Your guide to relative pronouns: Definitions and examples

What are relative pronouns?

Relative pronouns are words like 'who', 'whom', 'whose', 'which' and 'that'.

Look at these two sentences:

• I bought a book. It explains grammar clearly.

These two sentences sound very simple. If we add a relative pronoun, we can join them together and add more detail about the noun (the book) in the same sentence.

The clause that starts with the relative pronoun is called a relative clause. A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause (or dependent clause), and it's not a complete sentence on its own.

Here, the relative pronoun 'that' introduces the relative clause.

• I bought a book that explains grammar clearly.
• that = relative pronoun
• that explains grammar clearly = relative clause (adds extra information about the book)

Here's another example with 'who'.

• The teacher who inspired me retired last year.
• who = relative pronoun
• who inspired me = relative clause (adds extra information about the teacher)

List of common relative pronouns

There are two types of relative clause.

1: Defining relative clauses

These give essential information and don't have commas.

• The book that I bought was expensive. (We need 'that I bought' to know which book.)

2: Non-defining relative clauses

These give extra information and always have commas.

• My teacher, who is very kind, helped me a lot. ('Who is very kind' gives us extra information about the teacher, but we don't need it to understand which teacher.)

How to use relative pronouns in sentences

We use relative pronouns at the start of relative clauses. They usually come after the noun that they describe.

'Who'

We use 'who' for people. We can use it in both defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining: There is the woman who lives next door.

• Relative pronoun: who
• Relative clause: who lives next door (= gives essential information about the woman)

Non-defining: Mrs. Smith, who lives next door, is very friendly.

• Relative pronoun: who
• Relative clause: who lives next door (= gives extra information about Mrs Smith)

'Whom'

We use 'whom' for people when they are the object of the relative clause (more about this below). It's formal and mainly used in writing. In informal UK English, we usually use 'who' instead.

Defining: The man whom we saw yesterday is my neighbour.

• Relative pronoun: whom
• Relative clause: whom we saw (= gives essential information about the man)

Non-defining: Mr. Jones, whom we saw yesterday, is my neighbour.

• Relative pronoun: whom
• Relative clause: whom we saw (= gives extra information about Mr. Jones)

'That'

We can use 'that' for people or things in defining relative clauses. We don't use it in non-defining clauses.

This is the house that Jack built.

• Relative pronoun: that
• Relative clause: that Jack built (= gives essential information about the house)

There's the woman that lives next door.

• Relative pronoun: that
• Relative clause: that lives next door (= gives essential information about the woman)

'Which'

We use 'which' for things. We can use it in both defining and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining: This is the train which has comfortable seats.

• Relative pronoun: which
• Relative clause: which has comfortable seats (= gives essential information about the train)

Non-defining: We caught the fast train, which had comfortable seats.

• Relative pronoun: which
• Relative clause: which had comfortable seats (= gives extra information about the train)

We can also use 'which' to give extra information about the whole clause, rather than just about one noun.

• Lots of people came to my birthday party, which was amazing. (The whole situation was amazing.)
• I have so much work to finish, which is stressful. (The whole situation is stressful.)

'Whose'

We use 'whose' to show possession. We can use it in both defining and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining: I met a student whose English is excellent.

• Relative pronoun: whose
• Relative clause: whose English is excellent (= gives essential information about the student's English)

Non-defining: Lucy, whose English is excellent, helped me with my pronunciation.

• Relative pronoun: whose
• Relative clause: whose English is excellent (= gives extra information about Lucy's English)

'Where'

We use 'where' to give more information about a place. We use it in both defining and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining: That is the cafe where where we first met.

• Relative pronoun: where
• Relative clause: where we first met (= gives essential information about the cafe)

Non-defining: Hyde Park, where we first met, is my favourite park.

• Relative pronoun: where
• Relative clause: where we first met (= gives extra information about the park)

'When'

We use 'when' to give more information about a time. We use it in both defining and non-defining relative clauses.

Defining: I will never forget the day when we moved into this house.

• Relative pronoun: when
• Relative clause: when we moved into this house (= gives essential information about the day)

Non-defining: The 1st of July, when we moved into this house, was the best day ever.

• Relative pronoun: when
• Relative clause: when we moved into this house (= gives extra information about the 1st of July)

'Why'

We use 'why' to give a reason for something. We usually use it in defining relative clauses.

Defining: This is the reason why I moved to Spain.

• Relative pronoun: why
• Relative clause: why I moved to Spain (= gives essential information about the reason)

To use 'why' in non-defining relative clauses, we often use the phrase 'which is why'.

Non-defining: I didn't sleep well last night, which is why I'm tired.

• Relative pronoun: why
• Relative clause: which is why I'm tired (= gives extra information explaining the result)

We can't say: I didn't sleep well last night, why I'm so tired today.

Subject and object relative Pronouns with Examples

Sometimes the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb in the relative clause. Other times, the relative pronoun is the object of the verb in the relative clause.

If the relative pronoun is the subject, the verb usually comes immediately after it.

• I admire people that work hard. ('That' is the subject of 'work')
• Yesterday I called Julie, who lives in New York. ('Who' is the subject of 'lives'.)
• I live in London, which has some fantastic parks. ('Which' is the subject of 'has'.)

If the relative pronoun is the object, the relative clause usually has its subject after the relative pronoun.

• That's the book that you lent me. ('That' is the object of 'lent'. The subject is 'you'.)
• She bought raspberry chocolate, which I love. ('Which' is the object of 'love'. The subject is 'I'.)
• He's the student whom the teacher praised. ('Whom' is the object of 'praised'. The subject is 'the teacher'.)

It's only possible to use 'whom' when the relative pronoun is the object of the relative pronoun.

Key rules and common confusing things

Which vs. That

We can use 'that' for things and for people:

• The book that I read was interesting. (book = thing)
• The man that called you is my uncle. (man = people)

We use 'which' for things, but not for people.

• The book which I read was interesting. (book = thing)
• NOT: The man which who / that called you is my uncle.

We can use both 'which' and 'that' in defining relative clauses. It doesn't matter which one we choose. However, we can't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses.

• My car, which I bought last year, is fantastic.
• NOT: My car, that I bought last year, is fantastic.

Who vs. That

We can use both 'who' and 'that' for people.

Some grammar guides consider 'who' to be formal and 'that' to be more common in everyday English. Both are correct in defining relative clauses.

• The teacher who helped me was very kind.
• The teacher that helped me was very kind.

We can't use 'that' in non-defining relative clauses. So, we use 'who' to give extra information about a person.

• My neighbour, who is really old, has a big dog.
• NOT: My neighbour, that is really old, has a big dog.

Who vs. Whom

We can always use 'who' to talk about the subject of the relative clause.

• I know the student who won the prize.
• The woman who called you is my aunt.

In traditional grammar, we can choose to use 'whom' instead of 'who' for the object of the relative clause. In modern English (especially UK English), we usually choose to use 'who' instead, even when it's the object. We almost never use 'whom'.

• She's the person whom we invited to dinner. ('Whom' is the object of 'invited')
• He is the man whom I saw. ('Whom' is the object of 'saw')

Where vs. 'that + preposition'

We use 'where' or 'that + preposition' to talk about the place that something happens. Normally the preposition is 'in'.

• I went to the town where I was born.
• I went to the town that I was born in.

• We went to the restaurant where she met her husband.
• We went to the restaurant that she met her husband in.

Both ways are correct. However, if we're talking about the place itself, not something that happens there, we use 'that' in the normal way.

• I went to a town that has a long name. (We're talking about the town itself, not something that happened in the town.)
• NOT: I went to a town where has a long name.
• NOT: I went to a town that has a long name in.

Keeping the relative pronoun close to its noun

Relative pronouns should usually be as close as possible to the noun they talk about.

• I bought a book that was very interesting from the shop. (It's clear that the book was very interesting.)
• NOT: I bought a book from the shop that was very interesting. (It's unclear if the shop or the book was very interesting.)

Leaving out the relative pronoun

We can drop 'that', 'who', or 'which' when they are the object of the verb in the relative clause. This is very common in English.

For example:

Here 'that' is the object of the verb 'like', so we can drop it:

• I met the teacher that you like.

On the other hand, we can't drop 'that', 'who', or 'which' when they are the subject of the verb in the relative clause.

For example:

Here 'that' is the subject of the verb 'drinks', so we can't drop it.

• I met the teacher that drinks coffee.
• NOT: I met the teacher drinks coffee.

Here is another example:

• There's the coffee which Julie bought. (The relative clause is 'which Julie bought'. 'Which' is the object of the relative clause and so we can drop it.)
• There's the coffee which was on the table. (The relative clause is 'which was on the table'. 'Which' is the subject of the relative clause and so we can't drop it.)

If you're not sure whether the relative pronoun is the object of the clause, look at the word that comes after it. If that word is a subject (he, she, they, a name, or a noun), then usually the relative pronoun is the object and so you can drop it.

Compound relative pronouns (whoever, whichever, whatever)

We use compound relative pronouns, like 'whoever', 'whichever', 'whatever' and 'wherever', to talk about an unknown or general person or thing.

We use them when we don't specify exactly who or what or where we mean. They introduce the relative clause and they can be its subject or object.

Remember:

We use 'whichever' when we want to choose between a few specific options.

• You can choose whichever chair you prefer. (There are maybe 4-5 chairs in the room.)

We use 'whatever' when there are many options or the options are unknown.

• Buy whatever you want. (There are many options - you can buy anything in the shop.)

Relative pronouns vs. question words (interrogative pronouns)

Some words, like 'who', 'what', and 'which' are used in different ways in English.

1. They can be question words (interrogative pronouns), which are used to ask questions.
2. They can be relative pronouns, which are used in relative clauses.

For example:

• Which book do you want to read? ('Which' is a question word because it introduces a question.)

• Here's the book which you wanted to read. ('Which' is a relative pronoun because it introduces a relative clause.)

Here are some more examples:

• Interrogative: Who is coming to the party? (Here 'who' is a question word)
• Relative: Here's the person who is coming to the party. (Here 'who' is part of the relative clause)

• Interrogative: What did you eat for lunch? (Here 'what' is a question word)
• Relative: I didn't understand what he said. (Here 'what' is part of the relative clause)

• Interrogative: Which film do you want to watch? (Here 'which' is a question word)
• Relative: The movie which you chose is very popular. (Here 'which' is part of the relative clause)

Conclusion

We use relative pronouns in relative clauses to give extra information and make sentences more detailed and interesting.

Read more about relative clauses here.

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