Relative clauses (please help)?

Question

Hello,
Would you please have look at these relative clauses nd tell me which ones are correct and which ones are incorrect?

a) The leather (that/which) we make the jackets with is expensive. 
1. The leather with which we make the jackets is expensive.
2. The leather, with which we make the jackets, is expensive.
3. The leather that we make the jackets with is expensive.
4. The leather, that we make the jackets with, is expensive.


b) The leather is the material (that/which) we made the jackets with. 
5. The leather is the material with which we made the jackets.
6. The leather is the material that we made the jackets with.
7. The material that we made the jackets with is leather.


c) The leather that is the material (that/which) we made the jackets with is expensive. 
8. The leather, that is the material with which we made the jackets, is expensive.
9. The leather that is the material with which we made the jackets is expensive.
10. The leather, which is the material we made the jackets with, is expensive.
11. The leather which is the material we made the jackets with is expensive.
12. The leather, that is the material that we made the jackets with, is expensive.
13. The leather that is the material that we made the jackets with is expensive.


Thank you

frank · Accepted Answer

I think what you mean is to look at the above SENTENCES with relative clauses. For general information, "that" and "which" are interchangeable except that "that" could be used to refer to people too:
The woman that was at the door is my aunt.
Some grammarians recommend that "which" be used when the relative clause is nonrestrictive( it can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence):
The red coat, which she wore at the party, was expensive.  ..The red coat was expensive.  

In your group one sentences the following are correct:
The leather, which we make our jackets with, is expensive.
The leather that we make our jackets with is expensive.

Group two sentences all seem to be okay, but I do not like the way they sound.

In group three, #'s 10 and 13 are grammatically the best. I really do not see the point of using so many variations to convey a simple message. I think that the first two sentences, which I gave you, should suffice. 

I hope that I helped you a little, and I am happy that you are still with us.

Axel Flieger · Answer

there are 2 types of relative clause:1 - identifying clause
                                                   2 - non-identifying clause
1.An identifying clause gives necessary info and is essential to the meaning of the main sentence.It is not put in commas.
2.A non-identifying clause gives extra info and is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.It is put in commas.

A.Identifying clause are introduced with :who, which, that and whose, where, when, why(the reason)
whose can NOT be omitted 
where can be when there is a preposition
when and why can both be omitted or replaced with "that"
a)the man was angry(which man?we don't know.the meaning of the sentence is not clear.)
b)the man whose car was damaged was angry.(which man?the man whose car was damaged.the meaning of the sentence is clear.)

B.Non-Identifying.introduced with:who, whom, which.They all can be omitted or replaced by "that".
a)Jenny Ledd is my favorite author.(the meaning is clear)
b)Jenny Ledd, who has written a lot of succesed books...(the meaning is not clear)

whose, where, whom.them all cannot be omitted

a)the bride looked stunning.
b)The bride, whose wedding was designed by me, looked stunning.(it gives extra info)

Trending News

Relative clauses (please help)?

2 Answers