Relative pronouns and relative clauses

A relative clause adds information about a noun. It starts with a relative pronoun: ⟦who⟧ for people, ⟦which⟧ for things and animals, ⟦that⟧ for either, ⟦whose⟧ for belonging, and ⟦where⟧ for places. ⟦The girl who won the race is my cousin.⟧ The clause ⟦who won the race⟧ tells us which girl.

Key facts

  • ⟦who⟧ for people: ⟦I have a friend who speaks French.⟧ ⟦which⟧ for things: ⟦This is the bus which goes to the station.⟧
  • ⟦that⟧ can replace ⟦who⟧ or ⟦which⟧ when there are no commas: ⟦the bus that goes to the station⟧.
  • ⟦whose⟧ shows belonging: ⟦the boy whose bike was stolen⟧. ⟦where⟧ is for places: ⟦the house where I was born⟧.
  • A clause between commas adds extra information; the sentence still makes sense without it: ⟦My grandmother, who is eighty, still swims.⟧ Never use ⟦that⟧ there.
  • Join two sentences: ⟦I read a book. It was about dragons.⟧ → ⟦I read a book which was about dragons.⟧ The pronoun takes the place of ⟦it⟧, so don't repeat it.

Worked examples

Example 1

Choose: ⟦The man (who / which) fixed our car was kind.⟧

  1. ⟦the man⟧ is a person.
  2. People take ⟦who⟧ (or ⟦that⟧): ⟦The man who fixed our car was kind.⟧

Answer: ⟦who⟧

Example 2

Join with ⟦whose⟧: ⟦That is the girl. Her dog barks all night.⟧

  1. ⟦her dog⟧ belongs to the girl.
  2. ⟦whose⟧ replaces ⟦her⟧: ⟦That is the girl whose dog barks all night.⟧

Answer: ⟦That is the girl whose dog barks all night.⟧

Example 3

Correct it: ⟦The Nile, that flows through Egypt, is very long.⟧

  1. The clause is between commas: it adds extra information.
  2. ⟦that⟧ can't be used there; the Nile is a thing, so use ⟦which⟧.

Answer: ⟦The Nile, which flows through Egypt, is very long.⟧