Let's practise

Underline the relative clause in the sentence below.

Unfortunately, the ball that you lent me has been punctured by a sharp stone.

  • Read the question carefully and read it again. What is it asking you to do?
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It is asking you to identify the relative clause.

  • Find the nouns in the sentence.
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The nouns are ball and a stone.

  • Check if the nouns are followed by a clause beginning with who, which, where, when or that.
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The noun ball is followed by that, which is the beginning of the relative clause.

  • Now, find the end of the clause by identifying all the words that relate to it.
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The clause that you lent me relates to ball, and so does has been punctured by a stone.

  • The sentence must make sense if you remove the relative clause, so check that it does.
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The ball that you lent me is not a sentence. The ball ... has been punctured by a stone makes sense as a sentence. So the relative clause must be that you lent me. Unfortunately, the ball that you lent me has been punctured by a sharp stone.

  • Check your answer.