Relative Clauses
elative Clauses usua ll y begin w ith relative pronouns
who whom that which w hose where when
These cla uses are used t o provide mo re inform ation about a noun in a sent ence.
Th ey act li ke adjectives by provid ing additiona l descriptive infor ma tion di rectly after the noun.
A Labrad o r retriever is a type (lf dog that I would consider ~uying.
r r
Maio Clause Relative Clause (provides more information about the
subject - a Labrador retriever - in the main clause)
Look for the relative pronouns that signal the beginning of a relative clause and connect the two
parts of the sentence (the main clause + relative pronoun + the description).
Relative Pronoun & Use Examples
Who
Refers to people in the main clause. People who like coffee should try the new
Use who if the people you are referring to are café on Jarvis Street.
the subject of the relative clause.
Which The key which opens the secret passage
Refers to things in the main clause. can be found under the rug.
The Lion King is the only movie which
makes me cry every time I see it.
That Do you remember the people that we met in
Used in place of who/which in referring to New Zealand last year?
people or things; informal. The car that goes the fastest will win the
race.
Whom The applicant should be someone whom we
Refers to people in the main clause. have never met before.
Use whom if the people you are referring to That’s the girl with whom I worked last
appear as the object in your relative clause. summer.
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(Quantifier/Superlative) + That
We use that with quantifiers and superlatives
This is the worst mark that I’ve ever
at the beginning of a relative clause because
received on a math test.
it is more natural than using which/who that
The only pet that I’ve ever had was a fish.
can refer to people or things.
Is that all the work that you’ve completed?
*Quantifiers include: all, none, only, little, few
*Superlatives include: best, smallest, most kind
Whose I was afraid of the dog whose eyes were
Relative possessive; the noun in the clause red.
belongs to the person or thing that is being The man whose truck would be used to
referenced. *Acts like his, her, its, their transport my belongings arrived at 1:00pm.
Preposition + which
When the description includes a prepositional She sang the song the lyrics of which I’ve
phrase in connection to the object, it is good memorized.
practice to place the appropriate preposition She sang the song of which I’ve memorized
before which. the lyrics.
Note: when choosing a preposition make =I memorized the lyrics of the song.
sure it is appropriate to the phrases you use . I opened the drawer in which the supplies
were kept.
=The supplies were kept in the drawer
He made a suggestion for which we were all
grateful.
=We were grateful for the suggestion
Where I went to a school where they only spoke
When the noun is a location it refers to an English.
activity or event that happened at that The river where I found the gold is just
location. around the bend.
When There was a time when I didn’t know
When the noun refers to time; it describes an anything about grammar.
activity or event that happened at the time in The day when I got my first puppy was the
question. happiest of my life.
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