1.

The relative pronouns:

The relative pronouns are:
 

Subjec  Object  Possessive

t
who whom, who whose
which which whose
that that  

We use who and whom  for people, and which for things.

We use that for people or things.

2. Relative clauses to postmodify a noun 

We use relative clauses to postmodify a noun - to make clear which person

or thing we are talking about. In these clauses we can have the relative
pronoun who, which, whose or that

 as subject 

Isn’t that the woman who lives across the road from you?

The police said the accident that happened last night was
unavoidable
The newspaper reported that the tiger which killed its keeper has
been put down.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
We do not repeat the subject:

*The woman who [she] lives across the road…

*The tiger which [it] killed its keeper …

 as object of a clause (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

Have you seen those people who we met on holiday?

You shouldn’t believe everything that you read in the newspaper.
The house that we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing which I enjoyed most about our
holiday.

- Sometimes we use whom instead of who when the relative pronoun

is the object:

Have you seen those people whom we met on holiday?

- When the relative pronoun is object of its clause we sometimes leave

it out:

Have you seen those people we met on holiday?

You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.
 The house we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed most about our holiday.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:

Have you seen those people who we met [them] on holiday?

The house that we rented [it] in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed [it] most about our holiday.

 as object of a preposition. When the relative pronoun is the object of

a preposition we usually put the preposition after the verb.:

You were talking to a woman >>> Who was the woman who you were
talking to?
My parents live in that house >>> That’s the house that my parents
live in.
You were talking about a book. I haven’t read it. >>> I haven’t read
the book which you were talking about.

- When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition we usually

leave it out:

Who was the woman you were talking to?

That’s the house my parents live in.

- Sometimes we use whom instead of who:

Who was that woman whom you were talking about.

- When we use whom, which  or whose the preposition sometimes

comes at the beginning of the clause:

I haven’t read the book about which you were talking.

- We can use the possessive form, whose, in a relative clause:

I always forget that woman’s name >>> That’s the woman whose

name I always forget.
I met a man whose brother works in Moscow.

3. Times and places

We also use when  with times and where  with places to make it

clear which time or place we are talking about:

England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year when we got
married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the tsunami
happened.
Do you remember the place where we caught the train?
Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.

... but we can leave out the word when:

 England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the
tsunami happened.

4. Giving additional information

 We use who, whom, whose, and which (but not that) in relative clauses

to tell us more about a person or thing.

 as subject (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

My uncle, who was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life

overseas.
I have just read Orwell’s 1984, which is one of the most frightening
books ever written.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
We do not repeat the subject:

My uncle, who [he] was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life

overseas.
I have just read Orwell’s 1984, which [it] is one of the most frightening
books ever written.

 as object (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed.

My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw in “On the
Waterfront”.

- we can use whom  instead of who  as object:

My favourite actor was Marlon Brando, whom I saw in “On the

Waterfront”.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:

We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed [it].

My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw [him] in “On the
Waterfront”.

 as object of a preposition:

He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, who he had read about in the

newspaper.
That’s the programme which we listened to last night.

- We sometimes use whom instead of who:

He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, whom he had read about in the

newspaper.

- The preposition sometimes comes in front of the relative

pronoun whom  or which:
 He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, about whom he had read in the
newspaper.
That’s the programme to which we listened last night.

5.  Quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns

 We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns:

many of whom - most of whom - one of which - none of whom

some of which - lots of whom - two of which - etc.

We can use them as subject, object or object of a preposition.

She has three brothers, two of whom are in the army.

I read three books last week, one of which I really enjoyed.
There were some good programmes on the radio, none of which I
listened to.

6. Using  "which" to give more information

We often use the relative pronoun which to say something about a

clause:

He was usually late, which always annoyed his father.

We’ve missed our train, which means we may be late.
I. who, whom, whose, which, why, that, etc
- clauses beginning with question words are often used to identify people and things,
or to give more information about them

1. Mary is the cheerleader. Tom has a big crush on her.

Mary is the cheerleader ___________ Tom has a big crush on.
2. He has written a book. I have forgotten its name.
He has written a book _______________ name I have forgotten.
3. Our house needs painting. It has a red door.
Our house ________________ has a red door needs painting.
4. Monet is an imminent artist. Miranda looks up to him.
Monet is an imminent artist ________________Miranda looks up to.
5. HK has over 7 million people. It is densely populated.
HK, _____________population is over 7 million, is densely populated.

II. Reduced relative clasusing: -ing/ -ed

1. The man (who is swimming in the lake) is my father

The man ___________in the lake is my father.

2. The man (who was killed in this accident) is Mary’s husband.

The man _____________ in this accident is Mary’s husband.

3. The boy (who is being scolded by Mr. Smith) is Jonathan.

The boy __________________ by Mr. Smith is Jonathan

4. The training is being held in Belgium. It is extremely intensive.

The training __________________ in Belgium is extremely intensive.

5. A tile which fell from a roof shattered into fragments.

6. The man who was caught red-handed by a constable is a car thief.

III. With whom, to whom, in which, from which, where, wherby

1. Mozart was born in this house. It is now a museum.
The house________________ Mozart was born ls now a museum.

2. Diabetes is a medical conditionn. A person with this condition has high

blood sugar levels.
Diabetes is a medical condition ____________________(infomzal) a person has
high blood sugar levels.
 3. This is the road by which I travel to work.
This is the road ______________ I travel to work.

4. Mary is a happy girl. I live with her.

Mary,_____________________ I live, is ahappy girl.

5. I0th of October is a memorable day. This is the day they got married on.
10th of October is a memorable day _________________ they got married.

6. February is a usual month. Many people take skiing holidays.

February is a usual month ____________________ many people take skiing
holidays.

IV. one of whom, some of which, either of which, etc.

1. The writer was a chef. His first book had been a bestseller.
The writer,_________________________ had been a bestseller, was a chef.

2. We’ve tested three hundred types of boots. None of them is waterproof.

We’ve tested three hundred types of boots, _________________________ is
waterproof.

3. The children were tired. All of them had played the whole day long.
The children, ___________________, had played the whole day long, were tired.

4. She had a teddy-bear. Both of its eyes were missing.

She had a teddy-bear, ____________________________were missing.

5. The solar system consists of eight planets. The largest planet is Jupiter.
The solar system consists of eight planets, ______________________is Jupiter.

V. Which (referring to situations)

- placing a comma before which qualify a whole sentence, not just a noun

1. The candidate lost the election. This was unexpected .

The candidate lost the election ____________________ unexpected .

2. The sports day was suspended due to weather. It was a pity.

The sports day was suspended due to weather ______________a pity.

3. Sean decided to resign his job. His act upset some of his colleagues.
Sean decided to resign his _____________________some of his colleagues

4. The movie won’t be released until June. This is disappointing.

 The movie won’t be released until June________________ disappointing.
5. The divorce rate has dramatically increased recently. This is worrying.
The divorce rate has dramatically increased recently______________
worrying.

6. He got married again a year after divorce. This surprised everybody.

He got married again a year after divorce________________ everybody.

VI. in which case / at which point/time/ during which time

1. It may rain tomorrow _________ the show will be suspended.

2. Peter stayed in Melbourne for five years, __________________________

he completed a master degree course.

3. He fainted,_______________________ a doctor came by.

4. Wait until noon, _______________________ the result will be announced.

5. She may be late, _______________________we buy the tickets first.

6. The semester will last for 3 hours, ____________________ I will have felt
asleep.

VII. which with other wh-words

1. John left the house at 11, ___________________ Mary was killed.

2. He left some footprints in the snow, _________________ we tracked him

down.

3. She dropped her candy on the floor___________________ she was crying.

4. All students are in the hall, _________________you are supposed to be.

5. He gave us his address, we contacted him.

6. She suddenly burst into tears ________________________confused us.

VIII. by means of which / according to whom / in relation to whom / in support of

which / whom

1. This is the _______________________________ the first crossing of the

Atlantic was achieved.
2. We are alarmed at the news reported d by villagers, __________________
Thomas was already dead.
3. Following the amendments, a vulnerable adult is any person aged 18 or
above ________________________ regulated activities are carried out.

4. I will now introduce the candidate ____________________I wish to speak.

5. Sound is a tool ________________________ people communicate with each

other.

6. The shipyard strike, _____________________________ the general strike

had been called, persisted.

7. The content specifies the subject ________________________ the act is to

be performed.

8. I spoke to Peter, _______________________ you are theheir to the throne

of Norway.