Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronouns
Relative
Pronouns
Lesson & Exercises
Relative pronouns refer back to the noun that immediately precedes them; they are used to join clauses smoothly.
Most of these words begin with w, so you can also think of them as “w-words.”
They include:
• Who
• Whose
• Whom
• Which
• That
• Where
• When
In the examples below, notice how a pronoun from the first sentence becomes the relative pronoun in the second.
Which
Sentence 1: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels are set in Middle-earth.
Sentence 2: It is an imaginary continent inhabited by a variety of mystical creatures.
Combined: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels are set in Middle-earth, which is an imaginary
continent inhabited by a variety of mystical creatures.
Who
Sentence 1: W.E.B. Dubois’ intellectual gifts were recognized by many of his high school teachers.
Sentence 2: They encouraged DuBois to further his education.
Combined: W.E.B. Dubois’ intellectual gifts were recognized by many of his high school teachers,
who encouraged DuBois to further his education.
That
Sentence 1: ShapeShifter is a computer program.
Sentence 2: It offers users the opportunity to design animations without purchasing expensive
software or licenses.
Combined: ShapeShifter is a computer program that offers users the opportunity to design
animations without purchasing expensive software or licenses.
Note that relative clauses beginning with that are never set off by a comma.
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Where
Sentence 1: William Faulkner’s novels are set mostly in Mississippi.
Sentence 2: Faulkner was born in Mississippi and spent his entire life there.
Combined: William Faulkner’s novels are set mostly in Mississippi, where Faulkner was
born and spent his entire life.
When
Sentence 1: Thomas Jefferson returned to the United States from Paris in 1820.
Sentence 2: At that time, he finished serving as the American ambassador to France.
Combined: Thomas Jefferson returned to the United States from Paris in 1820, when he finished
serving as the American ambassador to France.
“Embedded” Clauses
Relative phrases and clauses can also appear in the middle of a sentence. Used this way, they allow you to “embed”
one statement in another in order to make your writing smoother and more fluid.
Relative clauses that begin with which (and sometimes who/whose, when, and where) are non-essential, or non-
restrictive. Typically inserted before the verb, they are surrounded by commas and can be crossed out of a sentence
without affecting its basic meaning or structure.
They also allow you to indicate ideas’ relative importance. By definition, non-essential information is less important
than the main part of the sentence; it’s more like an aside to the reader.
Which
Sentence 1: Voltaire’s novel Candide was one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth
century.
Sentence 2: It was written sometime between 1757 and 1758.
To combine the two sentences, the subject pronoun it is replaced with the relative pronoun which, and the new
clause is inserted into the first sentence, before the verb was.
Combined: Voltaire’s novel Candide, which was written sometime between 1757 and 1758,
was one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth century.
Who
Sentence 1: The works of the French writer Voltaire are still widely read today.
Sentence 2: He is considered one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment.
Combined: The works of the French writer Voltaire, who is considered one of the most
important figures of the Enlightenment, are still widely read today.
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Essential Clauses
Essential, or restrictive, clauses begin with that and are known as such because they are essential to the meaning of
a sentence.
These clauses can also be embedded in the middle of a sentence in order to combine what would otherwise be two
short, choppy statements.
Like non-essential clauses, essential clauses are usually inserted before the verb in the first sentence. Unlike non-
essential clauses, however, they are never set off by commas.
Sentence 1: Medications are known as generic drugs.
Sentence 2: They are manufactured and sold without patent protection.
Combined: Medications that are manufactured and sold without patent protection are known as
generic drugs.
Here, the bolded clause is essential because without it, the sentence would imply that all medications are known as
generic drugs – not at all the case. Instead, the sentence is actually describing a particular type of medication: one
that is manufactured and sold without patent protection.
The “combined” version of the above sentence can also be correctly written without that are. In fact, when an
essential clause begins with the construction that is/are + participle, the participle alone can also be used.
Correct: Medications that are manufactured and sold without patent protection are known as
generic drugs.
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Exercise: Forming Relative Clauses
For the following sentences, combine the two clauses using the relative pronoun indicated.
Combine the two sentences, placing the relative clause at the end.
1. Sentence 1: The Declaration of Sentiments was a document.

Sentence 2: It was based on the Declaration of Independence. (that)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Sentence 1: Ownership of the Arctic is governed by the 1958 Law of the Sea.
Sentence 2: It gives Arctic nations an exclusive economic zone 200 nautical miles from land. (which)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Sentence 1: The printing press was introduced in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg.

Sentence 2: He devised a hand mold to create movable metal type. (who)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Sentence 1: SpaceX was founded in June 2002 by Elon Musk.

Sentence 2: His goal was to build a simple and relatively inexpensive reusable rocket. (whose)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Sentence 1: Most volcanic activity occurs on the sea floor.

Sentence 2: In that place, tectonic plates are spreading the earth apart. (where)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Combine the two sentences by embedding the second sentence in the middle of the first, before the verb.
6. Sentence 1: Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the most renowned architects of the twentieth century.
Sentence 2: He founded the Prairie School movement. (who)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
7. Sentence 1: Japan’s bullet train is the world’s fastest high-speed railway.

Sentence 2: It travels between the cities of Tokyo and Osaka. (which)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Sentence 1: Sutter’s Mill was located on the South Fork American River in Coloma, California.
Sentence 2: Gold was found there in 1849. (where)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
9. Sentence 1: The design of Paris’s Pompidou Center marked a radical break with tradition.
Sentence 2: Its exterior was covered with brightly colored tubes. (whose)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
10. Sentence 1: Evolutionary adaptations are more likely to produce diseases in modern humans.
Sentence 2: They might have aided survival during prehistoric times. (that)
Combined: ____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________
People vs. Things
Some relative pronouns refer to people only; some refer to things only; and some refer to both people and things.
People Things People & Things
Who Which Whose

Whom That
Which can refer to only to things, never to people.
Incorrect: An industry is emerging to shield fliers from large change fees, who generate billions
of dollars annually for airlines.
Correct: An industry is emerging to shield fliers from large change fees, which generate
billions of dollars annually for airlines.
Conversely, who(m) can only be used to refer to people, never things.
Incorrect: King Henry VIII was a British monarch which ruled England during the Tudor period
and was known for his many wives.
Correct: King Henry VIII was a British monarch who ruled England during the Tudor
period and was known for his many wives.
Note, however, that whose can refer to either people or things.
Correct: The Dutch painter Gerrit von Honthorst trained at the studio of Abraham Bloemart,
whose style evolved from Francken to Italianate in the early sixteenth century
Correct: Although it is a smaller city than either London or New York, Dublin possesses a
thriving theater scene whose productions regularly achieve international renown.
That is commonly used to refer to both things and people, although the second use is somewhat controversial.
In general, you can safely use that with collective nouns. Referring to individuals this way, however, can give the
reader the impression that you are viewing people as objects rather than human beings.
Iffy: Although certain genetic mutations always result in the development of a disease,
patients that have identical mutations can display widely varying symptoms.
Acceptable: Although certain genetic mutations always result in the development of a disease,
groups who have identical mutations can display widely varying symptoms.
Better: Although certain genetic mutations always result in the development of a disease,
patients who have identical mutations can display widely varying symptoms.
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Who vs. Whom
At the simplest level, there are two main things you need to know about who and whom.
1) Who comes before a verb.

2) Whom comes after a preposition (e.g., of, to, with, by, for, from).
Before a Verb
Incorrect: Emily Dickinson was not only a poet but also a distinguished letter-writer whom
exchanged thousands of pieces of correspondence with friends and family.
Because exchanged is a verb, who must be placed before it.
Correct: Emily Dickinson was not only a poet but also a distinguished letter-writer who
exchanged thousands of pieces of correspondence with friends and family.
After a Preposition
Incorrect: Among Emily Dickinson’s favorite writing partners was her sister-in-law, Susan
Huntington, with who Dickinson exchanged hundreds of letters.
Correct: Among Emily Dickinson’s favorite writing partners was her sister-in-law, Susan
Huntington, with whom Dickinson exchanged hundreds of letters.
Although formal English has traditionally prohibited the use of prepositions at the ends of sentences (more about
that in a little bit), writers do of course end their sentences with prepositions all the time.
When whom would normally follow a preposition, it should be used even if the preposition appears at the end of
the sentence.
Correct: Among Emily Dickinson’s favorite writing partners was her sister-in-law, Susan
Huntington, whom Dickinson exchanged hundreds of letters with.
Important: when the construction pronoun + of whom appears, it is acceptable for a verb to be placed after whom. The
use of whom is determined by the preposition of, not by the verb.
This is the most important exception to the “no whom before a verb” rule.
Incorrect: The members of the youth orchestra, many of who have been studying music since
a very young age, are frequently praised for the exceptional quality of their playing.
Correct: The members of the youth orchestra, many of whom have been studying music
since a very young age, are frequently praised for the exceptional quality of their
playing.
You can also think of it this way: when pronoun + of whom is used, the entire phrase acts as a subject As a result, a
verb can be placed immediately afterward.
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Subjects and Objects
The who vs. whom rules we’ve just looked at are fairly straightforward to master in the sense that it isn’t really
necessary to know anything about subjects or objects to apply them.
If you really want to use who and whom correctly, however, you need to have a general understanding of subjects
and objects.
Each subject pronoun has an object counterpart.
Subject Object
I Me
You You
S/he Her, Him
We Us
They Them
In terms of relative pronouns:
Who corresponds to subject pronouns.

Whom corresponds to object pronouns.
Let’s start with something very simple.
Correct: I saw James yesterday.
In the above sentence, James is the object of the verb saw. (Who was seen? James.) As a result, James can be replaced
with the object pronoun him.
Correct: I saw him yesterday.
Now, if we want to rewrite the sentence using a relative pronoun, the object form whom must be used.
Correct: James is the person whom I saw yesterday.
If you’re not sure whether whom is correct, see whether an object pronoun (him, her, them) can be placed after the
verb. If it can, whom should be used.
Correct: In sincerely trying to find the truth about factual claims, people must often decide
whom to believe.
Substitute: People must decide to believe them.
Because an object pronoun follows the verb believe, whom is the correct form.
____________________________________________
Let’s look at another example:
Correct: John Brown, who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, was a man whom Lincoln
disowned until the beginning of the Civil War.
Substitute: Lincoln disowned John Brown = Lincoln disowned him.
Because John Brown can be replaced with the object pronoun him, it is again correct to use whom.
Now let’s look at something really tricky:
Incorrect: John Brown was a man whom Lincoln believed was responsible for stoking tensions
between the states.
The above sentence can be rewritten as follows:
Substitute: Lincoln believed John Brown was responsible for stoking tensions between the states.
= Lincoln believed he was responsible for stoking tensions between the states.
Correct: John Brown was a man who Lincoln believed was responsible for stoking tensions
between the states.
Where & When

Where is for places (physical locations) only. To refer to works of art/literature, use in which.
Incorrect: The novel Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a story where the protagonist
survives on a raft in the ocean for nearly a year, accompanied only by a tiger.
Correct: The novel Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a story in which the protagonist
survives on a raft in the ocean for nearly a year, accompanied only by a tiger.
When a place is being referred to, where and in which are both acceptable. In which is simply a bit more formal.
Correct: Although Einstein predicted black holes, regions of space where gravity is so
intense that not even light can escape, he had difficulty believing they could exist.
Correct: Although Einstein predicted black holes, regions of space in which gravity is so
intense that not even light can escape, he had difficulty believing they could exist.
When is for times and time periods.
Incorrect: The Middle Ages was a period where many farmers were bound to the lands they
worked.
Correct: The Middle Ages was a period when many farmers were bound to the lands they
worked.
Preposition + which is also an acceptable alternative to when.
Correct: The Middle Ages was a period in/during which many farmers were bound to the
lands they worked.
____________________________________________
Whereby
In some cases, whereby can also be used in place of by which or according to which. This construction typically appears
in the context of systems or processes/procedures.
Correct: Scientific inquiry is a process whereby researchers traverse the abyss between the
known and the unknown, suspended by intuition, adventurousness, a healthy dose of
stubbornness, and a measure of luck.
Although this pronoun may strike you as odd or antiquated, it is in fact perfectly acceptable.
Ending Sentences With Prepositions

The prohibition against ending sentences with prepositions is one of the odder quirks of the English language.
Unlike grammatical rules that evolved to make writing clearer and easier to follow, this one is highly arbitrary.
To make a long story short, in the seventeenth century, when English was still struggling to attain equal status with
Latin as a language of the educated classes, a well-known writer (reportedly John Dryden) decided that because
Latin sentences could not be ended with prepositions, then the same should be true of “proper” English.
Unfortunately, this proclamation ignored an important difference between Latin and English. In Latin, it is
effectively impossible to end a sentence with a preposition. English, however, is also a Germanic language – and in
German, it is not only possible but often necessary to end a sentence with a preposition. From a strictly grammatical
standpoint, the “don’t end a sentence with a preposition rule” is, to put it bluntly, nonsense.
That said, tradition exerts a very strong pull, and there are undoubtedly still grammar purists who are inclined to
view the placement of a preposition at the end of a sentence in formal writing as a form of sacrilege.
In general, you should use both your ear and common sense: in some instances, ending a sentence with a
preposition might sound most natural.
Acceptable: Although Mansfield Park ends with the heroine’s marriage to the man (whom) she has
set her heart on, the novel expresses a strong degree of ambivalence toward the
pursuit and achievement of marriage, especially for women.
In this case, the sentence is already quite complex. As a result, saying Although Mansfield Park ends with the heroine’s
marriage to the man on whom she has set her heart could come off as stilted and overly correct. The preposition at the
end of the clause improves the overall flow of the sentence.
In other cases, preposition + which/whom may simply add a degree of formality.
Less formal: Among Emily Dickinson’s favorite writing partners was her sister-in-law, Susan
Huntington, whom Dickinson exchanged hundreds of letters with.
More formal: Among Emily Dickinson’s favorite writing partners was her sister-in-law, Susan
Huntington, with whom Dickinson exchanged hundreds of letters.
____________________________________________
One preposition that should not be placed unnecessarily at the end of a sentence is at. Although constructions such
as I didn’t know where he was at are common in spoken English, they are very awkward in written English and draw
the reader’s attention away from the action of the sentence.
Awkward: Seeking to obtain a better understanding of where citrus trees originated at,
researchers studied the genomes of more than 50 types of citrus fruit.
Better: Seeking to obtain a better understanding of where citrus trees originated, researchers
studied the genomes of more than 50 types of citrus fruit.
In addition, note that when preposition + which is used, a separate preposition should not also be used at the end of
the sentence.
Incorrect: Not only have amateur astronomers contributed to many important discoveries, but
astronomy also remains one of the few sciences in which non-professionals can still
play an active role for.
Correct: Not only have amateur astronomers contributed to many important discoveries, but
astronomy also remains one of the few sciences in which non-professionals can still
play an active role.
____________________________________________
Exercise: Relative Pronouns
For the following sentences, identify and correct any error in relative pronoun usage.
1. For delicate patients which cannot handle the rigors of certain treatments, some doctors are now rejecting the
assembly line of modern medical care for gentler, more traditional options.
2. In its later years, the Bauhaus architectural movement became a kind of religion in which heretics had to be
excommunicated by those who held the true light.
3. In 1623, Galileo published a work where he championed the controversial theory of heliocentrism, thus
provoking one of the greatest scientific controversies of his day.
4. Keyless entry systems often make uses of hidden cameras, which allow residents to screen visitors discreetly
and determine whom to allow inside.
5. It has taken many decades for scientists to piece together the riddle of just where cats first became
domesticated at.
6. When readers whom obtain their news from electronic rather than printed sources send articles to their
friends, they tend to choose ones that contain intellectually challenging topics.
7. In his utopian novel Walden Two, B.F. Skinner invents a world in which emotions such as envy have become
obsolete because people are conditioned as children to reject them.
8. Most evidence points towards the deep past, approximately four billion years ago, as the era during which
Mars could have held marine environments in.
9. One of the least popular Romance languages, Romansch is traditionally spoken by people who inhabit the
southern regions of Switzerland.
10 Ada Lovelace, for who the programming language Ada is named, was a pioneer in computer science,
. foreseeing how an “analytical engine” could be built more than a century before the first such machine was
constructed.
____________________________________________
Answers: Forming Relative Clauses
1. The Declaration of Sentiments was a document that was based on the Declaration of Independence.
2. Ownership of the Arctic is governed by the 1958 Law of the Sea, which gives Arctic nations an exclusive
economic zone 200 nautical miles from land.
3. The printing press was introduced in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg, who devised a hand mold to create
movable metal type.
4. SpaceX was founded in June 2002 by Elon Musk, whose goal was to build a simple and relatively inexpensive
reusable rocket.
5. Most volcanic activity occurs on the sea floor, where tectonic plates are spreading the earth apart.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright, who founded the Prairie School movement, was one of the most renowned architects of
the twentieth century.
7. Japan’s bullet train, which travels between the cities of Tokyo and Osaka, is the world’s fastest high-speed
railway.
8. Sutter’s Mill, where gold was found in 1849, was located on the South Fork American River in Coloma,
California.
9. The design of Paris’s Pompidou Center, whose exterior was covered with brightly colored tubes, marked a
radical break with tradition.
10. Evolutionary adaptations that might have aided survival during prehistoric times are more likely to produce
diseases in modern humans.
____________________________________________
Exercise: Relative Pronouns
1. For delicate patients who cannot handle the rigors of certain treatments, some doctors are now rejecting the
assembly line of modern medical care for gentler, more traditional options.
2. Correct
3. In 1623, Galileo published a work in which he championed the controversial theory of heliocentrism, thus
provoking one of the greatest scientific controversies of his day.
4. Correct
5. It has taken many decades for scientists to piece together the riddle of just where cats first became
domesticated at.
6. When readers who obtain their news from electronic rather than printed sources send articles to their friends,
they tend to choose ones that contain intellectually challenging topics.
7. Correct
8. Most evidence points towards the deep past, approximately four billion years ago, as the era during which
Mars could have held marine environments in.
9. Correct
10. Ada Lovelace, for whom the programming language Ada is named, was a pioneer in computer science,
foreseeing how an “analytical engine” could be built more than a century before the first such machine was
constructed.
____________________________________________

Relative Pronouns

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Sentence 2: It is an imaginary continent inhabited by a variety of mystical creatures.

Sentence 2: They encouraged DuBois to further his education.

Sentence 1: ShapeShifter is a computer program.

Sentence 1: William Faulkner’s novels are set mostly in Mississippi.

Sentence 2: At that time, he finished serving as the American ambassador to France.

Sentence 2: It was written sometime between 1757 and 1758.

Sentence 2: He is considered one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment.

Sentence 1: Medications are known as generic drugs.

Sentence 2: They are manufactured and sold without patent protection.

1. Sentence 1: The Declaration of Sentiments was a document.

3. Sentence 1: The printing press was introduced in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg.

4. Sentence 1: SpaceX was founded in June 2002 by Elon Musk.

5. Sentence 1: Most volcanic activity occurs on the sea floor.

7. Sentence 1: Japan’s bullet train is the world’s fastest high-speed railway.

People Things People & Things

Who Which Whose

Which can refer to only to things, never to people.

Conversely, who(m) can only be used to refer to people, never things.

Note, however, that whose can refer to either people or things.

1) Who comes before a verb.

Because exchanged is a verb, who must be placed before it.

Each subject pronoun has an object counterpart.

In terms of relative pronouns:

Who corresponds to subject pronouns.

Let’s start with something very simple.

Correct: I saw James yesterday.

Correct: I saw him yesterday.

Correct: James is the person whom I saw yesterday.

Substitute: People must decide to believe them.

Substitute: Lincoln disowned John Brown = Lincoln disowned him.

Now let’s look at something really tricky:

The above sentence can be rewritten as follows:

Where & When

When is for times and time periods.

Preposition + which is also an acceptable alternative to when.

Ending Sentences With Prepositions

In other cases, preposition + which/whom may simply add a degree of formality.

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