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Relative Clauses: Who, That, Which

The document discusses relative clauses and the use of who, that, and which in relative clauses. It provides examples of relative clauses used with people and things. For people, we use who or that, but not which. For things, we can use that or which, but not who. Relative clauses add information to identify which person or thing is being referred to rather than using another pronoun.

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367 views2 pages

Relative Clauses: Who, That, Which

The document discusses relative clauses and the use of who, that, and which in relative clauses. It provides examples of relative clauses used with people and things. For people, we use who or that, but not which. For things, we can use that or which, but not who. Relative clauses add information to identify which person or thing is being referred to rather than using another pronoun.

Uploaded by

Carlos Gil
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
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  • Relative Clauses
  • Exercises

Unit

92 Relative clauses 1: clauses with who/that/which


A Study this example situation:
Last week we had a party and a lot of people came. Everybody enjoyed it.
Everybody who came to the party enjoyed it.
relative clause

A clause is a part of a sentence. A relative clause tells us which person or thing (or what kind of
person or thing) the speaker means:
the woman who lives next door to me
(‘who lives next door to me’ tells us which woman)
people who complain all the time
(‘who complain all the time’ tells us what kind of people)
We use who in a relative clause for people (not things):
The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor.
I don’t like people who complain all the time.
An architect is someone who designs buildings.
What was the name of the person who called?
Do you know anyone who wants to buy a car?
We also use that for people, but not which:
The woman that lives next door to me is a doctor. (not the woman which)
Sometimes you must use who (not that) for people – see Unit 95.

B When we are talking about things, we use that or which (not who) in a relative clause:
I don’t like stories that have unhappy endings.
or … stories which have unhappy endings.
Grace works for a company that makes furniture.
or … a company which makes furniture.
The machine that broke down is working again now.
or The machine which broke down …
In these examples that is more usual than which, but sometimes you must use which. See Unit 95.

C In relative clauses we use who/that/which, not he/she/they/it.


Compare:
I met a Canadian woman at the party. She is an English teacher. (2 sentences)
I met a Canadian woman who is an English teacher. (1 sentence)
I can’t find the keys. They were on the table.
Where are the keys that were on the table? (not the keys they were)

D What = the thing(s) that


Compare what and that:
What happened was my fault. (= the thing that happened)
but
Everything that happened was my fault.
(not Everything what happened)
The machine that broke down is now working again.
(not The machine what broke down)

184 Relative clauses 2–5 ➜ Units 93–96 [Link]/LinguaLIB


[Link]/lingualib
Unit
Exercises 92
92.1 What do these words mean? Choose from the box and write sentences with who.
steals from a shop buys something from a shop
designs buildings pays rent to live somewhere
doesn’t tell the truth breaks into a house to steal things
is not brave expects the worst to happen

1 (an architect) An architect is someone who designs buildings.


2 (a customer)
3 (a burglar)
4 (a coward)
5 (a tenant)
6 (a shoplifter)
7 (a liar)
8 (a pessimist)

92.2 Make one sentence from two. Use who/that/which.


1 A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital.
The girl who was injured in the accident is now in hospital.
2 A waiter served us. He was impolite and impatient.
The
3 A building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt.
The
4 Some people were arrested. They have now been released.
The
5 A bus goes to the airport. It runs every half hour.
The

92.3 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use who/that/which.
happened in the past makes furniture
runs away from home can support life
cannot be explained has stayed there
developed the theory of relativity were hanging on the wall

1 Helen works for a company that makes furniture .


2 The movie is about a girl .
3 What happened to the pictures ?
4 A mystery is something .
5 I’ve heard it’s a good hotel, but I don’t know anyone .
6 History is the study of things .
7 Albert Einstein was the scientist .
8 It seems that Earth is the only planet .

92.4 Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
1 I don’t like stories who have unhappy endings. stories that have
2 What was the name of the person who phoned? OK
3 Where’s the nearest shop who sells bread?
4 Dan said some things about me they were not true.
5 The driver which caused the accident was fined £500.
6 Do you know the person that took these pictures?
7 We live in a world what is changing all the time.
8 Gary apologised for what he said.
9 What was the name of the horse what won the race?

[Link]/LinguaLIB 185
[Link]/lingualib

Common questions

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The sentences 'A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital' can be combined using the relative clause 'who was injured in the accident.' This results in the sentence 'The girl who was injured in the accident is now in hospital,' providing clarity by integrating descriptive information .

'What' signifies 'the thing(s) that', often introducing new information or summarizing a preceding clause, as in 'What happened was my fault.' In contrast, 'that' refers to specific entities or actions previously mentioned, as in 'The machine that broke down...' This structure embeds additional details within a single sentence .

For things, relative clauses use 'that' or 'which' rather than 'who'. This distinction helps differentiate when the subject of the sentence is an object rather than a person, as seen in 'I don’t like stories that have unhappy endings' versus 'The woman who lives next door to me' .

While 'who' and 'that' can often be used interchangeably when referring to people, there are instances where 'who' is necessary for grammatical correctness, such as when clarity or formal usage is required, although specific examples are not provided in Unit 95 mentioned in the document .

Relative clauses provide additional information about the noun, specifying which person is being referred to. For example, in the sentence 'The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor,' the clause 'who lives next door to me' clarifies which woman is being discussed, thereby enhancing clarity .

A frequent error is using 'what' instead of 'that' in contexts requiring precise or restrictive information, such as 'Everything what happened was my fault,' which should be 'Everything that happened was my fault.' Misusing 'what' over 'that' often leads to ambiguities and incorrect sentence structures .

Improper use of relative clauses, such as using 'who' for things or 'which' for people, leads to grammatical errors and confusion, reducing the clarity of sentences. For example, 'The machine which broke down...' is correct, while 'The machine who...' is incorrect, as 'who' should only refer to people .

'That' is generally more common than 'which' in relative clauses for things due to less formality and versatility. However, 'which' must be used when the clause is non-restrictive and provides extra information that could be omitted without changing the sentence's meaning or when specific grammatical rules apply, as hinted for further insights in Unit 95 .

'Who' is used specifically for people, while 'that' can be used for both people and things, but not 'which'. For example, 'The woman who lives next door' specifies a person, while 'stories that have unhappy endings' refers to things. 'Which' is also used for things, as in 'a company which makes furniture' .

The sentence 'The driver which caused the accident was fined £500' should be corrected to 'The driver who caused the accident was fined £500' because 'who' is the correct relative pronoun to use when referring to a person .

facebook.com/LinguaLIB vk.com/lingualib Relative clauses 1: clauses with who/that/which Unit 92 A Study this example
facebook.com/LinguaLIB vk.com/lingualib Unit 92 Exercises 92.1 What do these words mean? Choose from the box and w

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