Ever wondered why some parts of sentences seem crucial, while others just add extra info? That's where relative clauses come in!

Relative clauses (more info here) are like little helpers in grammar, adding extra information about someone or something in a sentence. One important part of relative clauses are relative pronouns. These special words help connect the extra information to the main part of the sentence. Whether it's identifying a person, specifying an object, or describing a place, relative pronouns come to the rescue, making our writing more engaging and precise. So, let's dive into the world of relative pronouns and discover how they bring our sentences to life!

In this post we will learn about relative pronouns at level II, so the explanation is in English and the examples shown have an intermediate difficulty.

Relative pronouns

In order to create a relative clause structure, a relative pronoun or adverb is used to link the clause with the main sentence. As pronouns, they refer to a noun in the main sentence in order to provide the information. Some of these can be used only with people or objects or even both, while others are used to express time, place and possessive traits.

Who

Who is used to refer to people.

Heracles, who is the son of Zeus and Alcmene, is considered the greatest hero in Ancient Greek mythology.
Officer, that one is the woman who stole my neighbour’s cat in his own garden! I saw her!
I have never met someone who hasn’t watched at least one film about Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.
When this is over I am going to visit my cousin Gabrielle, who lives in a cottage in the middle of a forest.

Which

Which is used to refer to objects.

The mansion which was demolished last week was considered haunted by a family of vengeful ghosts.
The cursed book, which was created by dark wizards, was buried alongside its creators a long time ago.
I’ve heard that the pendant, which was considered lost, was actually in the possession of a sweet old grandma.
The sword which was used in the coronation belonged to the last king of the previous dynasty.

That

That is used both with people and objects, and can substitute who and which, but only in defining relative clauses.

I have never met someone that hasn’t watched at least one film about Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.
Officer, that one is the woman that stole my neighbour’s cat in his own garden! I saw her!
The mansion that was demolished last week was considered haunted by a family of vengeful ghosts.
The sword that was used in the coronation belonged to the last king of the previous dynasty.

Where

Where is used to talk about the location of the noun referred to in the main sentence.

This is the park where your father and I had our first date so many years ago.
Sally likes to visit the hill just outside town where the ancient graveyard was located previously.
Tony and I went to pay a visit to the mausoleum, where the remains of the mayor’s dad rest.
Emma was forced to move into a small coastal town in main, where her son currently lives.

When

When is used to talk about the time the main sentence is referring to.

Benjamin Sisko tragically lost his wife in the Battle of Wolf-359 when the Borg attacked planet Earth.
December, when Christmas is celebrated, is the twelfth and final month in the current Gregorian calendar system.
They will never forget the day when they nearly caught the infamous pirate captain named Jack Sparrow.
It was the day Lois got the job when she met the man she would marry seven years later.

Note: As with who and which, when can also be substituted with that in defining relative clauses.

They will never forget the day that they nearly caught the infamous pirate captain named Jack Sparrow.
It was the day Lois got the job that she met the man she would marry seven years later.

Whose

Whose refers to possession, both for people and objects.

This is a man whose idea of fun is gluing stamps into an album for an entire Saturday afternoon.
Regina Mills, whose position as mayor was uncontested, adopted his son Henry in 2001 after a long process of bureaucracy.
It was legendary King Midas, whose power was turning things into gold, who destroyed the Mediterranean economy in the 3rd century BC.
Do you know what happened to the boy whose dreams were always fulfilled?

Whom

Whom is used instead of who in formal language, often with a preposition.

There were a lot of scientists in the meeting, some of whom were close friends of mine.
My English professor from my times as a student, whom I respected very much, passed away last February.
These are the soldiers whom I tasked with rescuing the daughter of the ambassador from behind enemy lines.
This is the lost island in which the sorcerer has resided for the last centuries

Note: both whom and which are used with prepositions in formal language. Said prepositions can be to, into, in, some, many, etc.

Omitting relative pronouns

Relative pronouns can sometimes be omitted from the sentence. However, this is only possible in defining relative clauses and only when the pronoun is NOT the subject of the clause.

I saw a boy who/that wore socks under his sandals. (relative pronoun is subject)
I saw a boy (who/that) I noticed was wearing socks under his sandals. (personal pronoun is subject)

As an easy way to identify this, students can rely on that, if a verb follows the relative pronoun, it is functioning as subject of the subordinate clause.