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Unit 95 — Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)
A. There are two types of relative clause
There are two types of relative clause. In these examples, the relative clauses are underlined.
Type 1
- The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor.
- Grace works for a company that makes furniture.
- We stayed at the hotel (that) you recommended.
In these examples, the relative clauses tell you which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means:
- ‘The woman who lives next door to me’ tells us which woman.
- ‘A company that makes furniture’ tells us what kind of company.
- ‘The hotel (that) you recommended’ tells us which hotel.
We do not use commas (,) with these clauses:
- We know a lot of people who live in London.
Type 2
- My brother Ben, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.
- Anna told me about her new job, which she’s enjoying a lot.
- We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.
In these examples, the relative clauses do not tell you which person or thing the speaker means.
We already know which thing or person is meant:
- ‘My brother Ben’
- ‘Anna’s new job’
- ‘the Park Hotel’
The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing.
We use commas (,) with these clauses:
- My brother Ben, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.
B. who / which / that
In both types of relative clause we use who for people and which for things. But there are some important differences.
Type 1
You can use that:
- Do you know anyone who/that speaks French and Italian?
- Grace works for a company which/that makes furniture.
You can leave out who/which/that when it is the object:
- We stayed at the hotel (that/which) you recommended.
- This morning I met somebody (who/that) I hadn’t seen for ages.
We do not often use whom in this type of clause.
Type 2
You cannot use that:
John, who speaks French and Italian, works as a tour guide. ❌ not: John, that speaks French and Italian, ...
Anna told me about her new job, which she’s enjoying a lot.
You cannot leave out who or which:
- We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.
- This morning I met Chris, who I hadn’t seen for ages.
You can use whom for people when it is the object:
- This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn’t seen for ages.
1. Type 1 和 Type 2 的核心区别
Type 1：限定性关系从句
Type 1 的作用是：
告诉我们具体是哪一个人、哪一个东西。
例如：
The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor.
这里如果只说：
The woman is a doctor.
我们不知道是哪一个女人。
所以：
who lives next door to me
是必要信息，用来限定：
哪一个 woman
再例如：
Grace works for a company that makes furniture.
这里：
that makes furniture
告诉我们 Grace 工作的是：
什么样的 company
因此 Type 1 可以理解成：
必要信息 / 限定信息
结构：
noun + relative clause
通常：
不用逗号
例如：
The man who works with me is from Canada.
和我一起工作的那个男人来自加拿大。
Type 2：非限定性关系从句 / 补充信息从句
Type 2 的作用是：
人或东西已经明确，只是额外补充一些信息。
例如：
My brother Ben, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.
这里已经明确是谁：
My brother Ben
即使删除：
who lives in Hong Kong
仍然知道说的是谁：
My brother Ben is an architect.
所以：
who lives in Hong Kong
只是额外信息：
他住在香港。
再例如：
Anna told me about her new job, which she’s enjoying a lot.
已经明确：
her new job
后面的：
which she’s enjoying a lot
只是补充说明：
她很喜欢这份新工作。
因此 Type 2 可以理解成：
额外信息 / 补充信息
结构：
noun**,** relative clause**,** ...
通常需要：
逗号
2. Type 1 和 Type 2 对比
| Type 1 | Type 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 作用 | 限定是哪一个 | 补充额外信息 |
| 信息 | 必要信息 | 非必要信息 |
| 逗号 | ❌ 不使用 | ✅ 使用 |
| who | ✅ | ✅ |
| which | ✅ | ✅ |
| that | ✅ | ❌ |
| 宾语关系词省略 | ✅ 可以 | ❌ 不可以 |
| whom | 可以，但口语不常用 | ✅ 可以 |
3. 一个非常重要的对比
Type 1
My brother who lives in Shanghai is a software engineer.
意思接近：
住在上海的那个哥哥/弟弟是软件工程师。
这里：
who lives in Shanghai
是在告诉别人：
是哪一个 brother
这句话可能暗示：
我可能不止一个 brother。
Type 2
My brother, who lives in Shanghai, is a software engineer.
这里：
my brother
已经明确。
后面的：
who lives in Shanghai
只是补充：
顺便告诉你，他住在上海。
可以理解为：
我的兄弟是软件工程师，他住在上海。
所以逗号会影响句子的逻辑和含义。
4. Type 1 可以使用 that
对于人：
The man who works here is Tom.
也可以：
The man that works here is Tom.
对于东西：
The software which runs in the browser is very useful.
也可以：
The software that runs in the browser is very useful.
所以 Type 1：
people → who / that
things → which / that
5. Type 2 不能使用 that
例如：
My friend Tom, who lives in London, is a programmer.
不能说：
❌ My friend Tom, that lives in London, is a programmer.
对于东西：
My Tesla, which I bought last year, is very comfortable.
不能说：
❌ My Tesla, that I bought last year, is very comfortable.
所以 Type 2：
people → who
things → which
不能使用：
❌ that
6. Type 1：宾语关系词可以省略
例如：
We stayed at the hotel that you recommended.
分析：
you recommended the hotel
这里：
that = the hotel
that 是 recommended 的宾语。
因此可以省略：
We stayed at the hotel you recommended.
三种都可以：
the hotel that you recommended
the hotel which you recommended
the hotel you recommended
再例如：
This is the book that I bought yesterday.
可以：
This is the book which I bought yesterday.
也可以：
This is the book I bought yesterday.
7. Type 2：who / which 不能省略
例如：
We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.
不能：
❌ We stayed at the Park Hotel, a friend of ours recommended.
再例如：
This morning I met Chris, who I hadn’t seen for ages.
虽然：
who
在从句中是宾语，但仍然不能省略。
不能说：
❌ This morning I met Chris, I hadn’t seen for ages.
因此记住：
Type 1：宾语关系词可以省略
Type 2：关系词不能省略
8. Type 2 可以使用 whom
当关系词指人，而且作宾语时，可以使用：
whom
例如：
This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn’t seen for ages.
拆开：
I hadn’t seen him for ages.
所以：
whom = him
也可以使用比较自然的：
This morning I met Chris, who I hadn’t seen for ages.
正式：
whom
日常：
who
C. whose and where
In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where.
Type 1
- We helped some people whose car had broken down.
- What’s the name of the place where you went on holiday?
Type 2
- Lisa, whose car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.
- Kate has just been to Sweden, where her daughter lives.
9. whose 在两种关系从句中都可以使用
Type 1
We helped some people whose car had broken down.
这里：
whose car = their car
意思：
我们帮助了一些车坏了的人。
whose car had broken down 用来告诉我们：
是哪些 people。
Type 2
Lisa, whose car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.
这里已经知道：
Lisa
所以：
whose car had broken down
只是额外告诉我们：
Lisa 的车坏了。
可以拆成：
Lisa’s car had broken down.
Lisa was in a very bad mood.
合并：
Lisa, whose car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.
10. where 在两种关系从句中都可以使用
Type 1
What’s the name of the place where you went on holiday?
这里：
where you went on holiday
告诉我们：
是哪一个 place
Type 2
Kate has just been to Sweden, where her daughter lives.
这里：
Sweden
已经非常明确。
后面的：
where her daughter lives
只是补充：
她女儿住在那里。
可以理解为：
Kate has just been to Sweden. Her daughter lives there.
合并：
Kate has just been to Sweden, where her daughter lives.
11. 最简单的判断方法：删除测试
判断 Type 1 / Type 2 时，可以尝试：
把关系从句删除。
删除以后不知道具体是谁/是什么
说明关系从句是：
Type 1：必要信息
例如：
The man who works with me is from Canada.
删除：
The man is from Canada.
问题：
哪个男人？
不知道。
所以：
who works with me
是必要信息。
删除以后仍然非常清楚是谁/是什么
说明关系从句是：
Type 2：额外信息
例如：
Tom, who works with me, is from Canada.
删除：
Tom is from Canada.
仍然非常清楚：
Tom
所以：
who works with me
只是额外信息。
12. 逗号是这一单元的关键
没有逗号
The employees who work from home are happy.
意思：
那些在家办公的员工很开心。
这里可能只是在说一部分员工。
有逗号
The employees, who work from home, are happy.
意思更接近：
这些员工都在家办公，而且他们都很开心。
who work from home 只是补充说明这些员工的情况。
因此：
逗号不是单纯的书写格式，它会改变句子的逻辑。
13. Unit 95 核心规则
Type 1 — identifying information
限定是谁 / 是什么
特点：
- 不使用逗号
- 人：who / that
- 物：which / that
- 宾语关系词可以省略
- whose / where 可以使用
例如：
The man who works here is my friend.
The software that I use is very useful.
The book I bought yesterday is interesting.
Type 2 — extra information
已经知道是谁 / 是什么，只补充额外信息
特点：
- 使用逗号
- 人：who
- 物：which
- ❌ 不能使用 that
- ❌ 不能省略 who / which
- 可以使用 whom
- whose / where 可以使用
例如：
Tom, who works here, is my friend.
My MacBook, which I bought last year, is still very fast.
Shanghai, where I work, is a very large city.
14. 最终思维模型
看到关系从句时，先问：
这个从句是为了告诉别人“到底是哪一个”，还是只是“顺便补充信息”？
如果是：
到底是哪一个？
使用：
Type 1
特点：
无逗号
who / that → 人
which / that → 物
宾语关系词 → 可以省略
如果是：
已经知道是谁，只是顺便补充一下
使用：
Type 2
特点：
有逗号
who → 人
which → 物
❌ 不用 that
❌ 不能省略关系词
15. 一句话记忆
Type 1 = Which one? → 必要信息 → 不加逗号
Type 2 = By the way... → 额外信息 → 加逗号
例如：
The programmer who works with me is very good.
哪个程序员？
→ 和我一起工作的那个。
→ Type 1
而：
Tom, who works with me, is a very good programmer.
已经知道：
Tom
只是顺便补充：
他和我一起工作。
→ Type 2