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Hiring the Right Person: defining and non-defining relative clauses for hiring

Defining and non-defining relative clauses are the grammar of this B2 Business English lesson plan about hiring.

Grammar
Defining clauses (someone who stays calm under pressure) and non-defining ones between commas, never with that; whose, where and when; which for a whole idea.
Topic
Hiring a coordinator for a new hotel contract: a job ad, a shortlist and interviews, with words such as transferable skills, a team player and a red flag.
Activities
A job ad and a shortlist email to read, two managers comparing candidates to hear, self-checking drills, an email chat with a candidate, interview role cards, and their own job ad and a recording as homework.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: The Interview Chair

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and discussSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the vocabulary: hiringVocabularyTry it
    • Match the phrases to the situationsMatchUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Reading: Help Wanted

    • Read the job adReal-life documentTry it
    • Read Jess's email to RyanReal-life documentUnlock
    • True or false? The job adTrue or falseUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: the shortlistQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Listening: Personality or Experience?

    • Listen to Jess and Ryan after the interviewsListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: who gets the job?QuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: The Candidate Who…

    • Study the scheme: relative clausesGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option: who, which, whose, where or whenChoose the optionUnlock
    • Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Ryan's interview notesDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the table: join the sentences with a non-defining clauseFill in the tableUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Speaking: Tell Me About Yourself

    • Choose the best replyChatTry it
    • Open a box and speakOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework: Your Turn to Hire

    • Choose the correct option: Hannah's cover letterChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositionFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: phrases and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Write a short job adWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a description of your job and your teamSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

23 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.

Hiring vocabulary

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

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • transferable skills
  • a team player
  • think on your feet
  • a good fit
  • a red flag
  • a notice period
  • a steep learning curve

Grammar: defining and non-defining relative clauses

Hiring means describing people precisely: the person you need, and what you know about each candidate. Learners use defining clauses to say which one you mean and non-defining clauses, between commas, to add extra facts, then use which for a whole idea and end clauses with prepositions, as in the team she'll work with.

Relative clauses

Say exactly which person or thing you mean, or add extra information about them

Who, which, that, whose, where, when

Who is for people and which for things and ideas; that can replace either, but only in defining clauses. Whose shows possession (a hotel whose delivery was late), where a place (the roastery where she'll work) and when a time.

PronounUsed forExample
whopeopleWe need someone who stays calm under pressure.
whichthings and ideasDid you read the ad which Ryan wrote?
thatpeople or things, only in defining clausesthe candidate that we liked · the job that she applied for
whosepossession: his, her, its, theira hotel whose delivery was late
whereplaces (= in which, at which)the roastery where she'll work
whentimesthe day when we interviewed Sofie

Defining or non-defining?

A defining clause tells you which one and takes no commas: We need someone who speaks Dutch. A non-defining clause adds extra information about someone already clear: Hannah, who works for a hotel chain, is great with clients. Non-defining clauses never use that.

Defining: tells us WHICH one · no commas

  • We need someone who speaks Dutch.
  • The candidate (who) we interviewed first was nervous.
  • who or that for people · which or that for things
  • You can often leave out the pronoun (see below).

Non-defining: adds extra information · commas

  • Hannah, who works for a hotel chain, is great with clients.
  • Kade Hotels, whose head office is in Rotterdam, has 28 hotels.
  • who, which, whose, where or when · never that
  • Never leave out the pronoun.

When can the pronoun go?

Only in a defining clause, and only when it's the object, so a new subject follows: the candidate (who) we liked. As the subject it stays (the candidate who speaks Dutch), and a non-defining clause always keeps it: The ad, which Ryan wrote, got 46 applications.

  • Yes, in a defining clause when the pronoun is the object, so a new subject follows it: the candidate (who) we liked · the job (that) she applied for.
  • No when the pronoun is the subject, so a verb follows it: the candidate who speaks Dutch.
  • No in a non-defining clause: The ad, which Ryan wrote, got 46 applications.

Which for a whole idea

After a comma, which can sum up the whole sentence before it: We had 46 applications, which was more than we expected. What and that can't do this job, so …, what was more than we expected is wrong.

which for a whole idea

After a comma, which can refer to the whole sentence before it: Sofie speaks Dutch, which would help with Kade Hotels. We had 46 applications, which was more than we expected. Never use what or that here.

Prepositions at the end

Everyday English puts the preposition last: the colleagues she'll work with, the manager she reports to. Formal writing can move it before whom or which: the colleagues with whom she'll work. Don't add the object again: the job which I applied for, not applied for it.

Prepositions go at the end

In everyday English, the preposition goes at the end of the clause: the colleagues she'll work with, the manager she reports to. In formal writing it can go before whom (people) or which (things): the colleagues with whom she'll work.

Typical mistakes: the wrong word

  • Hannah, that works for a hotel chain, is great with clients.

    Hannah, who works for a hotel chain, is great with clients.

    Never that in a non-defining clause.

  • She's the candidate who's references were the best.

    She's the candidate whose references were the best.

    whose = his, her, its, their. who's = who is or who has.

  • This is the job what I applied for.

    This is the job that I applied for.

    what is not a relative pronoun. Use that or which, or leave it out.

  • The candidate who we interviewed her first was nervous.

    The candidate who we interviewed first was nervous.

    who already stands for her: don't use both.

Typical mistakes: commas and missing pronouns

  • Callum who plans shipments knows the customs paperwork.

    Callum, who plans shipments, knows the customs paperwork.

    Extra information about a named person or company goes between commas.

  • Sofie speaks Dutch, that would help with Kade Hotels.

    Sofie speaks Dutch, which would help with Kade Hotels.

    Only which can refer to a whole idea.

  • The ad, Ryan wrote, got 46 applications.

    The ad, which Ryan wrote, got 46 applications.

    A non-defining clause always keeps its pronoun.

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

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 2 real-life documents
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say exactly who or what you mean with a defining clause: We need someone who stays calm under pressure.
  • add extra facts between commas, with no that: Callum, who plans shipments to Europe, knows the customs paperwork.
  • use whose, where and when, and which for a whole idea: We had 46 applications, which was more than we expected.
  • write a job ad that describes the role and the person: the colleagues you'll work with, someone who can think on their feet

Lesson 12 closes Problems and growth, the third unit of Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield, in which a fictional Portland coffee company answers a complaint, handles a delay, launches a cold brew and now hires. It builds on the relative clauses of English A2.2 · Curious Minds (lessons 25 and 26: which, that, who and where) and adds whose, when and non-defining clauses; lesson 13 opens unit 4 with reported speech. Job ads and interview notes are full of descriptions of people, the very thing relative clauses are for.

A warm-up wheel asks about interviews and hiring; then come ten phrases with pictures and audio, from shortlist to a steep learning curve, eight of them matched to situations. Students read the ad for a Customer Operations Coordinator and the email with the shortlist of three, then hear the AI-voiced talk in which two managers weigh personality against experience. Four self-checking drills follow the scheme, ending with a table that joins two sentences into one. In the chat, students write as the head of sales and invite a candidate back; open boxes hold interviewer and candidate cards and role-plays.

Homework starts with a cover letter to complete with the right pronouns, prepositions to place at the end of clauses and a memory game of hiring phrases, all self-checking. Students then write a job ad of 100 to 150 words with four relative clauses and record a description of their job and team; the teacher reviews both.

Grammar:
relative clauses · defining and non-defining relative clauses · who, which, whose, where, when
Topic:
hiring · job ads · job interviews

Teaching tips

  • Play guess the candidate: learners describe one of the three with a defining clause and no name (the one whose cover letter was very short), and the class names the person.
  • Read non-defining clauses aloud with a pause at each comma, so learners hear where the extra information starts and stops; then let them read the shortlist email the same way.
  • Bring a real job ad from the learners' company to an in-company class: they underline its relative clauses, then rewrite two requirements of their own team in the same style.
  • Rehearse a real interview one-to-one: with a client who hires or is job hunting, use the interviewer and candidate cards for their next interview, and note every relative clause they use.

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The whole course: Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield

20 lessons at B2 in American English that follow a year at Wrenfield Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, as founder Claire Morgan and her team win a Dutch hotel contract. Learners network, write emails, run meetings, negotiate, handle complaints and present figures, with one grammar point per lesson.See the course

  1. Unit 1 First contacts

    networking, a company story, a business lunch and emails: present tenses, the present perfect, question tags, indirect questions

    1. Lesson 1Making ContactsPresent simple and present continuous at work
    2. Lesson 2Our Story: From Cart to RoasteryPresent perfect and past simple for company history
    3. Lesson 3The Business LunchQuestion tags and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Emails That Get AnswersIndirect questions and polite requests

  2. Unit 2 Meetings and figures

    scheduling, sales figures, running a meeting and negotiating: future forms, trends, gerunds and infinitives, conditionals

    1. Lesson 5Setting Up MeetingsFuture forms for meetings and schedules
    2. Lesson 6The Monthly FiguresDescribing trends
    3. Lesson 7Running a MeetingGerunds and infinitives in meetings
    4. Lesson 8Negotiating a DealFirst and second conditionals in a negotiation

  3. Unit 3 Problems and growth

    a complaint, a late shipment, a launch and hiring: the present perfect continuous, the passive, comparatives, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 9Handling a ComplaintPresent perfect simple vs continuous
    2. Lesson 10The Late ShipmentThe passive in all tenses
    3. Lesson 11Launching a ProductComparatives and superlatives with modifiers
    4. Lesson 12 · you're hereHiring the Right PersonDefining and non-defining relative clauses

  4. Unit 4 Reports, prices and feedback

    reporting back, explaining prices, expenses and feedback: reported speech, linking words, modals of obligation, past modals

    1. Lesson 13Reporting BackSay vs tell in reported speech
    2. Lesson 14Explaining PricesLinking words of contrast, cause and result
    3. Lesson 15Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That?Modals of obligation, prohibition and permission
    4. Lesson 16Giving FeedbackShould have, could have and didn't need to

  5. Unit 5 Looking back and ahead

    what went wrong, other cultures, an agency and next year: the third and mixed conditionals, past deduction, the causative, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 17What Went WrongThird and mixed conditionals
    2. Lesson 18Working Across CulturesModals of deduction, present and past
    3. Lesson 19Working with an AgencyCausative have and get
    4. Lesson 20The Road AheadFuture continuous and future perfect

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses?
A defining clause tells you which one; a non-defining clause adds extra information. In We need someone who speaks Dutch, the clause picks out the person. In Hannah, who works for a hotel chain, is great with clients, we already know who Hannah is. Defining clauses take no commas and can use that; non-defining clauses sit between commas, never use that and always keep the pronoun.
What is a non-defining relative clause?
A non-defining relative clause is extra information between commas that the sentence doesn't need. In Callum, who plans shipments to Europe, knows the customs paperwork, the clause adds a fact; without it, we still know who Callum is. It starts with who, which, whose, where or when, never that, and its pronoun can't be left out. Hiring the Right Person on edio.ai shows several in a shortlist email.
When can you leave out who, which or that?
You can leave out the relative pronoun only when it's the object of a defining clause, so a new subject follows it: the candidate (who) we liked. Keep it when it's the subject (the candidate who speaks Dutch) and in every non-defining clause: The ad, which Ryan wrote, got 46 applications. A quiz in Hiring the Right Person on edio.ai offers the version without which as a wrong answer.
When do you use "which" to refer to a whole sentence?
Use a comma + which to comment on everything before it: We had 46 applications, which was more than we expected. It stands for the whole idea and often adds a result or an opinion: She wants to move into sales within a year, which means we'd be hiring again soon. What and that can't replace it. The listening in Hiring the Right Person on edio.ai uses it three times.
Can you use "that" in a non-defining relative clause?
No: after a comma, use who or which, never that. Hannah, who works for a hotel chain, is great with clients is right; Hannah, that works for a hotel chain… is wrong. The same goes for things: The ad, which Ryan wrote, got 46 applications, never The ad, that Ryan wrote. In defining clauses, without commas, that is fine for people and things: the candidate that we liked, the job that she applied for.
Is it "who's" or "whose"?
Whose shows possession; who's means who is or who has. So it's the candidate whose references were the best, not who's references. Whose works for companies and things too: a hotel whose delivery has arrived damaged. To check, swap in who is or who has: if the sentence breaks, you need whose. He's the only one who's planned deliveries to Europe passes the test, since who's means who has there.
What does red flag mean?
A red flag is a warning sign of a problem. At work, people use it about candidates, clients and deals: That's a red flag. The short cover letter raised a red flag. Describing one often takes a relative clause: a candidate who is rude to the receptionist. In Hiring the Right Person, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, learners match the phrase to exactly that situation.
What are transferable skills?
Transferable skills are abilities from one job that are useful in another, such as dealing with customers, solving problems or organizing work. In a cover letter or an interview, name the skill and give the proof, often with a relative clause: I run guest services at a hotel, where I deal with complaints every day. Employers weigh them against hands-on experience, the practical knowledge that comes from doing the job itself.
What does team player mean?
A team player is someone who works well with colleagues and helps others. Job ads often use it with a defining relative clause: We're looking for a team player who stays calm under pressure. In an interview, don't just say I'm a team player: describe a time you helped a colleague, what happened and what you did.
How do I teach defining and non-defining relative clauses to B2 adults?
Start from a real document full of both kinds, such as a job ad, and let learners sort the clauses: those that pick out a person or thing, and those between commas that add a fact. Then practice choosing pronouns, leaving out object pronouns and joining two sentences into one. Hiring suits adults well, because ads, cover letters and interview notes all describe people.
What's good homework for relative clauses in business English?
A short job ad with a set number of clauses makes good homework: We're looking for someone who…, our team, whose…, …, which means…, the people you'll work with. A spoken description of the learner's own job and team practices the same grammar aloud. In Hiring the Right Person on edio.ai, the teacher reviews those two, after a cover letter, a preposition gap-fill and a memory game that check themselves.
Are there interactive exercises for non-defining relative clauses?
Yes: drag-and-drop notes and email chats check each relative pronoun as learners pick it. This page plays four parts of Hiring the Right Person, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, without an account: the job ad for a coordinator, two managers' talk after the interviews, a drag-and-drop with interview notes on three candidates, and an email chat that invites a candidate back. The other exercises are locked.
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