Using the comma rules with relative complex sentences | English

Starter quiz

Which two of the following are relative pronouns that can start a relative clause?
- as
- and
- who ✓
- when
- which ✓
A relative clause is a type of __________, so it does not make sense on its own.
- main clause
- simple sentence
- subordinate clause ✓
- relative pronoun
Match the type of clause to its meaning.
- main clause
  
  ⇔
  
  a clause that makes sense on its own ✓
- adverbial clause
  
  ⇔
  
  a clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction ✓
- relative clause
  
  ⇔
  
  a clause that begins with a relative pronoun ✓
Which three of the following would be found in a relative complex sentence?
- adverbial clause
- relative clause ✓
- subordinating conjunction
- relative pronoun ✓
- main clause ✓
Identify the main clause in the sentence. 'Jun, who was hungry, went to the shops to buy food.'
- who was hungry
- Jun went to the shops
- Jun who was hungry
- Jun went to the shops to buy food ✓
'Aisha rushed to school. She was late.' Which version shows correctly how these two ideas could be combined into a relative complex sentence?
- Aisha, who rushed to school, she was late.
- Aisha, who was late, rushed to school. ✓
- Aisha, who was late, she rushed to school.

Identify the relative clause in the sentence. 'Sam's mum, who is a police officer, visited our school to teach us about crime.'
- who is a police officer ✓
- Sam's mum, who is a police officer
- Sam's mum visited our school to teach us about crime
In the sentence 'My grandad, who is 84, works hard on his allotment', what is the noun that the relative clause tells us more about?
- his allotment
- works hard
- my grandad ✓
- who is 84
When a relative clause interrupts a main clause, what punctuation is added to the sentence?
- a pair of commas ✓
- a single comma
- a pair of question marks
- a pair of exclamation marks
Which relative complex sentence is correctly punctuated?
- My cousin, who is an actor starred in a film last year.
- My cousin, who is an actor, starred in a film last year. ✓
- My cousin who is an actor, starred in a film last year.
Match the keyword to its meaning.
- relative pronoun
  
  ⇔
  
  a word that begins a relative clause ✓
- relative clause
  
  ⇔
  
  a subordinate clause that begins with a relative pronoun ✓
- pair of commas
  
  ⇔
  
  punctuation marks that show where the relative clause is ✓
- main clause
  
  ⇔
  
  a clause that makes sense on its own ✓
Which of the following uses a relative clause correctly?
- The castle, which was perched, on a hill towered over us.
- The castle, which was perched on a hill towered, over us.
- The castle, which was perched on a hill, towered over us. ✓

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A relative clause joined to a main clause forms a relative complex sentence.
The relative clause often interrupts the main clause.
A relative clause often interrupts after the subject of the main clause at the start of the sentence.
A pair of commas is used around the relative clause to demarcate it from the main clause.

Children may believe that a relative clause starts with a being verb e.g. 'who is' or 'which was'.

We can use a whole range of verbs to start the relative clause e.g. 'who has', 'which sits', 'who likes'.

Comma - a punctuation mark used to demarcate the relative clause from the main clause in a relative complex sentence
Relative complex sentence - a sentence formed of a main clause and a relative clause
Relative clause - a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun
Relative pronoun - a word that starts a relative clause like "who" or "which"
Interrupt - force to stop or break