Relative Pronouns in English

Relative Pronouns in English

The most commonly used relative pronouns in English are who, which, that, whose, when and where. They introduce the relative clause by replacing the noun or pronoun mentioned previously.

For example:

• This is the place. We met here.
• This is the place where we met.

The relative pronoun where replaces the noun ‘place‘, joining two sentences together. This kind of sentence is called a relative clause.

WHO and WHICH

We normally use who for people and some pet animals and which for things.

• Is this the person who stole your purse?
• The runner who won the marathon was Italian.
• I like the dress which you bought last week.
• This is the computer which costs a lot of money.

We can use that instead of who or which in most cases.

• Is this the person that stole your purse?
• The runner that won the marathon was Italian.
• I like the dress that you bought last week.
• This is the computer that costs a lot of money.

WHOSE

We use whose as the possessive form of who:

• This is the man whose house we bought.
• Jane married a man whose family adore her.
• The couple whose house was robbed called the police.
• The man whose car we bought moved to Australia.

WHEN

We use when to introduce time:

• There is a moment in time when everyone needs to rest.
• 5 o’clock is the time when we usually have tea.
• 2013 was the year when their son was born.
• That was the day when we met.

WHERE

We use where for place:

• I know a place where they serve excellent fish and chips.
• This is the town where I used to live.
• The cafe where we used to go for a drink closed down.
• The sports centre where we always go swimming in summer is near my place.

Learn about defining and non-defining relative clauses here

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