Easy Guide on Omitting English Relative Pronouns “Which, Who,

and That”

By Robby

If you are new here please read this first.

Do you ever think English grammar is just trying to confuse you? If you’re trying
to learn English, all the grammatical rules and exceptions can be overwhelming.
Heck, even as a native English speaker, I often feel like English was designed
specifically to be as complicated as possible! For example, why is it that both of
the following sentences are great…

        The dog that Mary is petting is very fluffy.

        The dog Mary is petting is very fluffy.

…but only the first of the following two sentences is acceptable?

        The dog that has brown fur is very fluffy. (This is fine!)

        The dog has brown fur is very fluffy. (This is bad!)

In this article, I’ll be talking to you about sentences in which you can (and can’t)
omit relative clauses, such as who, that, or which.
These are called contact clauses, because they consist of two clauses that are
right next to each other, and therefore they come into contact with each other.
By the end of this article, the sentences above will be confusing no more – and
you’ll be forming contact clauses of your own ❗

Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns

Let’s start with something familiar: the relative clause. In English, we use
relative clauses to provide additional information about something without
starting an entirely new sentence. For example, rather than saying this…

        John is my friend. He is wearing jeans.

…we can use a relative clause, and instead say this:

        John is my friend who is wearing jeans.

As the above examples show you, relative clauses function as adjectives: they
tell you some information about what John is wearing. All relative clauses start
with relative pronouns, such as “that”, “which”, “who”. Here’s some more
examples of relative clauses with each type of pronoun:

        I drive a car that was made in Germany.

        English is a language which has a very complicated grammar.

        The teacher who taught me English knows thousands of words.

Make sense? Great – now that you’ve got an excellent idea of how relative
clauses work, you’re well on your way to figuring out when you can omit relative
pronouns.

Subjects and objects

Relative pronouns can be either subjects or objects. However, subject and

object relative pronouns look exactly the same, so you need to be a grammar
detective to figure out which ones are subjects and which ones are objects.
Luckily, I’ve got some tips that makes it easy to find out which is which.
Subject pronouns: If a verb comes right after a relative pronoun, then the
relative pronoun is a subject. Let’s take a look at an example:

        The woman who rode the subway was very pretty.

As you can see, the verb “rode” comes right after the relative pronoun “who” –
and therefore, we know that the relative pronoun is a subject.

Object pronouns: If, on the other hand, there isn’t a verb directly after the
relative pronoun, then we know that the relative pronoun is an object. Let’s
check out an example of this:

        The woman whom John saw on the subway was very pretty.

Here, the relative pronoun “whom” is followed by the proper noun “John”, and
therefore we know that it is an object.

Contact clauses

So we’ve mastered the relative clause and the distinction between subject and
object pronouns, and the distinction between defining and nondefining clauses.
What, you ask, does this have to do with omitting “that”, “which,” and “who”?

Believe it or not, I’ve just given you all the information you need to know about
omitting relative pronouns from sentences. Let’s return to our first example
about the fluffy dogs:

        The dog that Mary is petting is very fluffy.

        The dog Mary is petting is very fluffy.

Do you notice anything about these sentences? Indeed – in this sentence, the
relative pronoun “that” is an object. Note that here, you can omit the relative
pronoun!

Now, let’s again revisit the fluffy dog in a different sentence:

        The dog that has brown fur is very fluffy.

Aha! Here, the relative pronoun “that” is a subject, because there is a verb right
next to it. And not that here, you cannot omit the relative pronoun.

Now do you understand why sometimes you can omit the relative pronoun and
make a contact clause, but sometimes you can’t? It’s all about subjects and
objects. When the relative pronoun acts as an object, you can omit it, and
create a contact clause. But when the relative pronoun acts as a subject, you
absolutely cannot omit it – no exceptions ❗

Quickly solving the problem

Right now, you might be thinking, “This makes sense . . . but how can I possibly
do it quickly enough?” Indeed, it seems like a lot of work to identify a relative
clause, see if the pronoun is a subject or an object, and then decide if you can
omit it. Luckily, there are a couple ways to do this quickly and accurately.

First, just focus on the verb, not the pronoun!

If there’s a verb immediately after the relative pronoun, you know it’s a subject,
and you can’t omit the relative pronoun. If there’s no verb, you’re good to go –
you can create a contact clause!

For example:

        The water that splashed my face was very cold. (Verb after relative
pronoun = you can’t omit the relative pronoun!)

        The water that I drank was very cold. (No verb after relative pronoun =
omit the relative pronoun as you please!)

        The water I drank was very cold.

https://englishharmony.com/omitting-relative-pronouns/

Defining relative clauses

As the name suggests, defining relative clauses give essential information to define or
identify the person or thing we are talking about. Take for example the sentence: Dogs
that like cats are very unusual. In this sentence we understand that there are many dogs
in the world, but we are only talking about the ones that like cats. The defining relative
clause gives us that information. If the defining relative clause were removed from the
sentence, the sentence would still be gramatically correct, but its meaning would have
changed significantly.

Defining relative clauses are composed of a relative pronoun (sometimes omitted), a

verb, and optional other elements such as the subject or object of the verb. Commas are
not used to separate defining relative clauses from the rest of the sentence. Commas or
parentheses are used to separate non-defining relative clauses from the rest of the
sentence.

Examples

 Children who hate chocolate are uncommon.

 They live in a house whose roof is full of holes.
 An elephant is an animal that lives in hot countries.
 Let's go to a country where the sun always shines.
 The reason why I came here today is not important.

Relative pronouns

The following relative pronouns are used in defining relative clauses. These relative
pronouns appear at the start of the defining relative clause and refer to a noun that
appears earlier in the sentence.

  Person Thing Place Time Reason

Subject who/that which/that      

Object who/whom/that which/that where when why

Possessive whose whose      

Replacing with "that" in spoken English

The pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English.
Whom is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who or that
instead, or omit the pronoun completely. In the examples below, the common usage is
given with the defining relative clause highlighted. The pronoun that would be used in
more formal written English instead of that is given in parentheses.

Examples

 The dish that I ordered was delicious. (which)

 The man that came with her has already left. (who)
 The doctor that I was hoping to see wasn't on duty. (whom)

Including or omitting the relative pronoun

The relative pronoun can only be omitted when it is the object of the clause. When the
relative pronoun is the subject of the clause, it cannot be omitted. You can usually tell
when a relative pronoun is the object of the clause because it is followed by another
subject + verb. See below, in the first sentence the relative pronoun cannot be ommitted
because it is the subject of the relative clause ("the woman spoke"). In the second
sentence, the pronoun can be omitted because "the woman" is the object of the verb
"loved".

Noun, subject of the main +relative +verb + rest of relative +verb + rest of main
clause pronoun clause clause

was very
The woman that spoke at the meeting
knowledgeable.

The woman (that) the man loved was living in New York.

Other uses of "that"

'That' is often used to introduce defining relative clauses when they follow the words
something, anything, everything, nothing, all or a superlative. It may be omitted when it
is not the subject of the clause.

Examples

 There's something (that) you should know.

 It was the best film (that) I've ever seen.
 Do you have anything that will help my throat?
 Everything (that) you say seems silly to me.
 Nothing (that) anyone does can replace my lost bag.
 I'm sorry, but that is all (that) I saw.

What Is a Relative Pronoun and How

Does It Work?

Catherine Traffis

Grammar

A relative pronoun is a word that introduces a dependent (or relative) clause and
connects it to an independent clause. A clause beginning with a relative pronoun is
poised to answer questions such as Which one? How many? or What kind? Who, whom,
what, which, and that are all relative pronouns.

Relative clauses are also sometimes referred to as adjective clauses, because they
identify or give us additional information about the subject of the independent clause
they relate to. Like adjectives, these clauses in some way describe that subject. Relative
pronouns, like conjunctions, are words that join clauses—in this case, a relative clause
to its main clause. The type of relative pronoun used depends on what kind of noun is
being described.

Who: Refers to a person (as the verb’s subject)

Whom: Refers to a person (as the verb’s object)

Which: Refers to an animal or thing

What: Refers to a nonliving thing

That: Refers to a person, animal, or thing

The woman who came to the door left flowers for you.

I am not sure whom this book belongs to.

Interpretative dance, which I find a bit disconcerting, is all the rage.

Is this what you were talking about?

She finally visited the coffee shop that had such great reviews.

Possessive Relative Pronouns

It surprises some people to learn that both who and which can take the possessive form
whose. Some will argue that of which is a better construction when talking about things
rather than people, but this results in unnecessary awkwardness. The truth is that whose
has been widely and correctly applied to nonhumans for hundreds of years.

She apologized to the boy whose glasses got broken.

The house whose owner is on vacation has an unsightly garden.

The house, the owner of which is on vacation, has an unsightly garden. (This is correct
but cumbersome.)

Compound Relative Pronouns

The term compound relative pronoun sounds complex, but it really isn’t. Simply put,
compound relative pronouns apply universally to a number of people or things. They
include whoever, whomever, whichever, and whatever.

Please tell whoever may call that I am not available.

Whomever you hire will be fine with me.

Whichever train you take from here, you will end at Charing Cross station.
Carly will be successful at whatever she chooses to do in life.

Grammar Conundrum No. 1: That vs. Which

Two relative pronouns whose functions are easily confused are that and which.

Here’s a tip: The rule of thumb is this: that introduces a restrictive clause, and which
introduces a nonrestrictive clause.

A restrictive clause is an essential part of its sentence; if it were taken out of the
sentence, the sentence’s meaning would change. Nonrestrictive clauses are just the
opposite.

The wardrobe that has the fur coats in it leads to Narnia.

If we were to excise the clause “that has the fur coats in it” from the sentence, the
meaning of the sentence would change. We would no longer know which wardrobe
leads to a magical land with talking animals, which was the intention of the sentence.
This kind of clause gets a that. The word which, on the other hand, should introduce a
nonessential clause that can be removed from a sentence without changing the
sentence’s meaning.

The wardrobe, which contains several fur coats, leads to Narnia.

Here, “which contains several fur coats” is a parenthetical remark that can be removed
without materially altering the sentence. Nonrestrictive (or nonessential) clauses are set
off with commas, as shown in the example above.

Grammar Conundrum No. 2: Who vs. That

Not every style guide agrees on whether that is an acceptable relative pronoun to use
when referring to people. To some, the following sentence may sound incorrect.

The teacher that gives out candy is always the students’ favorite.

The truth is, this sentence is perfectly fine. Yet you may want to consider that your
readers could disagree. Go with the safer bet, who.

The teacher who gives out candy is always the students’ favorite.

Grammar Conundrum No. 3: Keep Pronouns and

Antecedents Close
An antecedent is the noun that a pronoun refers to. To ensure clarity, place an
antecedent immediately before the relative pronoun referring to it.

The park at the end of our street, which is pristine, is a favorite place of mine.
An unnecessary ambiguity is created in this sentence. What is pristine, the park or the
street? Reordering the sentence can help, but rewriting it would be even better.

The pristine park at the end of our street is a favorite place of mine.

And that’s the relative pronoun in a nutshell. Relatively painless, wasn’t it?

Relative pronouns and relative clauses

Level: beginner

The relative pronouns are:

Subject Object Possessive

who who/whom whose
which which whose
that that -

We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. Relative clauses tell us more

about people and things:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

This is the house which Jack built.
Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

We use:

 who and whom for people

 which for things
 that for people or things.

Two kinds of relative clause

There are two kinds of relative clause:

1.  We use relative clauses to make clear which person or thing we are talking about:

Marie Curie is the woman who discovered radium.

This is the house which Jack built.

In this kind of relative clause, we can use that instead of who or which:
Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.
This is the house that Jack built.

We can leave out the pronoun if it is the object of the relative clause:

This is the house that Jack built. (that is the object of built)

Relative pronouns 1
Relative pronouns 2
Be careful!
The relative pronoun is the subject/object of the relative clause, so we do not repeat
the subject/object:

Marie Curie is the woman who she discovered radium.

(who is the subject of discovered, so we don't need she)

This is the house that Jack built it.

(that is the object of built, so we don't need it)

2.  We also use relative clauses to give more information about a person, thing or
situation:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

We had fish and chips, which I always enjoy.
I met Rebecca in town yesterday, which was a nice surprise.

With this kind of relative clause, we use commas (,) to separate it from the rest of the
sentence.

Be careful!
In this kind of relative clause, we cannot use that:

Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

(NOT Lord Thompson, that is 76, has just retired.)

and we cannot leave out the pronoun:

We had fish and chips, which I always enjoy.

(NOT We had fish and chips, I always enjoy.)
Relative pronouns 3
Relative pronouns 4

Level: intermediate

whose and whom

We use whose as the possessive form of who:

This is George, whose brother went to school with me.

We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition:

This is George, whom you met at our house last year.

(whom is the object of met)

This is George’s brother, with whom I went to school.

(whom is the object of with)

but nowadays we normally use who:

This is George, who you met at our house last year.

This is George’s brother, who I went to school with.

Relative pronouns 5

Relative pronouns with prepositions

When who(m) or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the
beginning of the clause:

I had an uncle in Germany, from who(m) I inherited a bit of money.

We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood.

or at the end of the clause:

I had an uncle in Germany, who(m) I inherited a bit of money from.

We bought a chainsaw, which we cut all the wood up with.

But when that has a preposition, the preposition always comes at the end:

I didn't know the uncle that I inherited the money from.

We can't find the chainsaw that we cut all the wood up with.

Relative pronouns 6

when and where

We can 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 1966. 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.

We can leave out when:

England won the World Cup in 1966. It was the year we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the tsunami happened.

We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns: 

all of which/whom most of which/whom many of which/whom

lots of which/whom a few of which/whom none of which/whom
one of which/whom two of which/whom etc.

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.