B1daily

Relative Clauses - Daily English

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A relative clause adds information about a noun. Most often it begins with a relative pronoun: who or whom for people, which for things, that for either, and whose for possession. You can also use the relative adverbs where and when for places and times. Use a defining relative clause when the information is essential to identify the noun, with no commas: "The colleague who handles our international accounts is on leave." Use a non-defining clause, set off by commas, when the information is extra: "Our finance director, who joined last year, is leading the review." A key rule: never use that in a non-defining clause, and never put commas around a defining one. You can drop the pronoun when it is the object of the clause: "The report (that) we discussed yesterday is ready" and "The client (whom) we met last week was impressed." But you cannot drop it when it is the subject: in "the software which we use" you can remove which, yet in "the software which crashed" you cannot. A common pitfall is doubling the subject: write "the manager who is leading the meeting", not "the manager who he is leading the meeting". Choose where for a place ("the office where we meet"), not which, unless you mean the building itself as an object.

Let's practise. Type each answer and press Enter, I'll check it with you.

  1. The man lives next door is a chef.
  2. I lost the keys were on the kitchen table.
  3. The restaurant we ate last night was amazing.
  4. She is the friend I told you about.
  5. The book I am reading is very interesting.
  6. That is the woman daughter won the race.
  7. The cafe serves great coffee is near my house.
  8. I remember the day we first met.
  9. The laptop I bought yesterday is already broken.
  10. He is the person helps me with my homework.
  11. The city I grew up is very beautiful.
  12. I have a brother works in London.
  13. The movie we watched was quite scary.
  14. Do you know the girl bag was stolen?
  15. This is the shop I buy my groceries.
  16. The weather we had on our holiday was perfect.
  17. The students study hard usually pass the exams.
  18. The cake my mom made was delicious.
  19. I met a man travels all over the world.
  20. Summer is the season I feel most energetic.
  21. The neighbors live upstairs are very noisy.
  22. The phone is on the desk is mine.
  23. The lady you met at the party is my aunt.
  24. The hotel we stayed was very expensive.
  25. The car my father drives is quite old.

Common questions

What is the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses?

A defining relative clause identifies which noun you mean and takes no commas: "The candidate who interviewed first got the job." Remove it and the sentence loses essential meaning. A non-defining clause adds extra, non-essential detail and is enclosed in commas: "Our CEO, who founded the firm, will speak." Never use "that" in a non-defining clause.

When can I leave out the relative pronoun?

You can omit the pronoun when it is the object of the relative clause: "The email (that) you sent contains errors" and "The client (whom) we met was happy" are both fine. You cannot omit it when it is the subject: "The manager who leads the team" must keep "who". Omission only works in defining clauses, never in non-defining ones.

Should I use 'who' or 'whom' in professional writing?

Use "who" for the subject (the person doing the action): "the director who oversees production". Use "whom" for the object (the person receiving the action): "the consultant whom we hired". In everyday speech "who" is widely accepted for both, but "whom" still looks polished in formal emails and reports, especially after a preposition: "the colleague to whom I reported".