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Why we use relative clauses?

Uses

Who and whom

Which

That

Whose

When and where

Defining and non-defining clauses

To describe or give extra information about someone or something we have already mentioned.

Gives extra information of a noun that is in the main clause.

Clause: group of words containing a verb.

We use them to avoid repeating information.

We use "who" for people.

We use "whom" for people, sometimes, we use "whom" as the object of a verb or preposition.

The woman who is talking to my mom is my best friend

The man whom she saw last week, is a teacher in our school

We use it for things

The milk, which I bought last week, is rotten.

We use "that" for people or things.

I broke the computer that was in my house.

We use "whose" as the possessive form of "who"

This is the car whose owner is my boyfriend.

We use "when" with times

We use "where" with places

July is the month when it is very hot

Queretaro is where I was born.

Defining: we use them to make clear which person or thing we are talking about and to describe.

Non-defining: we use them to give more information about a person, thing or situation.