Relative Clauses
Combine two sentences using who, which, that, and whose.
Defining relative clauses
Give essential information about the noun, with no commas.
- The man who called you is my brother.
- This is the book that I told you about.
Non-defining relative clauses
Add extra information, set off by commas — can be removed without changing the core meaning.
- My brother, who lives in Tokyo, is visiting next week.
Choosing the right pronoun
who/whom (people), which (things), that (people or things, defining only), whose (possession).
- The woman whose car was stolen called the police.
Omitting the relative pronoun
When the relative pronoun is the object of a defining clause (not the subject), it can often be dropped entirely.
- The book (that) I'm reading is fantastic.
- The man (who/that) I met yesterday was very kind.
- This is the phone (that) she bought.
More examples in context
Relative clauses let you combine ideas smoothly instead of using short, choppy sentences.
- The city where I grew up has changed a lot.
- That's the reason why she left early.
- My neighbor, who is a doctor, helped me last night.
- The company that hired me is expanding.
- This is the moment when everything changed.
- The keys which I lost were finally found.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are frequent relative clause errors, and how to correct them.
- ✗ The man which called you is my uncle. → ✓ The man who called you is my uncle. (use 'who' for people)
- ✗ This is the house who I bought. → ✓ This is the house that I bought. (use 'that/which' for things)
- ✗ The woman who's car broke down is my aunt. → ✓ The woman whose car broke down is my aunt.
- ✗ My brother, that lives in Paris, is visiting. → ✓ My brother, who lives in Paris, is visiting. (don't use 'that' in non-defining clauses)
Quick practice
Choose the correct relative pronoun, then check your answer.
- This is the café ___ we first met. (answer: where)
- The girl ___ won the prize is my classmate. (answer: who)
- I lost the umbrella ___ you gave me. (answer: that / which)
- That's the man ___ dog bit me. (answer: whose)
- Do you remember the day ___ we graduated? (answer: when)