relative clausenoun [ C ]
uk/ˌrel.ə.tɪv ˈklɔːz/us/ˌrel.ə.t̬ɪv ˈklɑːz/specializedpart of a sentence that cannot exist independently and describes a noun that comes before it in the main part of the sentence:
In the sentence "The woman who I met was wearing a brown hat", "who I met" is a relative clause.
More examples
- In the sentence 'The restaurant that we went to has closed', 'that we went to' is a relative clause.
- In the sentence 'The man that Diana was speaking to was my ex-boss', the phrase 'that Diane was speaking to' is a relative clause.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: sentences & expressions
- anagram
- catchphrase
- cliché
- cliché-ridden
- coin
- compound sentence
- concessive clause
- declarative sentence
- expression
- figure of speech
- fronting
- mission statement
- nugget
- phrasing
- proverb
- refrain
- simple sentence
- tail
- the operative word idiom
- war cry
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