Relative Clauses Presentation

How it works

Who, which, that, where, whose: adding information about a noun. Defining and non-defining clauses, when to drop the pronoun, and why commas matter.

• The man who lives next door is a pilot. People take who (or that). Russian «который» covers people and things alike, so which slips in for people.
• My phone, which is only a year old, has stopped working. Between commas (extra information) use which or who, never that. Spanish «que» works in both kinds of clause, so learners use that everywhere.
• This is the book that I told you about. The relative pronoun already stands for the book, so there is no extra it. The slip is most common when a preposition ends the clause.
• The woman who lives upstairs is a doctor. You can drop the pronoun only when it is the object (the film we watched). Here who is the subject of lives, so it must stay.

The form

Examples (1/2)

• 💼The colleague who sits next to me is moving to Berlin.
• 📱This is the app which I use for budgeting.
• 👩‍⚕️My sister, who lives in Oslo, works as a nurse.
• ☕The café where we first met has closed.
• 👨‍🍳I have a friend whose brother is a famous chef.

Examples (2/2)

• 🎬The film we watched last night was brilliant.
• 🤝Our new manager, who started on Monday, seems friendly.
• 🏖️Barcelona, which I visited in May, was full of tourists.
• 🚉Do you remember the day when we missed the last train?
• 📝Students who submit late lose ten points.

Which is right?

1. The man who lives next door is a pilot.
2. The man which lives next door is a pilot.

People take who (or that). Russian «который» covers people and things alike, so which slips in for people.

Which is right?

1. My phone, that is only a year old, has stopped working.
2. My phone, which is only a year old, has stopped working.

Between commas (extra information) use which or who, never that. Spanish «que» works in both kinds of clause, so learners use that everywhere.

Which is right?

1. This is the book that I told you about it.
2. This is the book that I told you about.

The relative pronoun already stands for the book, so there is no extra it. The slip is most common when a preposition ends the clause.

Which is right?

1. The woman lives upstairs is a doctor.
2. The woman who lives upstairs is a doctor.

You can drop the pronoun only when it is the object (the film we watched). Here who is the subject of lives, so it must stay.

Summary