8/17/2016 Relative Pronouns

RelativePronouns
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/RelativePronouns.htm

TheFarlexGrammarBook>EnglishGrammar>PartsofSpeech>Pronouns>RelativePronouns

RelativePronouns
Definition
Arelativepronounisatypeofpronounusedtoconnectarelativeclause(alsoknownasanadjectiveclause)to
themainclauseinasentence.Relativeclauseseitherhelpclarifywhoorwhatasentenceistalkingabout(known
astheantecedent),orelsegiveextrainformationaboutit.

Herearethefivemostcommonlyusedrelativepronouns:
that
which
who
whom
whose

Lesscommonlyusedrelativepronounsincludethefollowing:
where
when
whoever
whosoever
whomever
whichever
wherever
whatever
whatsoever

Functionsoftherelativepronoun
Subjects,objects,andpossession
Inarelativeclause,therelativepronounfunctionsinoneofthreeways:asthesubject,theobject,ora
possessivepronoun(thoughwhoseistheonlypossessiverelativepronoun).Theusageofarelativepronoun
ultimatelydependsonitsantecedentandtherelativeclauseitintroduces.

Wecanusethistableasaquickguidetothefunctionsofrelativepronouns:

TypeofAntecedent Subject Object Possessive

People Who Who/Whom Whose

Things Which Which Whose
PeopleorThings That That

Nowletslookathoweachofthesecanbeusedinasentence.

Subject
Thewomanwhocametomyhousewasasalesperson.(Whoisthesubjectoftherelativeclausewhocame
tomyhouse,whichdescribestheantecedentthewoman.)
Themalebirdsdancedandsang,whichattractednearbyfemales.(Whichisthesubjectofthenonrestrictive

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relativeclausewhichattractednearbyfemalesthatdescribestheantecedentdancedandsang.)
Ihavetogomendthefencethatisbroken.(Thatisthesubjectoftherestrictiverelativeclausethatisbroken,
describingtheantecedentthefence.)
Iwantacomputerwhichcandownloadalotofgames.(Whichisthesubjectoftherelativeclausewhichcan
downloadalotofgamesanddescribestheantecedentacomputer.)

Object
IdontknowifIpassedthetestthatItookyesterday.(ThatistheobjectofrelativeclausethatItookyesterday
anddescribestheantecedentthetest.)
ThenewemployeewhomIhiredisadedicatedworker.(WhomistheobjectoftherelativeclausewhomIhired
anddescribestheantecedentthenewemployee.)

Possession
Therelativepronounwhoseisuniqueinthatitistheonlyonethatcandescribepossession.Itcomesbeforeanoun
inasentence,modifyingitlikeanadjectivetoindicatethatitbelongstotheantecedent.
Shetriedtohelpthestudentwhoselunchmoneyhadbeenstolen.(Whosemodifieslunchmoneyand
introducestherelativeclausewhoselunchmoneyhadbeenstolen,whichdescribestheantecedentthestudent.)

Substitutingrelativepronouns
Mostrelativepronounsarecapableofmultiplefunctionsandusages,meaningtheycanbeusedinplaceofone
anotherincertaincircumstances.Thetablebelowgivesaquickbreakdownofwhenitisacceptabletouseeach
relativepronoun:

Canbe asa asan asa todescribe todescribe

used... subject? object? possessive? things? people?

who (informal)
whom (formal)
whose
which
that

Relativepronounsthatcanbereplaced
Thewomanwho/thatcametomyhousewasasalesperson.(Whoandthatareinterchangeablewhen
describingpeople.)
Thenewemployeewhom/who/that*Ihiredisadedicatedworker.(Inadditiontowhom,whoandthatcanalso
beusedasanobjectininformalEnglishwhendescribingapersoninarestrictiverelativeclause.)
Themailman,whom/who*myfatherknewinhighschool,isrunningforthestatesenate.(Whenwhomisthe
objectofanonrestrictiverelativeclause,itcanonlybereplacedbywho)
Iwantacomputerthat/which**candownloadalotofgames.(Whichandthatcanbothdescribethings.)
(*Usagenote1:Traditionally,whomisconsideredtheonlycorrectrelativepronounwhenfunctioningastheobject
ofarelativeclause,butnowadayswhoisalsoacceptable[asisthatinrestrictiverelativeclauses].Infact,most
peoplethesedaysonlyusewho,whilewhomtendstobereservedformoreformalEnglish.)

(**Usagenote2:Ingeneral,therelativepronounthatispreferabletowhichinrestrictiverelativeclauseshowever,
whichislargelyconsideredacceptable,especiallyininformalwriting.Wewilldiscussthedifferencesbetween
restrictiveandnonrestrictiveclausesinmoredetaillater.)

Relativepronounsthatcannotbereplaced

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Themalebirdsdancedandsang,whichattractednearbyfemales.(Sincewhichisthesubjectofanon
restrictiverelativeclausedescribingathing(theactofdancingandsinging),itcannotbereplacedbyanyother
relativepronoun.)
Shetriedtohelpthestudentwhoselunchmoneyhadbeenstolen.(Onlywhosecanbeusedasapossessive
relativepronoun,whetheritdescribesapersonorathing.)

Restrictivevs.nonrestrictiverelativeclauses
Restrictive(defining)relativeclauses
Restrictiverelativeclauses(alsoknownasdefiningrelativeclauses)areclausescarryingessentialinformation.
Withoutitsrestrictiverelativeclause,amainclausewilllackavitaldescriptionandfailtoconveythefullor
appropriatemeaning.Becauseofthenecessityoftheirinformation,restrictiverelativeclausesarenotsetapartby
commas:
Iveneverunderstoodpeoplewhohatesports.
ThatbookthatIreadwhenIwasyoungisbeingmadeintoamovie.
Hereisthewebsitewhichmysistercreated.
Didyouhearaboutthesailorwhoseshipwashauntedbyaheadlessghost?
Ithinkamanwhommyfatherhiredhasbeenstealingfromthecompany.

Ifyouweretoremoveeachexamplesrelativeclause,thecorrespondingmainclausewouldchangeinmeaningand
appeartobelackingnecessaryinformationoutofcontext.Forexample:
Iveneverunderstoodpeoplewhohatesports.
Iveneverunderstoodpeople.(Thespeakerdoesntunderstandpeopleortheirintentions.)

ThatbookthatIreadwhenIwasyoungisbeingmadeintoamovie.
Thatbookisbeingmadeintoamovie.(Someunspecifiedbookisbeingmadeintoamovie.)

Hereisthewebsitewhichmysistercreated.
Hereisthewebsite.(Thespeakerisindicatingsomeunidentifiedwebsite.)

Didyouhearaboutthesailorwhoseshipwashauntedbyaheadlessghost?
Didyouhearaboutthesailor?(Thespeakerisaskingthelistenerwhetherheorshehasheardaboutsome
unidentifiedsailor.)

Ithinkamanwhommyfatherhiredhasbeenstealingfromthecompany.
Ithinkamanhasbeenstealingfromthecompany.(Someunspecifiedmanisthoughttohavebeenstealing.)

Thatvs.whichinrestrictiveclauses
Asdiscussedearlier,thatispreferabletowhichinrestrictiverelativeclauses,thoughmanywriterstendtouseboth,
especiallyinlessformalwriting.Asageneralrule,though,whichisnormallyreservedfornonrestrictiverelative
clauses,whichwewilllearnaboutinthefollowingsection.

Nonrestrictive(nondefining)relativeclauses
Unlikerestrictiverelativeclauses,nonrestrictiverelativeclauses(ornondefiningrelativeclauses)containnon
essentialorsupplementalinformationtothemainclausethat,whentakenaway,doesnotaffectordramatically
changetheoverallintentandmeaningofthesentence.

Nonrestrictiveclausesrequiretheuseofcommastodistinguishthenonessentialinformationfromtherestofthe
sentence.

Whichisusedtointroducenonrestrictiveclausesthatdescribethingsornondomesticanimals:
Thelargepark,whichsheusedtovisitwhenshewasyoung,hadbeenaroundformanyyearsandwasa
populargatheringspotforchildren.
Ihadtosearchextensivelyforthemissingcookbook,whichtookmemanyhourstofind.
Thesong,whichwashisfavorite,couldbeheardfrommilesaway.

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Thecattle,whichalwayswanderawayfromtheranch,didntreturnuntilnightfall.

Whoandwhommayalsobeusedinnonrestrictiveclausesthatdescribepeopleordomesticanimals(pets):
Thewoman,whovolunteersatalocalhomelessshelter,wonthelottery.
Myfriend,Tom,whomIhaventseeninyears,iscomingtostaywithustomorrow.
Ourdog,whoismissingoneofhishindlegs,ranawayyesterday.

Whosecanbeusedwithbothpeopleandthingsinnonrestrictiveclauses:
Jane,whoseprimarygoalistobecomeadoctor,sentouthermedicalschoolapplicationslastmonth.
Theoldbank,whoseexteriorisfallingapart,isremarkablybeautifulontheinside.

Itisimportanttorememberthatthat,asarelativepronoun,canonlybeusedinrestrictiverelativeclauses.Onthe
contrary,who,whom,whose,andwhichareallcapableofintroducingbothrestrictiveandnonrestrictiverelative
clauses(although,inrestrictiverelativeclauses,thatispreferabletowhich).

Omittingrelativepronouns
Sometimes,especiallyininformalwriting,relativepronounscanbeomittedaltogether.Thiscanonlybedonewhen
therelativepronounistheobjectofarestrictiverelativeclause.

Forexample,ifarelativepronounistheobjectofaclause,thereareseveralwaysyoucanphrasethesentence,
dependingonhowformalorinformalyouwantittosound:
ThegirltowhomIgavemyicecreamlookedupandsmiledatme.(veryformal)
ThegirlwhomIgavemyicecreamtolookedupandsmiledatme.(formal)
ThegirlwhoIgavemyicecreamtolookedupandsmiledatme.(casual)
ThegirlthatIgavemyicecreamtolookedupandsmiledatme.(verycasual)
ThegirlIgavemyicecreamtolookedupandsmiledatme.(mostcasual)

Unlikewhom,whichcanonlyactasanobjectofarelativeclause,whoandthatcanfunctionasbothobjectsand
subjectswhendescribingpeopletherefore,inrelativeclauses,itisacceptabletoreplacetheratherformalsounding
whomwitheitherwhoorthat,oromittherelativepronounaltogether.

Whendescribingthingsinsteadofpeople,therelativepronounsthatandwhichmaybeomittedaslongastheyare
used,likewhom,asanobjectofarestrictiverelativeclause:
ThehousethatIwanttobuyisgoingonsaletoday.
ThehousewhichIwanttobuyisgoingonsaletoday.
ThehouseIwanttobuyisgoingonsaletoday.

Similarly,ifarelativeclauseusesanauxiliaryverb(suchastobe)+apresentorpastparticipleaftertherelative
pronoun,itcanbewordedlikethis:
Thegirlwhoisjumpingintothelakeisaworldfamousdiver.
Thegirlthatisjumpingintothelakeisaworldfamousdiver.
Thegirljumpingintothelakeisaworldfamousdiver.

Relativepronounsasobjectsofprepositions
Incertaincases,relativepronounscanbeusedasobjectsofprepositions,meaningtherelativepronounworksin
conjunctionwithaprepositiontomodifythesubjectorverboftherelativeclause.Onlywhose,which,andwhom
canfunctionasobjectsofprepositions.

InmoreformalEnglish,weplaceaprepositionbeforethepronoun.Herearesomeofthecombinationsyoumight
see:
withwhom
towhom
forwhom
throughwhich
ofwhich
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aboutwhich
fromwhich
atwhose
inwhose
withwhose

InmodernEnglish,positioningprepositionsinfrontofrelativepronounsoftensoundsoverlyformal,especiallywhen
itcomestotherelativepronounwhom.Asaresult,itisgenerallyacceptableforaprepositiontocomeaftera
relativeclauseinsteadofbeforearelativepronoun.Forexample:
TheteacherwithwhomIspokehadmanyinterestingthingstosay.(Veryformal)
Theteacherwhom/who/thatIspokewithhadmanyinterestingthingstosay.(Lessformal.Whomismost
oftenreplacedbyeitherwhoorthat,andtheprepositionwithismovedtotheendoftherelativeclause.)
TheteacherIspokewithhadmanyinterestingthingstosay.(Mostcasual.Therelativepronounisomitted,
andtheprepositioniskeptattheendoftherelativeclause.)

Itisalsoacceptabletoplaceaprepositionattheendofarelativeclausewhenusingthepronounwhich:
ThehomeinwhichIgrewupholdsmanydearmemoriesforme.(Veryformal.Inthiscase,youcannotreplace
whichwiththat,asthatcannotbeusedasanobjectofapreposition.)
Thehomethat/whichIgrewupinholdsmanydearmemoriesforme.(lessformal)
ThehomeIgrewupinholdsmanydearmemoriesforme.(mostcasual)

Thepronounwhosefollowsthissamepatternofprepositionalplacement,exceptthatitcannotbesubstitutedwith
anotherpronounanditcannotbeomitted:
Myfriend,inwhosehouseImstaying,invitedmetoseeamoviewithhim.(veryformal)
Myfriend,whosehouseImstayingin,invitedmetoseeamoviewithhim.(lessformal)

WhenandWhere
Whenandwherearealsousedasrelativepronouns,especiallyinlessformalwritingandconversation.Theyare
alwaysusedinrestrictiverelativeclauses.

Weusewhentodescribeantecedentsthathavetodowithtime,asin:
Thatsthedaywhenwemet.
Imlookingforwardtoatimewhentheworldwillbeatpeace.
Weusewheretodescribeantecedentsthathavetodowithlocation,asin:
ThecafwherewewentonSundaywasverynice.
Thetownwhereshelivesisonlyanhouraway.

UsingprepositionsforformalEnglish
InmoreformalEnglish,whereandwhenareoftenreplacedwithapreposition+whichtomarkpreciselocationsor
pointsintime.Forexample:
Wepreferredapartofthecountrywherewecouldliveinpeaceandquiet.
Wepreferredapartofthecountryinwhichwecouldliveinpeaceandquiet.

Benislookingforwardtothedaywhenhecanfinallyjointhearmy.
Benislookingforwardtothedayonwhichhecanfinallyjointhearmy.

Quiz

1.Whichofthefollowingisnotoneofthefivemostcommonlyusedrelativepronouns?

a)whom
b)where
c)whose

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d)which

2.Whichofthefollowingsentencesusesarelativepronounincorrectly?

a)Shetriedtofixthemirrorwhomhadbrokenmanyyearsearlier.
b)Iwatchedadogthatwaschasingitstail.
c)Hedecidedtotakethemysteriousmotorcycle,whoseownerhadseeminglydisappeared.
d)Thebartendertookthedayoff,whichgavehersometimetorelax.

3.Choosethesentencethatcontainsanonrestrictiverelativeclause.

a)Mrs.Andersonrereadthebookshedlovedasachild.
b)Icanthelpbutwonderwheretheyregoing.
c)Isitrightbeneathalightthatconstantlyflickers.
d)TheymovedtoFlorida,whichtheyhopedwouldleadtobetterjobprospects.

4.Whichofthefollowingsentencesistheleastformal?

a)TheboxIdreturnedappearedonmydoorstepagain.
b)TheboxwhichIdreturnedappearedonmydoorstepagain.
c)TheboxthatIdreturnedappearedonmydoorstepagain.
d)TheboxwhomIdreturnedappearedonmydoorstepagain.

5.Selecttherelativepronounthatcorrectlycompletesthefollowingsentence:
Thepizza,____waspepperoni,wasleftintheoventoolong.

a)which
b)that
c)who
d)whom

6.Selecttherelativepronounthatcorrectlycompletesthefollowingsentence:
Themalecandidate,____Ihadntvotedfor,wontheelectionanyway.

a)which
b)whose
c)that
d)who/whom

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