Well let's start with the obvious: What on earth does "relative clause"

even mean?

Relative - this is what in Spanish you might call a "pariente": aunts, uncles, cousins,

grandparents...

Clause - that part of any contract that you didn't read before signing your life away to

Satan.. or some other eternal anguish.

Helpful?

The term relative clause is derived from the use of a relative pronoun (aguántame,

eh?).

Relative pronouns are: whothat

whichRemember those little guys?

I like birds.Some birds can be eaten.

(I'm talking about those birds, actually)

I like birds that can be eaten.

The relative clause, then, is any piece of a sentence that extends from a relative pronoun

who, that or which.

People (who believe in Santa Claus) are 3.61 times more likely to have a happy Christmas, if, of course, Santa doesn't totally blow them

off.

Some relative clauses are very necessary for a piece of information

to be clearly understood:

People (who) like tequila will drink it any opportunity they get.

- clear -

People will drink tequila any opportunity they get.- not so clear -

Cars (that) have tinted windows look suspicious.

- clear -

Cars look suspicious.- not clear -

Other relative clauses, while informative, are

not necessary for a piece of information to be clearly understood:

My grandma, (who) lives in Oregon, drinks a lot of alcohol.

- clear -

My grandma drinks a lot of alcohol.- clear -

One Last Detail.

We never use that for relative clauses, neither for people nor things,

,,,,,,,between commas,,,,,,,:

The boy, (that) was only 6 years old, knew that the old man wasn't the real Santa.