Relative or Noun Clauses

Noun Clause: Overview

Why keep repeating the same word again and again when we can substitute it with a myriad of words. This is the aim of a relative or noun clauses. 

For example, imagine saying ‘James is a very good boy. James is hardworking and disciplined. James loves dancing.’ Did you feel there was something odd while reading these sentences? Was it the overuse of the proper noun ‘James’?

To make the sentence easier to understand we can put it like this – ‘James is a very good boy who is hardworking and disciplined. He loves dancing.’

 Now, as observed, the second description of James has the use of noun clauses such as ‘who’ which makes the sentence sound more meaningful. 

Use of Relative Noun Clause

1. As observed from the above example, it can be inferred that relative noun clauses help the sentence become more compact.
2. For example, instead of overusing the name of the person, one can use words such as ‘who, whom, which, whose’. 
3. Exercise of relative clause helps to avoid repetition of certain words and gives the speaker a chance to substitute it with different words. 
4. Relative clauses help in describing the subject using diverse words. 
5. Since relative clauses provide information about the subject they can also be called adjective clauses. 

Business Correspondence and Relative Clause

In the world of business, communication plays a crucial role. Business correspondence refers to the use of a plethora of options for exchanging written information. For example, the use of e-mail, faxes, handwritten notes etc. To sound more professional and formal one can use relative or noun clauses. For example, ‘This mail has been sent to all those who were absent from work yesterday.’ Here the use of the word ‘who’ gives the sentence a lot of meaning. This is just one example of a relative clause in business correspondence; however, various such examples can be conveniently found in everyday life. 

Relative Clauses: Types and Examples

• Whom

The employees whom this organisation gives a working opportunity are very lucky.

‘Whom’ and ‘that’ both can be used in the above sentence; however, ‘whom’ is more formal. 

• That

I’ve been waiting for that pen set to arrive for a long time now!

As observed, that is more informal in nature. 

• Whose

The employee whose mother owned a salon is shifting to Jaipur. 

A relative clause such as whom is used to express possessiveness, as, in the above sentence, the employee’s mother is being spoken about. 

• Who

Students who are present in the class will bring their parents tomorrow for a parent-teacher meeting.

Who is a very commonly used relative clause which can be observed in various professional conversations.

• Which

The identity card which I used last year won’t work this year. 

Which acts as a relative clause in the above sentence? 

The above mentioned sentences are examples of some commonly used relative or noun clauses. The examples are such that it becomes easier to understand the role of relative or noun clauses in business correspondence. 

Conclusion

Relative or noun clauses are the words used to substitute the repetition of a noun. They help in giving more sense to the whole sentence and can also be called adjective nouns. Business correspondence refers to the use of written means for conveying messages in the business world. It is important to strengthen one’s grammar so that the meaning of messages can be communicated easily. For this purpose, instead of repeating the same word, again and again, we can use relative or noun clauses starting with who, whom, which, that etc.