Relative clauses

• What they are
• The relative pronouns
  • Who - for people
  • Which - for things and animals
  • That - for people, things, and animals
  • Whose - for possession
  • Where - for places
• When can we omit the relative pronoun?
• Defining vs. non-defining relative clauses

What they are

Relative clauses are parts of a sentence that give us more information about a noun. They start with a relative pronoun: who, which, that, whose, or where.

The man who lives next door is a doctor.

The book that I bought yesterday is very good.

The relative pronouns

Who - for people

The woman who called you is my boss.

I have a friend who speaks five languages.

Which - for things and animals

The car which is parked outside is mine.

She made a cake which was delicious.

That - for people, things, and animals

That can replace both who and which. It is the most common in everyday speech.

The woman that called you is my boss.

The car that is parked outside is mine.

Whose - for possession

Whose [hu:z] expresses possession:

The man whose car is red is my neighbor.

I know a woman whose daughter lives in Japan.

Where - for places

The restaurant where we ate was fantastic.

This is the city where I grew up.

When can we omit the relative pronoun?

When the relative pronoun is the object of the clause (not the subject), we can omit it. Compare:

The book that I bought yesterday. => that is the object. I can say: The book I bought yesterday.

The man who lives next door. => who is the subject. I cannot omit it.

A simple trick: if there is another subject after the relative pronoun, you can omit it. The book (that) I bought - there is I after that, so we can omit it. The man who lives - there is no other subject, so we cannot omit it.

Defining vs. non-defining relative clauses

A defining relative clause tells us which person or thing we are talking about. It is essential to the meaning. We don't use commas.

The man who lives next door is a doctor. (Which man? The one who lives next door).

A non-defining relative clause adds extra information that is not essential. We use commas. We cannot use that in non-defining clauses.

My brother, who lives in London, is a doctor. (I only have one brother. The clause just adds extra information).