leaves at five.
that	people or things	subject or object, defining clauses only	The book that you lent me is excellent.
where	places	place	This is the village where I was born.
when	times	time	I remember the day when the earthquake struck.
why	reasons	reason	Tell me the reason why you were absent.

The relative pronoun always stands immediately after the noun it describes.

• The man who lives next door teaches at Padma Kanya Campus.
• Kathmandu, which lies in a valley, has poor air in winter.

28.2 Defining relative clauses

A defining (restrictive) clause tells you which one. Without it the sentence does not identify anything. It takes no commas.

• The students who scored above 80 will get a scholarship. (only those students, not all)
• The trekking route that passes through Ghorepani is the most popular one.
• A blacksmith is a person who works with iron.

In a defining clause, that may replace who or which.

28.3 Non-defining relative clauses

A non-defining clause adds extra information about a noun that is already identified. It is always separated by commas, and that can never be used.

• My father, who retired last year, now keeps bees in Nuwakot.
• Mount Everest, which stands on the Nepal–China border, was climbed in 1953.
• Pokhara, where I spent my childhood, is full of tourists in October.

Compare the pair carefully:

Sentence	Meaning
My brother who lives in Biratnagar is a doctor.	I have more than one brother; this is the Biratnagar one.
My brother, who lives in Biratnagar, is a doctor.	I have one brother; he happens to live in Biratnagar.

28.4 When the relative pronoun may be left out

The pronoun can be dropped only when it is the object of the defining clause, never when it is the subject, and never in a non-defining clause.

Sentence	Pronoun	May it be dropped?
The film that we watched was boring.	object	Yes — The film we watched was boring.
The film that won the award was Nepali.	subject	No
Mira, whom I met in Ilam, has moved.	non-defining	No

• The mobile (which) I bought in Ratnapark stopped working.
• The man who sold it to me has disappeared. (subject — keep who)

28.5 Whose, where, when and why

whose shows possession and works for people and for things.

• The farmer whose buffalo died has applied for compensation.
• I live in a house whose roof leaks every monsoon.

where, when, why replace a preposition + which.

Long form	Short form
the town in which I grew up	the town where I grew up
the year in which he was born	the year when he was born
the reason for which she left	the reason why she left

28.6 Prepositions in relative clauses

The preposition may come at the end (normal English) or before the pronoun (formal English). Before whom and which the formal order is common; that never follows a preposition.

• This is the friend whom I travelled with. → formal: This is the friend with whom I travelled.
• The village which we walked to → the village to which we walked
• Not: ~~the village to that we walked~~

28.7 Reduced relative clauses

A relative clause with be can often be shortened to a participle phrase. This is common in reading passages, so learn to recognise it.

Full clause	Reduced
the man who is standing at the gate	the man standing at the gate
the houses which were damaged by the quake	the houses damaged by the quake
the first student who arrived	the first student to arrive

28.8 Connectives by function

Relationship	Conjunctions (join two clauses)	Adverbs / phrases (usually start a new sentence)	Prepositions (before a noun)
Addition	and, not only … but also	moreover, furthermore, besides, in addition	as well as, along with
Contrast	but, although, though, even though, whereas, while	however, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the contrary	despite, in spite of
Cause / reason	because, since, as	—	because of, due to, owing to, on account of
Result	so, so … that, such … that	therefore, thus, consequently, as a result, hence	—
Purpose	so that, in order that, lest	—	to, in order to, so as to, for
Condition	if, unless, provided that, as long as	otherwise	in case of
Time	when, while, before, after, as soon as, until, since	meanwhile, afterwards, then	during, by, until
Example	—	for example, for instance, namely	such as, like
Summary	—	in short, to sum up, in conclusion, altogether	—

Examples of each kind in a sentence:

• Contrast, conjunction: Although the road was blocked, the ambulance reached the hospital.
• Contrast, adverb: The road was blocked; however, the ambulance reached the hospital.
• Contrast, preposition: Despite the blocked road, the ambulance reached the hospital.
• Cause: The flight was cancelled because the weather was bad. / The flight was cancelled because of the bad weather.
• Result: The weather was so bad that the flight was cancelled.
• Purpose: He woke at four so that he could catch the first bus.

Chapter summary

• A relative clause goes immediately after the noun it describes.
• who/whom for people, which for things, whose for possession, where/when/why for place, time and reason.
• Defining clause: identifies the noun, no commas, that allowed, object pronoun may be dropped.
• Non-defining clause: extra information, commas both sides, that forbidden, pronoun never dropped.
• Do not repeat the noun or its pronoun inside the relative clause.
• A connective must match both the relationship and the word class: although + clause, despite + noun, however + new sentence.
• Never use two joiners for one relationship: although … but, because … so are wrong in English.
• As well as does not make a plural subject.

Practice questions

Join each pair of sentences using a suitable relative pronoun (1 mark each)

1. I know a girl. The girl speaks four languages. [1]
2. This is the house. My grandfather built it in 2020 BS. [1]
3. The farmer is worried. His maize crop failed. [1]
4. Chitwan is famous for its rhinos. Chitwan lies in the Terai. [1]
5. I still remember the day. The earthquake struck on that day. [1]
6. That is the shop. I bought my school bag from it. [1]

Answers

1. I know a girl who speaks four languages. — a person as subject of the defining clause.

2. This is the house which/that my grandfather built in 2020 BS. — a thing as object; the pronoun could also be dropped.

3. The farmer whose maize crop failed is worried. — whose shows possession and sits next to farmer.

4. Chitwan, which lies in the Terai, is famous for its rhinos. — a proper noun, so non-defining with commas and never that.

5. I still remember the day when the earthquake struck. — when replaces on which for time.

6. That is the shop where I bought my school bag (or from which I bought…). — where replaces from which for place.

Fill in the blanks with a suitable connective (1 mark each)

7. ____ he had studied all night, he could not answer the last question. [1]
8. The flight to Lukla was cancelled ____ the bad weather. [1]
9. She revised every formula; ____ , she scored full marks in the test. [1]
10. Put on a helmet ____ you may be fined at the checkpoint. [1]
11. He got up at four ____ he could catch the first bus to Janakpur. [1]
12. ____ his poor eyesight, he refused to wear spectacles. [1]
13. The room was ____ cold that we could not sleep. [1]
14. Nepal exports many farm products, ____ tea, cardamom and ginger. [1]

Answers

7. Although / Even though / Though — a contrast between effort and result, joining two clauses.

8. because of / due to / owing to — a noun phrase follows, so a preposition is needed, not because.

9. therefore / consequently / as a result — a result adverb after a semicolon.

10. otherwise / or else — the second clause states what happens if the first is not done.

11. so that / in order that — purpose, followed by a clause with could.

12. Despite / In spite of — a noun phrase follows, so the preposition form of contrast.

13. so — the so + adjective + that result pattern.

14. such as / namely / for example — introducing examples of the farm products.

Rewrite the sentences as instructed (1 mark each)

15. Although he was ill, he attended the meeting. — Rewrite using in spite of. [1]
16. Because of the strike, the schools remained closed. — Rewrite using because. [1]
17. The tea was too hot for me to drink. — Rewrite using so … that. [1]
18. He is poor. He is honest. — Join with a suitable connective of contrast. [1]
19. The boy is my cousin. He won the essay competition. — Join with a relative pronoun. [1]

Answers

15. In spite of his illness (or being ill), he attended the meeting. — in spite of takes a noun or gerund.

16. Because there was a strike, the schools remained closed. — because takes a full clause.

17. The tea was so hot that I could not drink it. — too … to becomes so … that with a negative result clause.

18. He is poor but honest (or Although he is poor, he is honest). — a single contrast joiner only.

19. The boy who won the essay competition is my cousin. — subject pronoun who, placed next to boy.

Correct the errors in the following sentences (1 mark each)

20. Although he worked hard, but he failed. [1]
21. Despite he was tired, he kept walking. [1]
22. This is the boy who I met him in Butwal. [1]
23. Kathmandu, that is the capital of Nepal, is crowded. [1]
24. Because it was raining, so the match was stopped. [1]
25. He is the man which helped us during the flood. [1]
26. The pen was lying on the desk which my uncle gave me. [1]

Answers

20. Although he worked hard, he failed. — drop but; one contrast joiner is enough.

21. Although he was tired, he kept walking. — a clause follows, so use the conjunction, not despite.

22. This is the boy whom I met in Butwal. — the relative pronoun is already the object; do not add him.

23. Kathmandu, which is the capital of Nepal, is crowded. — that is never used in a non-defining clause.

24. Because it was raining, the match was stopped. — drop so; because alone shows the cause.

25. He is the man who helped us during the flood. — which cannot refer to a person.

26. The pen which my uncle gave me was lying on the desk. — the clause must stand next to its own noun.