What is a relative clause?
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. A relative clause describes a noun and starts with a relative pronoun. It comes right after the noun it describes.
Example: The woman who teaches us is kind. ("who teaches us" tells which woman.)
who, which, that, whose
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people | He is the man who helped us. |
| which | things, animals | This is the book which I read. |
| that | people or things (defining) | The film that we saw was long. |
| whose | belonging | She is the girl whose bag is red. |
| where / when | place / time | The school where she studies is old. |
Defining or non-defining: the comma rule
Defining (no commas): needed to know which person or thing. "The student who won is my friend." Take it out and we do not know which student.
Non-defining (commas): extra information; the noun is already clear. "Tom, who won, is my friend." Here we cannot use that.
Leaving out the pronoun, and describing role models
When the pronoun is the object of the clause, we may leave it out: "The book (that) I read is old." But keep it when it is the subject: "The man who helped us" (not "the man helped us").
Describing a role model: name + who + what they do + why you admire them. Example: Dr Kalam, who was a scientist, is a person whom many students admire because he kept learning.
Key formulas and definitions
- noun + who + verb (person)
- noun + which/that + clause (thing)
- noun + whose + noun + verb (belonging)
- no commas = defining; commas = extra (no "that")
- object pronoun can be dropped; subject pronoun cannot
Worked examples
1. Join: She is a teacher. She inspires us.
She is a teacher who inspires us.
2. Join: This is the phone. I bought it yesterday.
This is the phone (that/which) I bought yesterday. The pronoun is the object, so it can be left out.
3. Join: I met a girl. Her father is a pilot.
I met a girl whose father is a pilot.
Common mistakes
- Using which for people. Say the man who, not the man which.
- Using that after a comma. Wrong: Tom, that won, ... Right: Tom, who won, ...
- Dropping the pronoun when it is the subject: wrong: the girl lives here is my friend.
- Forgetting commas for non-defining clauses, or adding them to defining ones.