Relative clauses:

• We often use relative clauses to say which person, thing,

place, time etc. we are talking about:
• That’s the man who stole my phone.
Relative clauses
• That’s the house where I was born.
Relative pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun used to introduce a relative clause
like who, which, that, where, whose, when
• We use who or that for people:
• The man who l that is standing there is my brother.
• The boy who/that is carrying a heavy backpack is tired.
• We use that or which for things:
• The car that/ which I bought last week is already in the shop.
• The movie that/ which we saw yesterday was very exciting.
We use where for places:

• I was taken to the guest house where everyone was staying.

• I visited the country where I was born.

• We use whose for possessives:

• The man whose car was stolen reported it to the police.
• She talked to the man whose dog bit her.
 We use when for times:

• This was when I started getting hungry.

• Christmas day is a day when people are happy.
• This is the time when everyone should be here.
TIPS

• We don’t use What in relative clauses

• The food what we usually eat….
• We can use what to mean ‘the thing/things that:
• You should be careful about what you eat.(= the things
that you eat)
 Leaving out who, that or which when it isn’t
the subject of the relative clause
• Compare the relative clauses in these sentences:
• A- I’m the type of persons who/that eats 3 meals a day.
• In this sentence we must use who or that because it’s the
subject of the relative clause.
• B- The food (that) we usually eat contains toxins.
• In this sentence we can leave out that because it is the
object of the relative clause (we is the subject)
tips
• We never leave out whose in relative clauses
• We can usually leave out where if we add a preposition at the
end of the relative clause:
• That’s the café where I met my husband.
• That’s the café I met my husband in.
• We can only leave out when if the time reference is clear:
• Monday is the day (when) I visit my mother.
• Monday is the day I visit my mother.