Prepare 3 Unit 12 (relative pronouns who, which, that)

​What is a relative pronoun?

A relative pronoun connects a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. The clause modifies or describes the noun. The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and that. Sometimes, when and where can be used as relative pronouns as well.

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​Who

We use who in relative clauses to refer to people, and sometimes to pet animals: replaces subject pronouns like I, she, he, we, they.

Who can act as the subject or the object of the relative clause​

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example:

We don’t know the person who donated this money.

That’s the dog who doesn’t like me.

She’s going out with a bloke who’s in the army. (who refers to a bloke and is the subject of is in the relative clause; bloke is an informal word for a man)

​The woman who I saw yesterday was Sheila. (who refers to the woman and is the object of saw in the relative clause)

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​Which

We use which in relative clauses to refer to animals and to things. We always use which to introduce relative clauses when they refer to a whole sentence or clause.

Which can act as the subject or the object of the relative clause​

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Example:

You need to tick the box which says yes.

The new sports complex, which will be built on the old power station site, will provide facilities for cricket, soccer, bowls, and badminton. (which refers to the new sports complex and is the subject of will be built in the relative clause)​

It was the same picture which I saw at the National Gallery. (which refers to the same picture and is the object of saw in the relative clause)​

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​That

We use that instead of who, whom or which in relative clauses to refer to people, animals and things. We use it to introduce defining clauses only. That is more informal than who, whom or which:

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​We met somebody last night that did the speech therapy course two years after you. (refers to a person)

The 8.30 is the train that you need to get. (refers to a thing)

She blamed herself for everything that had happened.

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We often use that after superlatives​

​The Wimbledon men’s final was the best game of tennis that I’ve ever seen.

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What is defining and non-defining?

A defining relative clause, also known as a restrictive clause, gives essential information about the noun in question. It's so important that it cannot be cut out of the sentence and still convey the intended meaning.

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Let’s look at some examples:

“My brother who finished university this summer is spending the year travelling.”

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​Non-defining clauses add information that's nice to have but isn't essential to the sentence's overall meaning. They could be deleted, and the sentence would convey basically the same information.​

For example:

“This painting, which I adore, is worth over a million dollars.”

“This painting is worth over a million dollars.”

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How to Use Relative Pronouns?

Relative pronouns are placed directly after the noun or pronoun they modify.

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example:

​This is the book that everyone is talking about.

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