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A heart that sells a state: non-defining relative clauses for extra information

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches non-defining relative clauses, the extra information between commas, through the story of the I ♥ NY logo and its sketch in a taxi.

Grammar
Who, which, where and whose after a comma (Milton Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, was a graphic designer.), never that, with the pronoun always kept.
Topic
How a quick sketch became the logo of a New York State tourism campaign, with words such as logo, symbol, campaign and typewriter.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a logo drawn on a diner napkin and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a design-team chat and a logo description to order.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: logos everywhere!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: art and designVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a heart in a taxi

    • Look at the picture: a sketch in a taxiPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a logo on a napkin

    • Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to The Listener's Take: WinstonListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, …

    • Study the scheme: extra information with commasGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with relative pronounsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: join the two sentencesFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: pick a logo!

    • Choose the right replies: pick a logo for the festivalChatTry it
    • Put the parts of Yesenia's logo description in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Open a box and answer: describe a designOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: new sentences with relative pronounsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: join the two sentencesQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts' answer to WinstonDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Yesenia's design blogChoose the optionUnlock

32 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • logo
  • symbol
  • designer
  • campaign
  • typewriter
  • mug
  • oval
  • collection
  • ink

Grammar: non-defining relative clauses

A non-defining relative clause adds extra information about someone or something we already know: Milton Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, was a graphic designer. With the story of a famous logo, learners pick who, which, where or whose after the comma, never use that, and keep the pronoun in every clause.

Milton Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, …

A non-defining relative clause adds extra information about someone or something we already know. It goes between commas, or after a comma at the end of the sentence.

Who, which, where and whose

Who is for people, which for things and animals, where for places, and whose stands for his, her, its or their + noun. A pet with a name takes who: Footnote, who sleeps on the mixing desk, is in the show's new logo.

Who, which, where, whose

ForUseExample
peoplewhoMilton Glaser, who was born in the Bronx, designed the logo.
things (and animals)whichThe sketch, which MoMA owns, is smaller than a postcard.
places: in / at that placewhereThe Bronx, where Glaser was born, is part of New York City.
his / her / its / their + nounwhoseGlaser, whose first idea was two ovals, tried again.

In the taxi and at the diner

  • Milton Glaser, who was born in 1929, studied at Cooper Union.
  • The logo, which you can see on T-shirts everywhere, has three letters and a heart.
  • Darius, whose drawing looked like a potato, laughed.
  • Kansas City, where the show's studio is, is in Missouri.
  • Footnote, who sleeps on the mixing desk, is in the show's new logo. (a pet with a name: who)
  • Riley chose a suitcase, which says travel without any words.

Where the commas go

The clause comes right after the noun it describes, with a comma on each side of it: The logo, which has a red heart, was first used in 1977. At the end of a sentence, one comma is enough: The logo's typeface is American Typewriter, which has rounded letters.

noun, who / which / where / whose + extra information ,the rest of the sentence

The logo, which has a red heart, was first used in 1977.

The logo's typeface is American Typewriter, which has rounded letters.

Which one? Or extra information?

With no commas, the clause tells us which one: The designer who made I ♥ NY was Milton Glaser. With commas, it only adds a fact, so names and one-only things, such as Milton Glaser, MoMA or my mom, take commas. That fits only the first kind.

Which one? No commas

  • The designer who made I ♥ NY was Milton Glaser.
  • Without the clause, we don't know which designer.
  • that is fine here: the designer that made it.

Extra information: commas

  • Milton Glaser, who made I ♥ NY, was born in 1929.
  • Without the clause, we still know who it is.
  • Never that here.

Never that, never left out, never said twice

After the comma, use who or which, never that, and don't drop the pronoun: The sketch, which MoMA owns, is tiny. Don't repeat the person, thing or place: not which it is, who he sketched or where he studied there. And whose is not who's.

Never that, never leave it out

After the comma, use who or which, never that: Glaser, who sketched it… (not: Glaser, that sketched it…). Never leave out the pronoun: The sketch, which MoMA owns, is tiny (not: The sketch, MoMA owns, is tiny). With names and one-only things (Milton Glaser, MoMA, my mom), the clause is always extra information: use commas.

Don't say it twice

who and which take the place of he, she, it or them, so don't add them again: New York, which is a big state… (not: which it is). Glaser, who sketched it… (not: who he sketched). The sketch, which MoMA owns… (not: which MoMA owns it). where already means “there”: Cooper Union, where he studied… (not: where he studied there). whose is not who's (= who is).

Common mistakes

  • Milton Glaser, that sketched it in a taxi, was a designer.

    Milton Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, was a designer.

    after a comma: who or which, never that

  • New York, which it is a big state, wanted more visitors.

    New York, which is a big state, wanted more visitors.

    which is the subject: no extra it

  • The logo, who has a red heart, is famous.

    The logo, which has a red heart, is famous.

    things: which

  • Glaser, who he sketched the idea, did the job for free.

    Glaser, who sketched the idea, did the job for free.

    who is the subject: no extra he

More lessons on this grammar: Relative clauses lessons and exercises

Try the non-defining relative clauses exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • add extra information between commas: The sketch, which MoMA owns, is smaller than a postcard.
  • choose who, which, where or whose after a comma, never that: Cooper Union, where Glaser studied, is a college in New York.
  • tell extra information from a clause that says which one: the designer who made I ♥ NY against Milton Glaser, who made I ♥ NY,
  • keep one subject in each clause: New York, which is a big state, not which it is

Lesson 22 is the second lesson of Art and design, unit 6 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. Lesson 21 added whose to the defining clauses of A2.2 lessons 25 and 26; now these words follow a comma. Lesson 23 shows when the pronoun can be left out. A famous logo's story is full of names and one-of-a-kind things, so its facts arrive as extra information: Milton Glaser, who…, the sketch, which…

Students spin a wheel of questions about T-shirts, logos and New York, then learn twelve words, from sketch and imitate to typewriter and ink, with pictures and audio. They read the episode notes on how Glaser's sketch became I ♥ NY, then hear Riley and Darius design a logo on a diner napkin and Winston from New York describe the logo on his grandfather's bike shop; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four drills that mark themselves, including a table that joins two sentences with commas. In the speaking chapter, students pick a festival logo with Yesenia, put her logo description in order and open boxes about designs.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the design words and a memory game, then relative pronouns to choose and to type in new sentences, word order with the commas inside the chunks, a quiz that joins two sentences, the hosts' answer to Winston with words to drag in, and Yesenia's design blog with forms to choose.

Grammar:
non-defining relative clauses · who, which, where, whose · commas · relative clauses
Topic:
I ♥ NY · Milton Glaser · New York · logos · graphic design · MoMA · art and design · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Start with names students know: a city, a team, a teacher. Each student adds one fact between commas, as in Chicago, which is a huge city, …, and a partner finishes the sentence.
  • Before the notes, draw a heart on the board and ask what it means and where students see it. Then read how one heart took the place of the word “love” in a famous logo.
  • Play the napkin dialogue twice: first for each logo idea, then for the relative clauses. Students write down the extra information: which is our most important tool, who sleeps on the mixing desk.
  • Read the scheme's examples aloud with a short pause at each comma, then cover the clause and ask whether the sentence still tells us who or what it means. If it does, the commas stay.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22 · you're hereA heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What is a non-defining relative clause?
It adds extra information between commas about someone or something we already know: The sketch, which MoMA owns, is smaller than a postcard. Without the clause, we still know which sketch it is. It starts with who, which, where or whose, never that. The B1 lesson A heart that sells a state on edio.ai teaches it through the story of the I ♥ NY logo.
What's the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses?
Defining clauses say which one; non-defining clauses add a fact. The designer who made I ♥ NY was Milton Glaser needs its clause to tell us which designer, so it has no commas and can take that. Milton Glaser, who made I ♥ NY, was born in 1929 only adds a fact, so it takes commas and never that. A compare block in A heart that sells a state on edio.ai sets the two side by side.
Can you use “that” in a non-defining relative clause?
No: after the comma, it's who or which. Milton Glaser, who sketched it in a taxi, was a designer is right; Milton Glaser, that sketched it… is a mistake. That works only in defining clauses, with no commas: the designer that made it. In A heart that sells a state, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, the chat and the quizzes test this trap.
Where do the commas go in a non-defining relative clause?
One comma before the clause and one after it, unless it ends the sentence: The logo, which has a red heart, was first used in 1977. The logo's typeface is American Typewriter, which has rounded letters. With a name or a one-only thing, the commas are a must: if Eugene has only one sister, it's Eugene's sister, who lives in Ohio, is a designer.
Can you leave out who or which in a non-defining clause?
No: the pronoun always stays. The sketch, which MoMA owns, is tiny, not The sketch, MoMA owns, is tiny. Don't add an extra pronoun either: New York, which is a big state, not which it is. The pronoun can drop out only in some defining clauses, the topic of the lesson after A heart that sells a state in English B1.2 · Changemakers on edio.ai.
Who designed the I ♥ NY logo?
Milton Glaser, a graphic designer born in the Bronx, designed it for a New York State tourism campaign. In 1976, he sketched the idea on an envelope or a scrap of paper in the back of a taxi: the letter I, a red heart for “love” and the letters NY. The state first used the logo in 1977, and the small sketch belongs to the Museum of Modern Art.
What font does the I ♥ NY logo use?
Its letters use a typeface called American Typewriter, which has rounded letters. Glaser's first idea wasn't the heart at all but two ovals with words inside, and he decided it wasn't good enough. He did the job for free and thought the campaign would last about three months. These surprises are in the episode notes of A heart that sells a state on edio.ai.
How do I teach non-defining relative clauses to B1 students?
Start with names, because a name never needs a clause to say which one: Milton Glaser, who was born in the Bronx, … Add the extra fact between commas, then contrast a clause that does say which one. A heart that sells a state on edio.ai moves from episode notes and a napkin-logo dialogue to the scheme, a table that joins sentences and three more drills.
What's a good game for practicing non-defining relative clauses?
Play “Add a fact”: one student says a short sentence about a place or a person everyone knows, and the next adds a clause between commas: Chicago, where my cousin works, is a huge city. Whoever forgets a comma or uses that sits out a round. The boxes in A heart that sells a state on edio.ai include starters like My best friend, who …, is …
What's good homework for non-defining relative clauses?
Good homework asks learners to join pairs of sentences, as in My aunt is a designer. She lives in Denver. → My aunt, who lives in Denver, is a designer. It should also include a few traps, such as that after a comma. The ten homework tasks in A heart that sells a state on edio.ai all check themselves and end with a design blog post to complete.
How do you practice non-defining relative clauses one-to-one?
Talk about the student's own people and places: Tell me about your town, where… or your best friend, who…, and help them place the commas. The chat in A heart that sells a state on edio.ai works alone: the student and Yesenia pick a logo for a summer festival, and every wrong reply hides a relative-clause mistake.
Are there interactive exercises for non-defining relative clauses?
Yes. With no account, this page plays three parts of A heart that sells a state, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley and Darius's napkin-logo dialogue, a gap-fill of who, which, where and whose and the festival-logo chat. Everything else needs an account.
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