Learn different 'Relative Clauses', its usages with example to ensure you write correct sentences in English. Also learn when you can drop it.

1. Spoken English
Relative Pronoun
By
Ash Vyas

2. Relative Pronoun
•It is used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun.
•It is used to make it clear which person or thing we are talking about.
•To give some additional information related to person or thing we are talking
about.

3. Relative Pronouns
For people: who, whose, whom, that
For objects: which, whose, that
Place, time and reason: where, when, why, how, that

4. Relative Pronoun
The relative pronoun can refer to:
A noun: I know the artist who made this artwork.
A pronoun: You can't tell me anything that will change my mind.
A sub clause: He told us we could join party which came as a surprise.
A main Clause: I passed my exams which I had not expected.

5. Words You Must Know
The word(s) a relative pronoun refers to is called antecedent.
The part of the sentence that contains the relative pronoun is called a relative
clause.
Examples:
•Ashvini is a marketer who is quite clever.
•She told us to leave which was shocking.

6. Restrictive Relative Clause
Provides information that can’t be omitted from the sentence else the sentence
would miss important information.
Examples:
•The people, who work in our company, are very helpful.
The people are very helpful.
•This is the office which is very old.
This is the office.

7. Non-restrictive relative clause:
When relative clause provides information that can be omitted without missing
important information from the sentence:
Examples:
•My friend, who is a developer, has a cat.
•My friend has a cat.
•Ash, who lives in India, is our teacher.
•Ash is our teacher.

8. Who
Usage: When antecedent is a person.
Examples:
•My friend who is in school is learning to speak Spanish.
•My boss who is irritating complains a lot.

9. Whose
It is possessive for of ‘who’ and can be used while asking about possession of
something.
Examples:
•The man whose house is green laughed at me.
•I have a friend whose cat is annoying.
•This is George whose brother went to school with me.

10. Whom
•It can be used in place of ‘who’ to make sentence more formal.
•This can use only with restrictive clauses.
Examples:
•The client whom I told you about is friendly.
•The man from whom I borrowed the book is a gentleman.

11. Notes
If you put the preposition at the end, the sentence will become less formal.
Example:
•The man whom I borrowed book from is friendly.
*If you put the preposition at the end, it is advisable to use ‘who’ instead of ‘whom’ based on modern
spoken English style.
Example:
•The man who I borrowed book from is friendly.

12. Which
Usage: When antecedent is not a person.
Examples:
•The car which he forgot to lock was stolen.
•She asked for my help, which I found weird.

13. That
In restrictive relative clause (only) ‘who’ and ‘which’ can be replaced by ‘that’.
Examples:
•The people, who work in our company, are very helpful.
The people that work in our company are very helpful.
•This is the office which is very old.
This is the office that is very old.

14. Notes:
You can’t use ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ or ‘which’ in Non-restrictive relative.
Examples:
•The man who lent me the bike was the manager himself, who you may have heard of.
•The man that lent me the bike was the manager himself, who you may have heard of.
•The bike which I borrowed, which you may have driven, is called ‘rocket’.
•The bike that I borrowed, which you may have driven, is called ‘rocket’.

15. What
When there is no antecedent in the sentence.
Examples:
•What you talked is absurd.
•When she sees what you have done, she will be angry.

16. Omitting Relative Pronoun: who, that, when, why
When the relative pronoun is not the subject of the restrictive clause we can omit
the relative pronoun.
Examples:
•The girls who you saw are my cousins.
•The girls that you saw are my cousins.
•The girls you saw are my cousins.

17. Omitting Relative Pronoun: who, that, when, why
Examples:
•The day when we met.
•The day that we met.
•The day we met.
•The reason why I like her so much.
•The reason that I like her so much.
•The reason I like her so much

18. Omitting Relative Pronoun: who, that, when, why
When the relative pronoun is the subject of the restrictive clause, we can’t omit
the relative pronoun.
Examples:
•The man who/that hired me last year.
•The car which/that I bought.

19. Omitting Relative Pronoun: whom, who
You can’t drop ‘whom’ or ‘who’ when it is next to the preposition.
Examples:
•The man from whom I borrowed the book is a gentleman.
•This is Janet with who I share my house.

20. Omitting Relative Pronoun: whose, of which, where
You can’t drop ‘whose’, ‘of which’ or ‘where’
Examples:
•The man whose daughter I married.
•The book the title of which is ‘Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus’.
•The office where I met her for the first time.

21. Any Questions?
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