Juan Carlos Ruiz Perea

THE RELATIVE CLAUSES (“WHO, WHICH, THAT)

 “who, that” are used for humans
Here’s the man (who/that) I told you about

 “Which/that” are used for things

This is the dress (which/that) I bought last week.

 Whose/which express possession and cannot be omitted

Whose is used for people, animals and inanimate objects

This is Mrs Jones, whose son studies in Paris.

I placed the iPhone whose screen was broken

Fill in using “who, which or whose” where necessary.

which
1. Harry has black hair______________ is starting to turn grey.
2. The car______________
whose is parked outside is John's.
who
3. That's the man ______________ fixed my car.
4. James Watt was an inventor ________________
whose ideas changed the world.
5. That's Mrs Smith, _______________husband
whose is a surgeon.
whose
6. This is the dog _______________ leg is broken.
7. There's a concert on tonight _____________l'd
which like to see.
who
8. Albert's the man ______________you should see about your garden.
who
9. That's the girl ______________ purse was stolen.
whose
10. Mrs Black, ________________cat died last week, is moving to Bristol.
whose
11. That's the table _______________legs need mending.
which
12. There's the house _______________ was talking about.
who
13. He knows the girl _________________ has three dogs.
whose
14. He knows the girl ________________ three dogs are beautiful.
whose
15. This is John ________________ laptop was stolen this morning.

Relative clauses are introduced with

a) relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which or that) and
b) relative adverbs (when, where, why) as follows.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

used for people (who/that)

There's the boy who/that won first prize

used for animals (which/that things)

I read a book which/that was very boring

RELATIVE ADVERBS

 Time when (= in/on/at which)

1876 was the year when the telephone was invented

 Place where (= in/at/ on/to which)

That's the hotel where we spent our summer holiday
  Reason why (= far which)
Lack of qualifications was the reason (why) she didn't get the job.

Fill in using “when, where or why” where necessary.

where
1 This is the town _______________ I grew up.
why
2 Do you know the reason ________________she was crying yesterday?
why
3 There are several Reasons______________ I can't go to the party.
when
4 I'll never forget the day ________________ I first met Joan.
where
5 The Star Bar, _______________ I worked for a while, has closed down.
where
6 That picture was taken in the park _________________ I used to play.
when
7 I remember the day _______________ we first met.
8 Tell me _______________
why you came home late.
when
9 There was a very hot summer the year _________________ he was born.
where
10 That's the restaurant ________________ we met for the first time.

WHO VS WHOM
What to Know:
Whom is the objective case of who. It is the form of who in the object position of a sentence,
To determine when to use whom, figure out if the "who" is the noun that receives the action of a verb “object of
the sentence” ("Who gave it to you?" vs "You gave it to whom?").

Rule. Use this he/him method to decide whether who or whom is correct:
he = who
him = whom

Examples:

Who/Whom wrote the letter?

He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct.

Who/Whom should I vote for?

Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is correct.

Exercise 1. For each of the following, choose the correct sentence.

a) You’ll be shocked when I tell you who called me last night.

b) You’ll be shocked when I tell you whom called me last night.

a) Who should I ask to the dance?

b) Whom should I ask to the dance?

a) The doctor who you recommended is not available for three months.
b) The doctor whom you recommended is not available for three months.

a) Cedric hasn’t decided whom should be appointed yet.

b) Cedric hasn’t decided who should be appointed yet.

a) I’m looking for an assistant on whom I can depend.

b) I’m looking for an assistant on who I can depend.
a) She is the woman whom I met for lunch yesterday.
 b) She is the woman who I met for lunch yesterday.

a) Whom will you be vacationing with?

b) Who will you be vacationing with?

a) Who left this report on my desk?

b) Whom left this report on my desk?

REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING:

 Who is always the subject. The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that
is doing or being something; the subject performs the action

 Whom is always an object. The object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that the subject
does something to; the object is the receiver of the action.

We use whom commonly with prepositions.

Examples:

He is the person with whom I was having a conversation

He is the person to whom I had a conversation
He didn’t ask for whom I had voted.

Exercise 2. Fill in using “who, or whom” where necessary.

1 To _______________
whom are you talking ? I am waiting for you.
2 ______________
Whom cares about what he was talking about?
whom did this boy want to play?
3 With ______________
4 ______________
Who is at the door now? I can't be quiet.
whom
5 With _______________ did they want to go out in summer?
Whom
6 _______________ would like to come with me for a trip?
7 ______________
Whom are you looking at?
who
8 The man, ________________ I met yesterday, was from other country.
who
9 The boys, _______________ live in the capital, were very glad to be there.
Who
10 _______________ is your best friend?
who
11 I just want to know ______________ made this delicious cake!
12 Do you know the person ______________
who is gazing at me.
13 To ________________
whom have you offered the flowers?
14 My parents will accept ________________
who I choose as my husband/wife!
15 For ________________
whom are you buying this present?
16 Tell me, ___________________
who told you this wonderful news?
17 The electrician __________________
who I asked for assistance was very helpful!
18 ____________________
Who gave you permission to get into this room?
Who
19 __________________ wrote this beautiful love poem?
20 With __________________
whom are you having this conversation?

Position of prepositions in relative clauses

PREPOSITIONS can come EITHER BEFORE relative pronouns OR AT THE END of the relative clause.
e.g. This is the house in which Shakespeare lived. (formal)
This is the house Shakespeare lived in. (informal)
Also: This is the house where Shakespeare lived.

Note: “WHO” and “THAT” ARE NOT USED AFTER PREPOSITIONS

e.g. This is the boy with whom I went out (formal)
This is the boy (who) I went out with. (informal)

EXAMPLES:

a) Mary looks very nice; she is the new secretary.

WHO
Mary, who is the new secretary, looks very nice.
b) The Browns live next door; their son is a dentist.
WHOSE
The Browns, whose son is a dentist, live next door.
e) The book is on the top shelf; It's about plants.
WHICH
The book which is about plants is on the top shelf.
The book which is on the top shelf is about plants.
d) August is the month when they got married.
WHICH
August is the month in which they got married.

Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words. The first one has been done as an
example.
EXAMPLE:
1 The cat is sitting at the window. lt belongs to my aunt. Which
The cat which is sitting at the window belongs to my aunt.

2 Tim is Lucy's brother; he loves basketball. Who

Tim, …………………… , is Lucy's brother. who loves basketball
3 Ann is very upset; her car was stolen. Whose
Ann, ……………………….., is very upset. whose car was stolen
4 The village is very nice. lt's close to the forest. Which
The village, ……………………. the forest is very nice. which is close to
5 The woman arrived yesterday; she is the new manager. Who
The woman………………….. is the new manager. who is the new manager
6 The chair is very old; its legs are broken. Whose
The chair is very old. whose legs are broken
7 1970 was the year when my sister was born. Which
1970 …………………. my sister was born. which was the year when
8 The man is standing next to John. He's my cousin. Who
The man ……………….. John is my cousin. who is my cousin
9 Helen called two minutes ago. Her mother is ill. Whose
Helen, ……………….., called two minutes ago. whose mother is ill
10 1966 was the year when I got my divorce. Which
1966 ................................... I got my divorce. which was the year when

Rewrite the sentences in as many ways as possible as in the example:

That's the office block where my mother works.

That's the office block in which my mother works.
That's the office block (which) my mother works in....

2 He's the person for whom I wrote that report.

He's the person who I wrote the report for
_________________________________________________
3 The project on which we were working is finished
The project that we were working is finished
_________________________________________________
4 This is the church in which my parents were married.
This is the church where my parent were married
_________________________________________________
5 This is the car we drove through Europe in.
This is the car in which we drove through Europe
________________________________________________
6 That is the shopkeeper whom I had an argument with.
That is the shopkeeper with whom I had an argument
_________________________________________________
7 That's the cottage we used to live in.
That´s th ecottage which we used to live
_________________________________________________
8 This is Peter, with whom I went to Spain.
This is Peter who went to Sapin with me
_________________________________________________