English Relative Pronouns: Meaning, Examples, Preparation Tips, Practice Questions With Answers

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that’s used to introduce a relative clause. A relative clause introduces further information about the preceding noun or noun phrase, either helping to identify what it refers to or just providing extra details.

The relative clause comes after a noun or noun phrase and gives some additional information about the thing or person in question. Here are few examples:

Relative Pronoun	Example Sentence
who	The teacher who helped me is absent today.
whom	The person whom I spoke to was my old friend.
whose	The student whose uncle is a doctor, lives nearby me.
which	The book which I borrowed was interesting.

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The Cambridge dictionary states, ‘Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, that. The relative pronoun we use depends on what we are referring to and the type of relative clause’.

Relative pronouns, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘are words like "who," "whom," "whose," "which," and "that," which introduce relative clauses and refer back to a noun or pronoun mentioned earlier in the sentence. They connect a dependent (relative) clause to an independent clause, providing additional information about the noun or pronoun’.        

It is pronounced as:

UK/ˌrel.ə.tɪv ˈprəʊ.naʊn/

 US/ˌrel.ə.t̬ɪv ˈproʊ.naʊn/

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In English grammar, there are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and that. Additionally, Whoever/Whomever and Whichever/Whatever are also sometimes considered relative pronouns. Let’s take a look at them with examples, for better understanding:

Types of Relative Pronoun	Example
Who	The student who won the award is very intelligent.
Whom	The person whom I met was very funny.
Whose	He is the same artist whose painting was sold for a high price.
Which	The book which I read was interesting.
That	The house that I bought is known for its location.
Whoever/Whomever	·       Give this bottle to whoever need it. (whoever is the subject of the verb) ·       I will support whomever the team chooses. (whomever is the object of the verb. )
Whichever/Whatever	·       "You can choose whichever dish you want to have. ·       I will do whatever you say.

 

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English Verbs

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 The main rules for relative pronouns are related to clauses and agreement between the subject and the verb. Let’s take a look at them in detail:

Rule #1

In case, the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause, it cannot be skipped. If it acts as the object, it can sometimes be skipped, especially in restrictive clauses.

Rule #2

Relative pronouns should agree in number (singular or plural) with their antecedent.

Rule #3

"Whom" is generally used in formal writings when it's the object of the verb.

Rule #4

"Who" is often used instead of "whom" in informal contexts.

Rule #5

"That" is preferred to use in restrictive clauses (essential to the meaning of the sentence and are not set off by commas) while "which" is more common in non-restrictive clauses. (add extra information about the antecedent and are set off by commas)

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Subject Verb Agreement in English

The relative pronoun (like who, whom, which, that) can be omitted in some cases when it's the object of the clause, but not when it's the subject.

Let’s take a look at some such special areas:

Relative Pronoun Is the Object 

When the relative pronoun is the object of the verb in the relative clause, it can often be skipped. For example:

• "The novel (that) I read was interesting." (The pronoun "that" is the object of the verb "read").
• The girl (whom) I met at the party was my school friend. (The pronoun "whom" is the object of the verb "met").

Relative Pronoun Is the Subject

The relative pronoun cannot be omitted when it is the subject of the clause. For example: "The woman who/that spoke was knowledgeable." (The pronoun "who/that" is the subject of the verb "spoke").

Defining Clause

Relative pronoun can be omitted in case of defining clause. For example:

• "This is the house that Jack built." (That = object of 'built') can be shortened to "This is the house Jack built".

Relative Pronoun Used with a Preposition

When a relative pronoun is used with a preposition, the preposition usually stays at the end of the clause when the pronoun is omitted. For example:

• "This is the house in which I lived." can be rephrased as "This is the house I lived in."

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To correctly use relative pronoun in English language, students should understand that the meaning that the relative pronouns introduce relative clauses providing extra information about a noun. That apart, students pay attention to restrictive vs. non-restrictive clauses (set off by commas) and use commas accordingly, to use relative pronouns in right way.

Here are some more tips to consider in order to understand and use the concept of relative pronoun correctly in English:

• Practicing questions on relative pronouns is the most effective way to clear the concept. Students should practice questions related to the topic for better clarity. Keep reading and writing the sentences and books and keep looking for relative pronoun in them.
• Students need to understand the definition of relative pronoun so that they can use them in the sentence correctly and accordingly.
• There are many platforms on internet including google and YouTube that have content related to relative pronoun. Some portals and videos explain the concepts in a very easy and understandable way. Put this to good use.

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Following are the steps that students can follow to identify relative noun in English sentences:

1. Look for pronouns: The first and easiest way to identify relative pronouns is to look for them in a sentence. The main relative pronouns used are who, whom, which, whose and that. For example: The book that I borrowed is very old.
2. Find the relative cause: A relative clause in a sentence starts with a relative pronoun. A relative clause is a clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun. For example: "The woman who lives next door is a doctor." In this sentence, "who" is the relative pronoun, introducing the relative clause "who lives next door" which modifies the noun "woman".
3. Find the connection: the relative pronoun connects the relative clause to the main clause of the sentence. “This is the house where I grew up." In this sentence, "where" acts as a relative pronoun, introducing the relative clause "where I grew up" modifying the noun "house".

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