RELATIVES PRONOUNS

RELATIVES PRONOUNS

1. What exactly are relative pronouns? People tend to get confused with relative pronouns in English. These pronouns are those that refer to the noun, that is, to the name, and their function is to connect two clauses (phrases) in the same sentence

2. Relative Clauses

   • Relative pronouns are used to join two or more clauses, thus forming what we call “relative clauses”.

3. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

   • Commas are used to separate the relative clause from the rest of the sentence. You cannot use “that” in place of “which” or “who” in this type of clause.
     • My friend Tony, who is an excellent writer, is helping me with my English paper

4. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

   • These clauses define the noun and identify what thing or person we mean. Commas are not used with this type of clause.
     • She never met the man who saved her father’s life

5. Relative pronouns always come after a noun and some can be used with people, others only with things, and others with both. In this table you will find a list with the relative pronouns:

6. WHO

   • has the functions of subject and its antecedent (the subject it refers to) must be a person, although it may occasionally refer to a personified animal, as for example in stories.
     • The man who knew too much

7. WHOM

   • Indicates the person on whom the action falls. It is very formal and is used in written language, and its use in spoken language is not very common.
     • The boy that was at the party is whom I met last week,

8. THAT

   • Is the most widely used relative pronoun in spoken English, as it can be used with both people and things. It is used to substitute "which", "who" or "whom" in clauses that define the noun.
     • This is the book that won the Pulitzer prize last year

9. WHICH

   • "Which" can only be used with things.
     • My new job, which I only started last week, is already very stressful.

10. WHOSE

    • The use of "whose" indicates possession, both for people and for things.
      • That is the girl whose parents got divorced last year

11. WHEN

    • Is a time-relative pronoun that joins a modifying clause. We use when to refer to temporal notions.
      • The year when you were born was memorable.

12. WHERE

    • Is a location-relative pronoun that joins a modifying clause. We use where to refer to places. It can only be omitted if it is accompanied by a preposition.
      • That library, where I used to go after school, is going to be restored.

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