KS3 Sentences | Learn About Relative and Subordinate Clauses

English Quiz - Sentences (Relative Clauses) 01 (Questions)

A relative clause is an example of a subordinate clause: "My book, which is lost, contains my homework".

Subordinate clauses provide extra information and contain a subject and a verb. The relative clause will begin with a relative pronoun such as "which", "that" or "who". For example, in the sentence above, the main clause is "My book contains my homework". This can also be thought of as the basic sentence. The relative clause in this example is "which is lost", a clause referring back to the book. By adding the relative clause we now know that the book containing the homework is actually lost.

The order of clauses depends on the emphasis of the sentence. It would be equally possible to write the sentence in this manner: "My book, which contains my homework, is lost". In this case the main clause is "My book is lost", with the relative clause being "which contains my homework". Relative clauses should be marked off with commas.

Phrases, unlike clauses, do not contain a subject and verb, but instead add a cluster of information. In the previous sentence "a cluster of information" is a phrase, rather than a clause.

Test your knowledge of relative clauses with this quiz on the subject.

Select the correct term for the following.
The shop, which was apparently open, had no lights on.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
Its lights, which had been working, had broken.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
The electrician, whom they had telephoned, arrived.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
....... an electrician's toolbox .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
The electrician arrived and he carried his toolbox.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
....... the shop's lights .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
He carried a toolbox and he mended the shop's lights.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
He carried a toolbox in his hand.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

Select the correct term for the following.
....... in his hand .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

10.

Select the correct term for the following.
The toolbox, which he carried, was heavy.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - What is grammar?

English Quiz - Sentences (Relative Clauses) 01 (Answers)

Select the correct term for the following.
The shop, which was apparently open, had no lights on.

[x]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

You find relative clauses in complex sentences

Select the correct term for the following.
Its lights, which had been working, had broken.

[x]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A relative clause can begin with 'which' or 'who'

Select the correct term for the following.
The electrician, whom they had telephoned, arrived.

[x]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause

Select the correct term for the following.
....... an electrician's toolbox .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[x]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A phrase is a group of words. "An electrician's toolbox" is a noun phrase

Select the correct term for the following.
The electrician arrived and he carried his toolbox.

[ ]	Complex
[x]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A compound sentence is formed when simple sentences have been joined

Select the correct term for the following.
....... the shop's lights .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[x]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

"The shop's lights" is a noun phrase, or, in other words, a phrase acting as a noun

Select the correct term for the following.
He carried a toolbox and he mended the shop's lights.

[ ]	Complex
[x]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

When two sentences are joined by words such as "and", "or" or "but", they create a compound sentence

Select the correct term for the following.
He carried a toolbox in his hand.

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[x]	Simple

A simple sentence has a subject (he) and a verb (carried). It might also have a direct and/or indirect object ("toolbox" here is a direct object)

Select the correct term for the following.
....... in his hand .......

[ ]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[x]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A phrase is a group of words which fulfil a single grammatical function ("in his hand" is a prepositional phrase)

10.

Select the correct term for the following.
The toolbox, which he carried, was heavy.

[x]	Complex
[ ]	Compound
[ ]	Phrase
[ ]	Simple

A complex sentence has two or more clauses