Relative Pronouns
What is this?
Is it a thing, a
person or a
place?
How can we
define this piece
of furniture?
A bed is a thing which we sleep
on.
Observing the sentence, which
relevant information is given
about the bed?
Which word
introduces this
information?
A bed is a thing which we sleep
which
on.
A bed is a thing which we sleep
on.
It is a Relative
Pronoun
A Relative Pronoun relates to
another noun preceding it in the
sentence. They connect a dependent
clause to an antecedent (i.e., a noun
that precedes the pronoun.)
Therefore, relative pronouns acts as
the subject or object of the
Consider the following sentence where the
relative pronoun is a subject:
The chef who won the competition studied in
Paris.
In this sentence, WHO relates back to (or is
relative to) the noun CHEF. WHO also acts
as the subject of the dependent clause and
the verb WON. The independent clause is:
The chef studied in Paris.
In this sentence, the relative pronoun is an
object in the dependent clause.
The shirt that Carl bought has a stain on the
pocket.
In this sentence, THAT relates back to (or is
relative to) the noun SHIRT. THAT is also the
object of the verb BOUGHT. The dependent
clause is: that Carl bought. The independent
clause is: The shirt has a stain on the
pocket.
Which relative pronoun should
we use?
Which relative pronoun to use
is determined by what the
antecedent is and whether the
dependent clause is essential
information in relation to the
independent clause.
The Relative Pronouns are:
Which Who
Where That
Whose Whom
Relative Pronoun Why do we use it? Examples
Who [or that] To talk about people. The woman who lives next
door is a doctor.
Which [or that] To talk about things Who ate the cheese that
[That is used more was in the fridge?
commonly than which].
Whose To talk about possession. The man whose house I
bought was at the party.
The housing estate where I
Where To talk about places. grew up has been
demolished.
Whom is possible instead To whom did you
of who when it is the write?
Whom object of With whom did you
the verb in the relative sing?
clause.
Some particularities in the use of...
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Which is used to refer to an animal or thing
that was already mentioned, joining two
sentences in order to make sense and can be
replaced by that.
Examples:
I don’t like dogs which dig the garden. (animal
dog)
I don’t like dogs that dig the garden. (replaced
by that)
Which cannot be omitted or replaced by
that:
When it comes after a preposition:
This is a subject about which I know very
little.
When the which-part only adds more
information about the main sentence, but it
will make sense without this part.
This old car, which I bought with all the
Whom is used to refer to people in the place
of the object (when it comes after a noun,
name or pronoun) and can be omitted or
replaced by who. If it comes before a verb, it
refers to the subject of the sentence and
only who can be used.
Examples:
That’s the man whom I called to help me
yesterday.
That’s the man (who) I called to help me
yesterday.
That’s the man who called me to help him
yesterday. (refers to the subject of the
sentence, so who cannot be omitted or
replaced by whom.)
Whom cannot be replaced by who
When it comes after a preposition:
Sonia is a woman about whom I want to
know more.
When the other sentence makes sense
without the whom-part:
Karl, whom I think you know, sits behind me
at school.
We use only the pronoun THAT:
When there are two antecedents (people
and animal or people and thing):
I know the singers and the songs that she
mentioned.
(person) (thing)
After adjectives in the superlative, first
and last.
She is the sweetest woman that I have
ever met. (superlative)
The last time that I saw him was in May.
The first thing that you have to do is call
the police.
After all, only, everything, none, some,
any, no and their compounds.
She ate something that we had never
seen.
When it is essential to the meaning.
The gold medal that should have gone to
Marissa went to a girl from the other
REMEMBER: The pronouns can only be
gymnastics club.
ommited when functioning as object, not
when exercising the function of subject.
Inglês, 3º Ano do Ensino Médio
Relative Pronouns
Relative
Pronoum Quiz
Inglês, 3º Ano do Ensino Médio
Relative Pronouns
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
CHOOSE A NUMBER
1. Mary is the girl
whose
____________________ parents are
famous doctors.
2. I know a man
who
____________________ can fix
washing machines.
which
3. The train ______________ goes to
Madrid leaves from platform 2.
4. If you can’t find the hotel
________
where I stayed last weekend,
I can tell you _________ to ask.
who
5. Charles is the guy about
whom I know two or three
___________
bad things.
6. Mary already has the tickets
which we asked her to buy.
Can which be omitted in this
sentence?
Yes
who
7. This is the man ______________
is the most famous author ever –
William Shakespeare.
where
8. Liberty Island, ___________ the
Statue of Liberty stands, is full
of tourists.
9. The candidate will choose
who will act as campaign
director.
Can who be omitted in this
sentence?
No
which
10. The radio ______________ I
bought doesn’t work very well.
whose
11. Queen Victoria, ______________
husband was Albert, became
Empress of India.
12. My friend Caroline,
who
_____________ is Scottish, tells
funny jokes.
whom
13. Do you know ________________
this mobile phone belongs to?
14. The people who moved in
next door seem to be very
friendly.
Can who be replaced by whom?
No
whose
15. Two guys, _____________ car
had broken down, asked me for
a lift.
16. Did you get everything
which you wanted?
Can which be ommited in this
sentence?
Yes
whose
17. He is the guy ______________
brother was sacked for stealing.
18. Is there a shop nearby
which
____________ sells stamps?
19. Nothing that she said
surprised me.
Is it possible to use Which
instead of that in this sentence?
No
20. There were two applicants,
whom
none of _______________ seemed
very competent.
21. Katie did all the homework
that
___________ the teacher assigned.
Explanation: The clause “the teacher assigned” is
essential to the meaning so the pronoun should be
that.