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Free sentence activity · KS2

Relative Clauses KS2

By TheLearnDen's editorial team · Updated 2026-08-08 · Free, no account, works on a phone.

Take a simple sentence, choose some extra information about whoever it is about, and drop that information into the middle — with a comma at each end.

The test for whether the commas are right is simple: cover up everything between them. What is left should still be a sentence that makes sense on its own.

This activity needs JavaScript switched on. With it off, the teaching notes below still work with a whiteboard.

Running this in class

  1. Do the cover-up test physically the first time — a hand or a ruler over the dropped-in part, then read what remains.
  2. A very common error is the missing second comma. The activity is built around that, so let children choose the wrong gap and see why it does not work.
  3. Once the shape is secure, move to their own writing: find a sentence in yesterday's work and drop something into it.
  4. Name it properly. Information dropped in this way is parenthesis, and when it starts with who, which or whose it is a relative clause.
  5. Fifteen minutes covers three sentences with the cover-up test done each time.

Questions

What is an embedded clause?

It is a clause dropped into the middle of a main clause, usually marked off with a comma at each end. If you remove it, the sentence around it still works — that is what makes it embedded rather than essential.

Why does it need two commas?

The commas are a pair of brackets. One on its own leaves the reader unsure where the extra information ended, which is why a single comma is the most common mistake in this construction.

Which year group is this?

Embedded and relative clauses with commas are Year 5 and Year 6 work in England, though Year 4 classes often meet the idea earlier with simple extra detail.

The other sentence activities

  • Spot the Mistake

    Find the fault in a sentence, then write a clear, correctly punctuated version.

  • Sentence Building

    Build complete sentences from given vocabulary and join clauses with purposeful conjunctions.

  • Fronted Adverbials

    Transform a plain sentence with purposeful where, when, how, -ing, -ed and -ly openers.

  • Clauses and Conjunctions

    What the words actually mean: clauses, conjunctions and how sentences join.