1. Paco will go to the Rod Laver Arena, which is a tennis court

Icono de iDevice Solved exercise

In the passage in section one there are lots of relative clauses. Let's have a look at some of them.

1. In Sydney he visited all the places which had something to do with the Olympic Games held there in 2000.

2. The first time was in 1956, in Melbourne, which is the capital city of the state of Victoria.

3. By the end of 2009 four million people, who are known as "Melburnians", were living there.

4. One of the reasons why Paco has decided to visit Melbourne is the Australian Open.

5. It was renamed "Melbourne" in 1837, in honour of William Lamb, who was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne.

Some of them are defining and some others are non-defining. Find them and underline  the antecedents they modify.


As you can see all non-defining relative clauses are placed between commas because they are not necessary to perfectly understand the meaning of the main clause.

Icono IDevice Important
Relative pronouns and adverbs

 

Function/Antecedent people things / animals places (relative adverb)
Subject who which  
Object
who / whom which where
Possessive whose whose  

 

As you can see there are some important differences between the relative pronouns in defining relative clauses and those in non-defining relative clauses. In the former, "that" can be used for both people and things, and the pronoun can be omitted when it functions as the object of the relative clause. On the contrary, in non-defining relative clauses "that" can NEVER be used and the pronoun cannot be omitted, although it functions as the object of the relative clause.


Icono IDevice Further knowledge
It is essential that you master relative clauses in English. In order to do so, you should read as much information about them as possible. So,click here to read the main characteristic of non-defining relative clauses in Spanish, and click here to learn more about non-defining relative clauses in English. 
Finally, to perfectly understand the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses, click on the picture below.
 

Icono de iDevice Self-Assessment activity
By Thermodynamix. C. Commons
Fill in the blanks with a suitable relative pronoun or adverb.

1. Paco, is travelling around the world, is in Melbourne now.

2. He hasn't phoned Sonia, is his sister, for a long time.

3. He will visit the Rod Laver Arena, is a tennis court.

4. He plays tennis with Andrés, rackets are very expensive.

5. Melbourne, Paco is at the moment, is a relatively new city.

  

Icono IDevice Curiosity

The history of tennis1

By Prang (L.) & Co. Public domain

Do you know how one of Paco's favourite sports began?

The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" which has strong connections to various field/lawn games as well as to the ancient game of real tennis. After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs.

Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa. The Courier of July 23, 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall.

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed and patented a similar game — which he called sphairistike (Greek: σφάίρίστική, from ancient Armenian meaning "skill at playing at ball"), and was soon known simply as "sticky" — for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan, Wales. He likely based his game on the evolving sport of outdoor tennis including real tennis. According to some tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game.

The first championships at Wimbledon in London were played in 1877. The first Championships culminated a significant debate on how to standardize the rules.

1 Taken from Wikipedia.org


Remember that the more you practise the better for you and your English. So, let's continue looking at and practising with non-defining relative clauses in contrast with defining relative clauses in the following section.