ESL CONNECT | Relative Pronouns

Explanation: relative pronouns

Use relative pronouns to add information about a person, thing, place or possession. They help us join two ideas in one sentence.

1. Who

Use who for people.

Two sentences	One sentence with who
She is the teacher. She teaches English.	She is the teacher who teaches English.
I met a man. He works at the airport.	I met a man who works at the airport.

2. Which

Use which for things and animals.

Two sentences	One sentence with which
This is the book. It helped me.	This is the book which helped me.
They have a dog. It barks a lot.	They have a dog which barks a lot.

3. That

Use that for people or things in many everyday sentences. It is common in spoken English.

With people	With things
The woman that lives next door is kind.	The film that we watched was funny.

4. Where

Use where for places.

Examples:
This is the café where we met.
That’s the school where I studied.
Paris is the city where she lives.

5. Whose

Use whose for possession. It means “belonging to someone”.

Examples:
That’s the student whose phone was stolen.
I know a woman whose brother is a doctor.
This is the writer whose book won a prize.

6. Subject and object relative clauses

Type	Example	Explanation
Subject relative clause	The woman who lives here is a doctor.	Who is the subject of “lives”.
Object relative clause	The woman who I met yesterday is a doctor.	I is the subject of “met”; the woman is the object.

7. Leaving out the relative pronoun

At B1 level, it is useful to know that we can sometimes leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object of the relative clause.

With relative pronoun	Without relative pronoun
The film that I watched was great.	The film I watched was great.
The person who I called was busy.	The person I called was busy.

Important: Do not leave out the relative pronoun when it is the subject.
Correct: The woman who lives here is kind.
Incorrect: The woman lives here is kind.

8. Quick guide

Pronoun	Use	Example
who	people	The man who helped me was friendly.
which	things / animals	The phone which I bought is new.
that	people / things	The song that I like is old.
where	places	The café where we met is closed.
whose	possession	The girl whose bike broke is my friend.

Who, which or that?

Choose the best relative pronoun.

1. The woman __________ works here is very helpful.

which who where

2. This is the laptop __________ I bought yesterday.

who where which

3. The film __________ we watched was exciting.

that where whose

4. I met a student __________ speaks five languages.

which whose who

5. They have a car __________ uses very little petrol.

which who where

Where and whose

Use where for places and whose for possession.

1. This is the restaurant __________ we had dinner.

who where whose

2. That’s the boy __________ sister is in my class.

whose where which

3. I visited the town __________ my grandparents live.

where who whose

4. She is the writer __________ book became famous.

which where whose

5. The school __________ I studied is very old.

where whose who

Combine the sentences

Choose the best combined sentence.

1. She is the teacher. She teaches English.

She is the teacher which teaches English. She is the teacher who teaches English. She is the teacher where teaches English.

2. This is the book. I bought it yesterday.

This is the book who I bought yesterday. This is the book that I bought yesterday. This is the book where I bought yesterday.

3. That is the café. We met there.

That is the café where we met. That is the café who we met. That is the café whose we met.

4. I know a girl. Her father is a pilot.

I know a girl where father is a pilot. I know a girl whose father is a pilot. I know a girl which father is a pilot.

Write the combined sentence

Combine: This is the restaurant. We ate there last night.

Answer: This is the restaurant where we ate last night.

Subject or object relative clauses

Choose the correct sentence. Be careful: sometimes we can omit the relative pronoun, but not always.

1. Choose the correct sentence.

The woman lives next door is friendly. The woman who lives next door is friendly. The woman which lives next door is friendly.

2. Choose the correct sentence.

The film I watched was great. The film watched was great I. The film who I watched was great.

3. Choose the correct sentence.

The person called me was my uncle. The person which called me was my uncle. The person who called me was my uncle.

4. Choose the correct sentence.

The jacket I bought is blue. The jacket who I bought is blue. The jacket bought I is blue.

B1 practice

Choose the best answer. These questions include omission and meaning.

1. Choose the correct sentence.

The people we met were very kind. The people met us were very kind. The people which we met were very kind.

2. Choose the correct sentence.

The hotel whose we stayed was expensive. The hotel where we stayed was expensive. The hotel who we stayed was expensive.

3. Choose the correct sentence.

The man whose car broke down is my neighbour. The man who car broke down is my neighbour. The man where car broke down is my neighbour.

4. Choose the correct sentence.

The book whose you recommended was excellent. The book that you recommended was excellent. The book who you recommended was excellent.

5. Choose the correct sentence.

The woman teaches us is from Canada. The woman who teaches us is from Canada. The woman where teaches us is from Canada.

Correct the mistake

Correct: The woman lives next door is a doctor.

Answer: The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

Correct: That’s the café who we met.

Answer: That’s the café where we met.

Mixed practice

Choose the best answer.

1. The doctor __________ helped me was very kind.

which where who

2. The song __________ you played was beautiful.

who which where

3. I know a girl __________ mother is a singer.

whose where which

4. This is the park __________ we play football.

who whose where

5. The bag __________ I bought was expensive.

where that whose

Final writing practice

1. Write one sentence with who.

2. Write one sentence with which or that.

3. Write one sentence with where.

4. Write one sentence with whose.