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Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

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Content Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

Relative Pronouns – Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That
Relative Pronouns – Definition
Relative Pronouns – List and Functions
Relative Pronouns – Summary
Frequently Asked Questions about Relative Pronouns

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Basics on the topic Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

Relative Pronouns – Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

Did you know that there are different pronouns in English? An important type of pronoun is called a relative pronoun. In this article you can find multiple relative pronouns examples and a list of relative pronouns. Learn all about English relative pronouns rules through a video, activities, relative pronouns worksheets and relative pronouns quizzes!

Relative Pronouns – Definition

What are the relative pronouns? Let’s have a look at the definition for relative pronouns.

Relative pronouns are words that are used to introduce relative clauses. A relative clause is a type of dependent clause used to modify or describe a noun.

Have a look at this example of a sentence with a relative clause:

Main Clause	Relative Pronoun	Relative Clause
I saw a girl	who	goes to my school.

Why are relative pronouns important? What do relative pronouns do in a sentence? Relative pronouns can not only connect the main clause to an independent clause, but also help us to add information about a noun or a noun phrase. It helps the audience know if the subject or object noun phrase from the main clause is being spoken about.

Relative Pronouns – List and Functions

The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which and that.

Let’s have a look at the sentence examples of relative pronouns and learn about their usage. Who is a relative pronoun that is used for people and sometimes pets. It is used to replace pronouns I, he, she, we and they. For example:

Noun	Relative Pronoun	Relative Clause	Main Clause
The boy	who	won the game yesterday	is Anna’s brother.

In this sentence, relative pronoun who describes the noun boy.

Whom is used to describe a person, a place, a thing or an idea. It can replace pronouns him or her. Have a look at the example:

Main Clause	Noun	Relative Pronoun	Relative Clause
I called my	friend Pete	whom	I want to invite to a birthday party.

Here, whom describes their friend Pete.

Whose is used to describe people, animals and occasionally objects. It is used to show possession or ownership. In the next sentence the teacher was wondering, who the hamster belongs to:

Main Clause	Relative Pronoun	Noun	Relative Clause
The teacher wanted to know	whose	hamster	is sitting in the plant pot.

Which refers to animals and objects. For example:

Noun	Relative Pronoun	Relative Clause	Main Clause
The books	which	I borrowed from you last month	are the best I have ever read.

In this sentence, which refers to the noun books.

That is used with people, animals or objects. Have a look at the example:

Noun	Relative Pronoun	Relative Clause	Main Clause
The cat	that	we found on the street	is scared of vacuum cleaners.

In this sentence, relative pronoun that describes the noun cat.

Relative Pronouns – Summary

Let’s review what we learned about relative pronouns today.

Relative pronouns are words used to introduce relative clauses.
Relative clauses describe or modify nouns.
Relative pronouns connect the main clause to an independent clause and help the reader know if the subject or object noun phrase from the main clause is being spoken about. There are five common relative pronouns in English: who, whom, whose, which and that.

To better remember the features of these five relative pronouns, use this relative pronouns chart:

Relative Pronoun	Usage	Replaces pronouns
who	people and sometimes pets	I, he, she, we, they
whom	people, places, things or ideas	him, her
whose	people, animals and occasionally objects shows ownership
which	animals and objects	it
that	people, animals or objects	I, he, she, it, we, they

Now you know all about relative pronouns. You can use this article to prepare for a relative pronouns quiz, review a definition of relative pronouns and functions of relative pronouns. Want more practice? Watch our relative pronouns video and use our relative pronouns worksheet and exercises with relative pronouns. You can download our relative pronouns worksheet with answers in PDF format and practise with relative pronouns exercises.

Frequently Asked Questions about Relative Pronouns

What are relative pronouns?

How many relative pronouns are there?

What information do relative pronouns provide?

What purpose do relative pronouns fill in a sentence?

Transcript Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That

Ah, what a great time for a tea party! Pip and Koko just arrived at Bertha's, but where is she? And what is this mess? Let's help Koko and Pip solve what happened here, by using relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which and that. A relative pronoun is a word that is used to introduce a relative clause. A relative clause is a type of dependent clause that’s used to modify or describe a noun. When relative pronouns introduce the relative clause it helps the audience know if the subject or object noun phrase from the main clause is being spoken about. Who is a relative pronoun that's used for people and sometimes pets. It is used to replace pronouns like I, she, he, we and they. In the sentence 'Bertha, who is hosting the tea party, is missing,' who replaces she in the original sentence, 'she is hosting the tea party' and describes the noun who is missing, Bertha. Whom is a relative pronoun that is used to describe a person, place, thing or idea and replaces him or her. In the sentence, ‘Pip knows whom they're looking for’, whom replaces 'it's her they're looking for' and describes the noun they're trying to find, Bertha. The relative pronoun whose describes people, animals and occasionally objects and it's used to show possession or ownership. ‘Pip and Koko are wondering whose mess this is', shows Pip and Koko are wondering who the mess belongs to. Which refers to animals and objects. For example, 'The scones, which were ready for the party, were left unattended on the counter,' refers to the object, scones. That refers to people, animals or objects. For example, 'the door that they just noticed is slightly open, looks very suspicious,' refers to a thing, the door. Before we see what happens next, let's summarise! A relative pronoun is a word that is used to introduce a relative clause. When relative pronouns introduce the relative clause it helps the audience know if the subject or object noun phrase from the main clause is being spoken about. Who is used for people and sometimes pets whom is used to describe the person, place, thing or idea. Whose describes people, animals and occasionally objects. Which refers to animals and objects and that refers to people, animals or things. There's Bertha! She was in the dining room waiting the whole time! From Bertha's perspective, it looks like Pip and Koko were the ones who were missing!

Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video Relative Pronouns: Who, Whose, Whom, Which and That.

What is a relative pronoun?

Hints

I am looking at the tickets that we bought.
The bolded word in this sentence is a relative pronoun. What is it introducing?

A relative pronoun introduces more information in the sentence.

Who, whom, whose, which and that are relative pronouns.

Solution

A relative pronoun is a word that is used to introduce a relative clause.
What is a relative clause?

Hints

Bob quickly did the homework, which was assigned by the maths teacher.
The bolded words in this sentence are a relative clause. It provides additional information about the homework.

A relative clause gives the reader more information about another noun in the sentence.

Solution

A relative clause is a type of dependent clause that’s used to modify or describe a noun.
Can you find the missing pronoun?
Hints

The relative pronoun, whose, describes people, animals and occasionally objects. It is used to show possession or ownership.

Whom is a relative pronoun that is used to describe a person, place, thing, or idea, and replaces him or her.

Solution
A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause. It gives further information about the noun or noun phrase.
The correct sentences are:
- The student who forgot to close the door is Billy.
- This is the teacher whose bag we found.
- I know the girl whom you were talking with.
- I play the piano which is my favourite instrument.
Can you find the missing pronoun?
Hints

Who is used to describe people and sometimes pets.

Whom is used to describe a person, place, thing, or idea.

Solution
Here are the sentences with their correct pronouns.
- Tom is the boy who scored the goal.
- The book which I borrowed from the library is missing.
- The tiger that escaped from the zoo was found.
- Nancy is the girl whom I met yesterday.
- Olivia, whose birthday it was, made the cupcakes.
In which of these sentences did Pip use the correct pronoun?
Hints

Who is coming back to school?

Toni is looking for Ann.
Ann, whom Toni is looking for, is at school.

Solution
Here are the correct sentences:
- I finished reading the book that you gave me.
- My backpack, which is green, is missing.
Here are the correct versions of the incorrect sentences:
- The boy whose cat ran away was very sad.
- The children to whom you have spoken are my friends.
- My friend who broke his hand last week is coming back to school.
What are the missing pronouns in the sentences?
Hints

What will they do with that money?

We use the relative pronoun who when we talk about people, like a friend or a teacher.

The relative pronoun which can introduce more information about objects.

Solution
When relative pronouns introduce the relative clause, it helps the audience know if the subject or object noun phrase from the main clause is being spoken about.
The correct sentences are:
- Mr. Brown,who is our Science teacher, gave us a test.
- This ball, whose owner is Adam, was left in the field.
- The cat, which/that is black, caught a mouse.
- All the money that/which was collected will be given to the library.
- They are the new classmates whom I was telling you about.