Relative Clauses KS2: Examples and Printable Practice

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that refers back to a noun and adds information about it. It usually begins with who, which, that, whose, where or when. Some relative clauses identify which person or thing is meant and take no commas; others add extra information about something already identified and sit between commas.

This resource gives 16 paired examples, a relative-word reference, an omission rule, a lesson sequence and printable practice with answers. For how relative clauses sit among other subordinate clauses, see our complex sentences guide. We do not repeat that wider taxonomy here.

What changes when the commas change?

The commas change what the writer assumes the reader already knows. Without commas, the clause identifies which noun is meant, so removing it loses essential meaning. With paired commas, the noun is already identified and the clause adds extra information that could be removed without changing who or what the sentence is about.

In the first line, only the cyclists in red helmets waited; others may have gone ahead. In the second, every cyclist waited and all of them wore red helmets. Ask a reading question before a writing one: how many cyclists waited? Grammar references say defining and non-defining; US materials often say restrictive and nonrestrictive. We use identifying and extra information because the labels name the reader's job.

The explainer traces the same decision on a sentence about dancers. Once the choice is secure, extend it through building better sentences. Keep the clause distinct from fronted adverbials, which open a sentence with time, place or manner rather than describing a noun.

Sixteen relative clause examples

Each row pairs an identifying sentence with its extra-information twin. Read across and ask what the reader knows in each version. Learners who need colour-coded prompts can start with colourful semantics routines; some may need support with high frequency words inside the clause.

Takeaway: names and possessives (Whitby, Amira, our dog) usually signal that the noun is already identified, so the clause adds extra information.

Which relative word fits?

Choose the relative word by the noun it refers back to and the job it does. Use who for people, which for things and animals, whose for possession, where for places and when for times. That suits people or things in identifying clauses, but not in extra-information clauses.

Clause choice varies with subject purpose, a core idea in disciplinary literacy. When a clause is thin, route learners to Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary work.

Mark the whole clause

Learners often punctuate a word rather than the whole clause. Bracket the clause first, then decide.

1. Find the noun: The cyclists.
2. Find the relative word: who.
3. Bracket to the end of the clause: [who wore red helmets] waited.
4. Cover the bracket. If the reader still knows which cyclists, use paired commas.

Common slip: the closing comma goes missing, as in 'The cyclists, who wore red helmets waited.'

Compare clauses in the mini app

Choose a fixed example and a clause type, then press Check. The app explains what the reader now knows and suggests one next teaching move. Nothing you choose is saved or sent.

When can the relative pronoun disappear?

In the basic identifying patterns on this page, who, which or that can be left out when it is the object of the clause, because another subject follows it. It cannot be left out when it is the subject, because the clause would then have no subject of its own.

Keep the rule bounded. It does not cover:

• whose clauses
• where and when clauses
• prepositional relatives, such as 'the box in which it sat'
• any extra-information clause, where the relative word always stays

A lesson sequence with an independent check

Relative clauses are introduced in Year 5 in England; US learners of a similar age are usually in Grade 4, so check your own state standards. The sequence fits the modelled, shared, guided and independent writing cycle. It is a teaching proposal, not a tested programme.

1. Read the pair. Show one bank row and ask how many cyclists waited, before naming any rule.
2. Say it. Partners explain the difference in a full sentence. Talk for Writing oral rehearsal fits here.
3. Mark the clause. Bracket, cover, decide.
4. Supported writing. Learners complete partial sentences. Writing frames help, but frame completion is not yet independent use.
5. Independent check. Without the bank, learners write one identifying and one extra-information sentence about a new picture and explain the difference in one line. This decides whether to move on.

Year 5 English worked task

Use one of your picture prompts for writing: a dance group where a few dancers wear red ribbons. Model 'The dancers who wore red ribbons stepped forward.' Switch to a picture where every dancer wears ribbons and model 'The dancers, who wore red ribbons, stepped forward.' Learners write a pair and label which picture each describes, then find the clauses in a WAGOLL exemplar.

Year 7 science worked task

After a germination practical, learners write 'The seeds that were kept in the dark grew pale shoots' (only some seeds) and 'The control tray, which stayed on the windowsill, grew green shoots' (extra information). Ask which sentence would mislead if its commas changed. The same precision matters in nonfiction explanation writing and longer written answers in biology.

For current national guidance, see our DfE Writing Framework 2025 guide and the KS2 writing moderation 2027 guide.

Choose the correction that matches the error

Diagnose before correcting. Each error has a different cause.

Use checking for understanding prompts to find the common error, and treat the response as one of your formative assessment strategies: a next step, not a score.

Applications and objections

These posts show what the accounts wrote, not evidence of effect.

• Objection (opinion): children's author Michael Rosen criticised formulaic writing teaching, arguing that content has become secondary (X, 26 November 2025). Our response: start from meaning, not a feature checklist.
• Objection (opinion): @DazzoD1, a self-described Year 6 teacher, argued that writing should be fun (X, 31 January 2024). Picture-led pairs keep grammar inside purposeful writing.
• Application (school self-report): @FairfieldP39708 reported Year 6 explanation writing that included relative clauses (X, 9 January 2025).
• Application (school self-report): @EgremontY5and6 reported learners creating relative clauses with sentence strips (X, 11 September 2025). Pairing strips as identifying and extra-information twins is our adaptation, not the school's finding.

Research evidence check

What the sources support: the DfE glossary describes a relative clause as a subordinate clause that refers back to a noun, and English Appendix 2 places first teaching in Year 5. The British Council pages describe the standard defining and non-defining contrast; they are learner guidance, not evidence that a particular KS2 lesson improves writing.

What is not claimed: no attainment effect, no months of progress and no evidence that this bank outperforms a worksheet. You may choose to apply general retrieval practice (writing pairs without the bank) and spaced practice (returning across weeks), but neither was measured for this topic here. Clause knowledge also sits within wider reading comprehension strategies.

Limitations and teaching judgement

These examples are written for clarity; real texts are messier, and some sentences can be read either way. Teach the meaning question, then accept reasoned choices. The omission rule covers only the basic identifying patterns above. Colour-coded pairs and picture stimuli can help learners who need visual prompts, including some with EAL or SEND, but no label decides who finds this hard. Use the independent check, not an assumption.

Printable sentence bank and practice

The A4 set contains the 16-pair bank, the relative-word reference, a practice page and answers. No email is required: download the relative clauses sentence bank, practice and answers (PDF).

Pairing each marked sentence with a colour cue draws on dual coding. Use the sheet as a daily sentence bank, narrower than unit-level knowledge organisers.

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Frequently asked questions

Are relative clauses always in the middle of a sentence?

No. A relative clause usually sits straight after the noun it describes, wherever that noun appears. If the noun is the subject, the clause often falls mid-sentence; if the noun ends the sentence, so does the clause, as in 'We thanked Mr Ali, who ran the club.' An extra-information clause at the end needs only one comma.

Do relative clauses need commas?

Only extra-information clauses do. If the clause adds detail about a noun the reader can already identify, mark it off with commas, a pair mid-sentence or one before a final clause. If the clause tells the reader which noun is meant, leave the commas out, because the clause is part of the noun's identity.

Can learners leave out who, which or that?

Sometimes. A quick classroom test: cover the relative word and check whether a new subject still follows, as in 'the book Sam borrowed'. If it does, the word was an object and can go in basic identifying clauses. If the sentence breaks, keep it. Never drop it in an extra-information clause.

Why teach relative clauses through meaning?

Because the comma choice is a decision about what the reader already knows. Learners who memorise 'put commas around who or which' can end up punctuating clauses that should identify. Asking 'how many cyclists waited?' makes them check meaning first. This is our teaching rationale, drawn from the grammar itself, not a finding from a measured classroom trial.

When are relative clauses taught in England?

The national curriculum introduces relative clauses in Year 5, when most learners are nine or ten, through English Appendix 2. That is first teaching, not an expectation of mastery. Plan to revisit them in Year 6 writing and again at secondary, where subjects such as science and history need precise noun descriptions.

Should learners use that or which?

In identifying clauses about things, both are accepted in British English, so 'the book that Sam borrowed' and 'the book which Sam borrowed' are both correct. In extra-information clauses, use which, never that. A simple classroom habit: if you have just written the clause's opening comma, the relative word for a thing is which.

References

1. Department for Education (2013) Glossary for the programmes of study for English (non-statutory), p.14. gov.uk
2. Department for Education (2013) English Appendix 2: Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, pp.1, 5. gov.uk
3. British Council (n.d.) Relative clauses: defining relative clauses. LearnEnglish
4. British Council (n.d.) Relative clauses: non-defining relative clauses. LearnEnglish