People With Interesting Lives
I can add background information about an identified person without changing who is being identified.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
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Your situation
In this fictional profile, Rosa Vega is already identified as the guest speaker. She repairs musical instruments and once worked on a travelling theatre. The editor wants to add these details smoothly. A second sentence identifies which assistant is arriving: the assistant who speaks Italian, not the one who speaks French.
Read the situation transcript
In this fictional profile, Rosa Vega is already identified as the guest speaker. She repairs musical instruments and once worked on a travelling theatre. The editor wants to add these details smoothly. A second sentence identifies which assistant is arriving: the assistant who speaks Italian, not the one who speaks French.
Why do the Rosa detail and the assistant detail need different treatment?
Compare your idea
Rosa is already identified, so the detail is additional. The assistant’s language identifies which assistant is meant.
How it works
Non-defining relatives add supplementary information about an already identified person or thing. Mark them with commas in writing: Rosa, who repairs instruments, is speaking today.
Defining relatives help identify the referent: the assistant who speaks Italian. Non-defining clauses use who/which/whose, not that, and their relative word cannot simply be omitted. Commas affect meaning; they are not decoration.
Additional detail: name, who/which/whose + clause, main clause. Identifying detail: noun + defining relative.
Notice this
Rosa, who repairs instruments, is our guest speaker.
The relative adds information about the named guest.
Compare this
Rosa, whose first job was in a theatre, enjoys travelling.
Whose introduces a relationship within supplementary information.
Hear the examples
Rosa, who repairs instruments, is our guest speaker.
The relative adds information about the named guest.
Rosa, whose first job was in a theatre, enjoys travelling.
Whose introduces a relationship within supplementary information.
The assistant who speaks Italian will meet her.
The relative identifies the relevant assistant.
Her workshop, which opened last year, is nearby.
The clause adds background about an identified workshop.
One mistake worth avoiding
Instead of: Rosa, that repairs instruments, is speaking today.
Say: Rosa, who repairs instruments, is speaking today.
Do not use that as the relative word in a non-defining clause.
You say
Hear the prompt, answer aloud, then deliberately reveal or hear one possible model. Check it and retry with a changed detail.
Your turn 1
Add background to an already identified fictional guest.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
Rosa, who repairs instruments, is our guest speaker.
Check yourself: Use a supplementary clause rather than identifying a different Rosa.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 2
Identify one of two assistants by language.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The assistant who speaks Italian will meet her.
Check yourself: Do not add commas that turn the identifying information into an aside.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 3
Introduce a fictional person and add a detail with whose.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
Milo, whose first job was in a theatre, now repairs guitars.
Check yourself: Keep the possessive relationship clear.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Two guided self-checks
Say or write your answer before opening a model.
Self-check 1
Combine as additional information: Rosa is the guest. Rosa repairs instruments.
Compare a model and explanation
Rosa, who repairs instruments, is the guest.
Use who and a comma pair around the inserted clause.
Self-check 2
Identify the correct assistant: one speaks Italian, the other French; choose the Italian speaker.
Compare a model and explanation
The assistant who speaks Italian.
The language is needed to select the person.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer to each question, then check your answers. One of the ten questions is listening.
Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key after attempting all ten questions.
Answer key with explanations
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Rosa, ___ repairs instruments, is our guest.
who: Who introduces supplementary information about a person.
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Her workshop, ___ opened last year, is nearby.
which: Which is used for a thing in this non-defining clause.
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The assistant’s language distinguishes two assistants. Which form fits?
The assistant who speaks Italian will meet her.: The identifying clause is integrated without a comma pair.
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What do the commas around the Rosa detail signal?
Supplementary information about an identified person: The person has already been identified; the clause adds a detail.
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Which word expresses the possessive relationship?
whose: Whose links the person with the first job or another associated noun.
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Correct “Rosa, repairs instruments, is our guest.”
Rosa, who repairs instruments, is our guest.: The relative word cannot be omitted from this non-defining clause.
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Does additional information mean unimportant information?
No: Supplementary describes its role in identification, not its value or interest.
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What does the clause tell us about Rosa?
Her first job was in a theatre.: Whose first job was in a theatre supplies that specific background detail.
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Which sentence correctly adds supplementary information?
Rosa, whose first job was in a theatre, is our guest.: Whose is the possessive relative form needed here.
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What should determine the relative-clause presentation?
Whether the information identifies the referent or adds background: The communicative role of the detail determines the structure and punctuation.
Take it with you
I can add background information about an identified person without changing who is being identified.