RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining relative clauses

Defining relative clauses define or identify which person or thing you are talking about:

►    The man who came in late is the boss.

There is no comma before a defining relative clause. The pronouns that you use in these clauses are who, whom, that and which. They are called relative pronouns.

Use who or that: when the subject is a person:

►    The man who came in late is the boss.

Or The man that came in late is the boss.

Use that or which: when the subject is a thing:

►    I sit at the desk that faces the window.

Or I sit at the desk which faces the window. (formal)

Use who, that, whom or no relative pronoun:

►    She’s the girl who / that I met last night.

Or She’s the girl I met last night.

Or She’s the girl whom I met last night. (formal)

Use that, which or no relative pronoun: when the subject is a thing:

►    I’ve finished the book that you lent me.

Or I’ve finished the book you lent me.

Or I’ve finished the book which you lent me. (formal)

NOTE: that, who and which can be left out when the thing or person is the object of the verb.

Use whose: to show that something belongs to somebody:

►    He helped a woman whose car had broken down.

►    They’re the people whose house was burgled.

Whose is not usually used to refer to a thing. Of which is usually used instead:

►    He’s reading the book, the name of which I can never remember.

But it is more natural to say:

►    He’s reading the book, I can never remember its name

Non-defining relative clauses

Non-defining relative clauses add extra information about somebody or something which could be left out and the sentence would still make sense. This extra information is separated from the main clause by commas:

►    The film, which was shot in Mexico, has won an Oscar.

The pronouns that can be used in non-defining clauses are who, whom, which and whose.

Use who: when the subject is a person:

►    My sister, who is a vegetarian, ordered salad.

Use which: when the subject is a thing

►    The tickets, which can be bought at the station, are valid for a month.

Use who or whom: when the object is a person

►    Peter, who nobody had met before, arrived late.

Or Peter, whom nobody had met before, arrived late. (formal)

Use which: when the object is a thing

►    The tickets, which I’ve paid for, are still valid.

Use whose: when something belongs to somebody

►    Lucy, whose car had broken down, didn’t go.

Relative clauses and prepositions

In spoken English a preposition in a relative clause is usually placed at the end of clause, and the relative pronoun may be omitted. A more formal alternative is to put the preposition before the relative pronoun:

When the object is a person:

►    The man I spoke to was very friendly.

Or the man who/ that I spoke to was very friendly.

Or The man to whom I spoke was very friendly (formal)

When the object is a thing:

►    The house I was born in is gone.

Or the house that I was born in is gone

Or the house in which I was born is gone. (formal)