Relative Clauses 2

When we use relative clauses, sometimes the relative pronoun (who / that) is the subject of the
relative clause and sometime it’s the object. (The relative clauses are in italics.)

• I saw the woman who works in a bank. (Here, ‘who’ is the subject of the verb in the
relative clause: ‘works’.)
• I saw the woman who* John knows. (Here, ‘who’ is the object of the verb ‘knows’. The
subject is ‘John’.)

Let’s look at another example.

• The cat that lives next door caught a mouse. (‘That’ is the subject of the verb ‘lives’.)
• The cat that I like caught a mouse. (‘That’ is the object of the verb ‘like’. The subject is
‘I’.)

Let’s review! Is the relative pronoun (who / that) the subject of the verb in the relative clause or
the object of the verb in the relative clause?

1. I met a man who works in Japan. (Is ‘who’ the subject or object of the relative clause?)
2. She bought a dress that has lots of pockets.
3. The flowers that we picked were beautiful.
4. The dog that lives in our road barks a lot.
5. I saw the boy that you know.
6. The fruit that is on the table is delicious.
7. He bought the book that we recommended.
8. The students passed the exam that was yesterday.
9. The girl who* Lucy met is from China.
10. The children loved the chocolate that James brought.

(*In traditional grammar, we need ‘whom’ here. I will talk about that later.)
Answers

1. Subject
2. Subject
3. Object
4. Subject
5. Object
6. Subject
7. Object
8. Subject
9. Object
10. Object