15 Relative clauses: who, which, that, etc.

Brunel was the engineer who first realised the
potential of wider tracks for higher-speed trains.
The clause in bold above is called a relative clause,
and the word ‘who’ is a relative pronoun.
Writing Tip
Relative clauses allow you to define and add
information to what you are saying. Used correctly,
they can be a very effective writing tool.

Rules
There are two types of relative clause:
1 Defining relative clauses, where the information in the clause is essential to the sentence:
The integrated circuit was the key development that led to the personal computer.
The patients who had listened to music before surgery seemed to have experienced less pain.
Without the relative clause, these sentences lose their meaning.
In defining clauses, ‘that’ may be used instead of ‘which’, ‘who’ and ‘whom’

2 Non-defining relative clauses, where the information in the clause is useful, but additional:
Optical fibres, which have a much higher capacity than copper cables, have revolutionised the
telecommunications industry.
Without the relative clause, the sentence still conveys its basic meaning.
In non-defining clauses you may not replace ‘which’, ‘who’ or ‘whom’ with ‘that’, and the clause itself
must be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.

▶▶ Decide what’s wrong with the sentences on the left, before looking at the explanations on the right.

A patent is a legal document, which prevents The information about a patent is essential to the
others from exploiting an invention for a fixed → sentence, so there should not be a comma, and ’that’
period. is preferable to ‘which’.

Grace Hopper who was born in 1906 in New The information about Hopper’s birth is not essential
York developed the idea of computer → so the relative clause ‘who … New York’ needs to be
languages. enclosed by commas.

In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf planet’

This is an example of the second type of relative
by the International Astronomical Union, that is a →
clause, so ‘which’ cannot become ‘that’.
recognised body of professional astronomers.

Corrected sentences
A patent is a legal document that prevents others from exploiting an invention for a fixed period.

Grace Hopper, who was born in 1906 in New York, developed the idea of computer languages.

In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf planet’ by the International Astronomical Union, which is a
recognised body of professional astronomers.

Remember!
In a relative clause, which can sometimes refer to a whole ‘idea’:
The geneticist discussed his hope of finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, which inspired many in his audience.
Here ‘which’ = ‘his hope of finding a cure for Alzheimer’s’.

32 Improve Your Grammar

 Who and whom
 whom is normally used in formal writing when it is the object of the clause, and always after
prepositions such as by, for, from, to, with, etc.
The enquiry was led by Gregory Stillman, whom the government appointed in 2020. (The government
appointed him.)
Stephen Hawking is the physicist with who whom the general public is most familiar.
NOTE: ‘whom’ is not simply a more sophisticated form of ‘who’ and cannot be used generally instead of
‘who’.

Whose and which

whose + noun shows ‘possession’ for people and things
The Anti-Vivisection League is an organisation whose opposition to experiments on animals is well known.
whose → the Anti-Vivisection League’s
NOTE: Do not confuse whose and who’s (= who is).

of which used when writing about things

A European conference on embryo research, whose details/the details of which have not yet been
announced, is likely to be held in Milan next year.

way in which and extent to which

The way in which engineering is perceived by young people may have to change before we see an
increase in its popularity as a university subject.

where instead of in which with the words place, area, situation, etc.
The treatment of anexoria nervosa and bulimia is an area in which/where there is a great deal of
disagreement.

Exercises
1 Decide whether or not these sentences are correct, and correct those that are not.
a Much research has been conducted into schizophrenia, that causes chronic behavioural problems.
b Cox argues that it was the Universal Turing Machine of the 1930s that led the way to digital computing.
c Newton and Einstein are considered to be the scientists to who modern physics owes the greatest debt.
d Water which may indicate the presence of life may have existed relatively recently on the surface of Mars.
e Dr Abel chairs a panel whose views on stem-cell research are regularly reported in the media.

2 Rewrite these sentences to include the information in brackets.

A number of questions were asked about the equipment that was used in the experiment.
a A number of questions were asked about the equipment. (It was used in the experiment.)
b The Jodrell Bank Observatory has played an important part in researching meteors, pulsars and quasars.
The Jodrell Bank Observatory, which was established in 1945, has played an important part in
(It was established in 1945.) researching meteors, pulsars and quasars.
c John Nash made some of the key early insights into modern game theory. (This led to his being co-awarded
John Nash made some of the key early insights into modern game theory, which led to his being
the Nobel Prize in 1994.) co-awarded the Nobel Prize in 1994.
d Michael Faraday was a scientist. (His research into magnetic fields gained him his reputation.)
Michael Faraday, whose research into magnetic fields gained him his reputation, was a scientist.
e The audience were introduced to Margaret Simons. (She had first identified two of the species of spider being
discussed.)
The audience were introduced to Margaret Simons, who had first identified two of the species of spider being discussed.
3 Fill each gap in these texts with a preposition + ‘which’, ‘whose’ or ‘whom’.
a The engineer and entrepreneur James Dyson has been critical of the UK business environment for the way
in…………
which it has prioritised selling and marketing over design and manufacturing.
b Scientists are the people …………
whom we turn for the cures for all our illnesses, yet many complain about the
extent …………
whose research funding ignores lesser-known diseases.
c Louis Pasteur is the French chemist ………… the process of ‘pasteurisation’ is named.
after whom

Unit 15 33