Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Kurz erklärt

A defining relative clause identifies which person or thing you mean. It is essential to the meaning and is not separated by commas: El restaurante que está en la esquina es bueno. A non-defining relative clause adds extra information about someone or something already identified. It is placed between commas: Ana, que trabaja conmigo, vive cerca. If you remove this extra information, the main message still identifies the same person or thing.

Bildung

Defining: noun + relative clause, without commas. Non-defining: identified noun + comma + relative clause + comma; use only one comma when the clause comes at the end.

Verwendung

• Use a defining clause to specify exactly which person, place, or thing you are talking about.
• Use a non-defining clause to add optional background information about an already identified noun.
• Use commas to mark a non-defining clause in writing and pauses in speech.

Beispiele

• La película que vimos anoche fue excelente. — The movie that we watched last night was excellent.
• Los estudiantes que terminaron pueden salir. — The students who finished may leave.
• Mi abuela, que tiene ochenta años, usa el celular todos los días. — My grandmother, who is eighty years old, uses her cell phone every day.
• Cartagena, que está en la costa del Caribe, recibe muchos visitantes. — Cartagena, which is on the Caribbean coast, receives many visitors.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Mi hermano que vive en Lima viene mañana.

✅ Mi hermano, que vive en Lima, viene mañana.

If the speaker has only one relevant brother and ‘que vive en Lima’ is extra information, the clause must be separated by commas. Without commas, it identifies which brother is coming.

Merke

No commas means the clause identifies the noun; commas mean it only adds information.