Relative Pronouns
This relative pronoun refers to people and acts as the subject of the clause.
Who
Combine the sentences: The boy is my brother. He is wearing a red shirt.
The boy who is wearing a red shirt is my brother.
Defining or non-defining: The teacher who lives nearby is kind.
Defining
Find and correct the error: The man which lives there is my uncle.
The man who lives there is my uncle.
What is the function of a relative clause in a sentence?
To describe or give more information about a noun.
This relative pronoun is used for things or animals, not people.
Which
Combine the sentences: The car belongs to Mr. Lee. It is parked outside.
The car that is parked outside belongs to Mr. Lee.
Defining or non-defining: My phone, which I bought last year, is already broken.
Non-defining
Find and correct the error: The girl that her phone rang is my classmate.
The girl whose phone rang is my classmate.
Which punctuation mark is used to set off non-defining relative clauses?
Commas ,
This relative pronoun can refer to people, animals, or things and is often used in defining relative clauses.
That
Combine the sentences: The woman is a doctor. You met her yesterday.
The woman whom you met yesterday is a doctor.
Defining or non-defining: The girl whose bag was stolen cried all night.
Defining
Find and correct the error: The car who was stolen was never found.
The car that (or which) was stolen was never found.
Identify the relative clause: The man who saved the child received a medal.
Who saved the child
This relative pronoun shows possession in a relative clause.
Whose
Combine the sentences: I spoke to the student. His essay won first prize.
I spoke to the student whose essay won first prize.
Defining or non-defining: The novel that won the award was written by a Filipino author.
Defining
Find and correct the error: The teacher, which is very strict, teaches us math.
The teacher, who is very strict, teaches us math.
Rewrite the sentence using a relative clause: I don’t like movies. They are too violent.
I don’t like movies that are too violent.
This relative pronoun replaces the object of the verb and refers to people.
Whom
Combine the sentences: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It lies between Nepal and China.
Mount Everest, which lies between Nepal and China, is the highest mountain in the world.
Defining or non-defining: My brother, who lives in Canada, is visiting next month.
Non-defining
Find and correct the error: The house where I grew up in is old.
The house where I grew up is old. (or: The house in which I grew up is old.)
True or False: You can remove the relative pronoun if it’s the object of the clause
True