Relative Pronoun
A relative pronoun is an important part of English grammar. It helps us connect two sentences and give additional information about a noun without repeating it. Relative pronouns make sentences shorter, clearer, and more natural in both speaking and writing.
This article explains relative pronouns in depth, including definitions, types, rules, examples, common mistakes, and practice exercises, in simple and clear English.
A relative pronoun is a word used to refer to a noun that comes before it and to add extra information about that noun. It introduces a relative clause and helps join two ideas into one sentence. Common relative pronouns include who, which, that, whose, and whom.
>Types of Relative Pronouns
| Relative Pronoun | Usage | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Refers to people (subject) | The boy who won the race is my friend. |
| Whom | Refers to people (object) | The teacher whom I met yesterday is kind. |
| Whose | Shows possession | She is the girl whose father is a doctor. |
| Which | Refers to animals or things | The book which is on the table is mine. |
| That | Refers to people, animals, or things (defining clause) | This is the house that Jack built. |
Types of Relative Pronoun:
1. Defining Relative Pronoun
2. Non-Defining Relative Pronoun
Defining Relative Pronoun
A defining relative pronoun is used to introduce a clause that gives essential information about a noun. This information is necessary to identify the person or thing being talked about, and the sentence’s meaning is incomplete without it. Common defining relative pronouns are who, which, that, whose, and whom.
Relative Pronouns Used:
- who (people)
- which (things)
- that (people & things)
- whose (possession)
Examples
1. The boy who is wearing a red shirt is my friend.
2. This is the book that I told you about.
3. The student who scored first rank is from Tamil Nadu.
4. I like movies which have strong stories.
5. The man whose car was stolen went to the police.
Who
Who is a relative pronoun used to refer to people. It is used when the person is the subject of the relative clause, meaning the person does the action. It helps give more information about a person mentioned earlier in the sentence.
1. The boy who runs fast won the race.
2. She is the girl who sings well.
3. I know the man who lives here.
4. He is a teacher who helps students.
5. The woman who called you is my aunt.
6. The player who scored is famous.
7. This is the doctor who treated me.
8. I met a girl who speaks English.
9. The child who cried was hungry.
10. He is the friend who supported me.
Whom
Whom is a relative pronoun used for people when they are the object of the verb. It refers to a person who receives the action rather than doing it. In modern spoken English, who is often used instead of whom.
1. The man whom I met is kind.
2. She is the girl whom he loves.
3. The teacher whom we respect retired.
4. The boy whom she helped thanked her.
5. I know the person whom you called.
6. He is the man whom they punished.
7. The student whom I taught passed.
8. The woman whom he married is nice.
9. The friend whom I trusted cheated.
10. The player whom the coach selected won.
Whose
Whose is a relative pronoun that shows possession or ownership. It tells us that something belongs to a person, animal, or even a thing. It is used to connect the owner with the object owned in the sentence.
1. The boy whose bag is lost is crying.
2. I know the girl whose phone broke.
3. The man whose car was stolen complained.
4. She met a woman whose son is a doctor.
5. The dog whose leg is injured is sleeping.
6. This is the house whose door is blue.
7. The student whose marks are high won.
8. The child whose toy broke is sad.
9. The teacher whose class is fun smiled.
10. I saw a man whose wallet fell down.
Which
Which is a relative pronoun used to refer to animals and things. It gives additional information about a noun that is not a person. It can be used to identify or describe an object more clearly.
1. This is the book which I bought.
2. The car which he owns is new.
3. The dog which barked ran away.
4. I lost the pen which you gave.
5. The movie which we watched was good.
6. The phone which I use is fast.
7. The tree which fell blocked the road.
8. The bag which is red is mine.
9. The bike which he repaired works now.
10. The chair which is broken is old.
That
That is a common relative pronoun used for people, animals, and things. It is often used in defining relative clauses to give essential information. It is very common in spoken and informal English.
1. The boy that won is happy.
2. The book that I read is good.
3. The dog that bit him ran away.
4. The girl that sings is famous.
5. The pen that I lost is blue.
6. The man that helped me smiled.
7. The movie that we saw was boring.
8. The student that studies hard passed.
9. The phone that I bought is costly.
10. The place that we visited was nice.
What
What is a relative pronoun that means “the thing which”. It is used when there is no noun before it in the sentence. It refers to an unknown or general thing and acts as both the subject and object.
1. I know what you did.
2. Tell me what you want.
3. She said what she felt.
4. I don’t understand what he means.
5. Show me what you wrote.
6. He explained what happened.
7. I forgot what she told me.
8. Do what is right.
9. I heard what they discussed.
10. This is what I need.
Non-defining Relative Pronoun
A non-defining relative pronoun introduces a clause that gives extra information about a noun, not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It is always separated by commas and commonly uses who, whom, whose, or which (never that). Even if the clause is removed, the main sentence still remains clear and complete.
Examples:
1. Ravi, who lives in Chennai, is my cousin.
2. My phone, which I bought last year, is very slow.
3. Mr. Kumar, whose son is a doctor, is my teacher.
4. The Taj Mahal, which is in Agra, attracts tourists.
5. My mother, who is a nurse, works at night.
👉 Remove the clause → still meaningful.
Common Mistakes
1. Who vs Which (people)
❌ This is the boy which won the prize
✅ This is the boy who won the prize
2. Which vs That
❌ The book that I bought, is expensive
✅ The book which I bought is expensive
Use which in non-defining clauses.
3. Whom vs Who
❌ The man who I met yesterday
✅ The man whom I met yesterday
4. Missing relative pronoun
❌ This is the girl won the race
✅ This is the girl who won the race
5. Wrong use of whose
❌ The boy which father is a doctor
✅ The boy whose father is a doctor
6. Repeating noun and pronoun
❌ This is the book which book I lost
✅ This is the book which I lost
7. Using that after comma
❌ My house, that is big, is old
✅ My house, which is big, is old
8. Using relative pronoun for place
❌ This is the place which I live
✅ This is the place where I live
9. Using relative pronoun for time
❌ This is the day which we met
✅ This is the day when we met
10. Using relative pronoun for reason
❌ The reason which he failed
✅ The reason why he failed
Relative Pronoun Quiz — Pick the Relative pronoun
10 questions. Choose the correct Relative pronoun.