What Are Relative Pronouns? (with Examples)
A relative pronoun comes after a noun to help to identify which person or thing we are talking about or to tell us some more information about a person or thing.
A relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause. Here is a list of the relative pronouns:
- That
- Which
- Who
- Whom
- Whose
A relative pronoun is used to start a description for a noun. (This description is called an adjective clause or a relative clause.) The description comes after the noun to:
(1) identify it.
For example:
- The lady who made your dress is waiting outside.
- I saw the dog which ate the cake.
- We did not know the tune that had been playing.
(The noun is the lady. The relative pronoun is who. The adjective clause identifying the lady is shaded.)
(The noun being identified is the dog.)
(The noun being identified is the tune.)
(2) tell us more information about it.
For example:
- Mrs Miggins, who owns a pie shop, is waiting outside.
- I rode my bike, which now had two flat tyres, back home.
(The noun is Mrs Miggins. The adjective clause tells us some information about her.)
(The noun is my bike. The adjective clause tells us some information about it.)
Relative Pronouns (for People and Things)
Your choice of relative pronoun is determined by whether it refers to a person or a thing. Your choices are:
- Who and whom refer to people.
- Which refers to things.
- That and whose refer to people or things.
Note: Be aware that a fair proportion of your readers will not like you using that for people. It is good advice to avoid using that for people, especially in formal writing.
Relative Pronouns (in Different Cases)
Your choice of relative pronoun is not just determined by whether it refers to people or things. It is also determined by the role the relative pronoun plays in its clause. For example:
| People or Things | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | who (The boy who rang the bell) | whom (The boy whom you met) | whose (The boy whose bike was stolen) |
| Things | which (The candle whichmelted) | which (The candle which you made) | whose (The candle whose wick had snapped) |
| People or Things | that (The dog that bit the postman) | that (The dog that the postman hates) | whose (The dog whose bark sounds like cough) |
Prepositions with Which and Whom
When whom or which is the object of a preposition, you can start the adjective clause with the preposition (as opposed to the relative pronoun). For example:
- The council will meet Professor Dobbs, from whom they expect an apology.
- My greatest concern was the tide, against which we stood little chance.
It is not a mistake to leave the preposition at the end of the clause, but be aware that some of your readers might think it looks a little informal, especially if the preposition also ends the sentence.
Therefore, in formal writing, try to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition. However, if doing so makes your sentence sound stilted, then either try to reword your sentence or just leave your preposition at the end.
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