Clauses Index

Clauses beginning with question words such as which, whose, who, or whom are often used to modify nouns and some pronouns  -  to identify people and things, or to give more information about them. Clauses like these are called relative clauses. Words like which, whose, who, whom, etc, that introduce a relative clause are called relative pronouns.

1. The Relative Pronoun  "which"

a. "which" is used to refer to things.

eg: The church which had been deserted for many years was demolished last year. (= defining clause - the relative pronoun refers to the subject of the main clause)

b. "which" can refer also to the whole of a previous clause.

eg: He managed to survive in the desert for three weeks without food, which was amazing. (= non-defining clause)

In the above example (b), what was amazing was not the food, but the fact that he survived in the desert for three weeks without food - the whole situation referred to in the clause. This is called a non-defining clause.

*** A defining clause is a clause which explains which person or thing you are talking about. For example, if you say "I met the woman", it might not be clear who you mean, so you might say, "I met the woman who lives next door". In this sentence, "who lives next door" is a defining relative clause.

*** A non-defining clause is a clause which does not identify or classify; it simply tells us more about a person or thing that has already been identified. An example of a non-defining clause is "Many colleagues like Jane, who came here last month".  In this sentence, "who came here last month" is a non-defining relative clause  because it gives further information about Jane, but it is not essential and can be omitted. 

2. Relative Pronouns "who", "whose","whom"

a. "who" is used to refer to persons by stating what the person(s) does / do.

eg: The man who robbed you was arrested by the police yesterday.

b. "whom" is used to refer to persons through another action done by a different subject.

eg: The student whom the teacher had praised finally won the competition.

c. "whose" is used to refer to persons through their possessions.

eg: The family whose house is located on top of the hill is very wealthy.

3. Preposition + Relative Pronouns

a. Prepositions can come before relative pronouns.

• He was admired by the people with whom he worked.
• This is the city in which I was born.
• We should finish this process quickly, after which we can proceed to another stage.

The preposition + relative pronoun pattern applies to situations when the verb inside the relative clause is not performed by the noun / pronoun being qualified. This is precisely the reason for using this structure: you want to relate the noun / pronoun to another subject. For example, don't use a preposition before a relative pronoun in a sentence like this: 

û: This is the document (× in) which contains the information we need. 

This is because the subject of the verb 'contains' inside the relative clause is also the noun being qualified, i.e., 'document'.

Thus the subject inside a relative clause begun by a preposition should not be the noun / pronoun being qualified.

û: There are so many people with whom like to play with kids.
û: The streets in which are dusty are crowded with people.

b. The  Preposition + Relative Pronoun structure can also be followed by an infinitive. This structure is rather formal.

• She has a lot of friends with whom to go shopping.
• The children need more space in which to play.
• This is a boring place in which to work.

4.  Relative Pronoun "THAT"

"That" can replace "which", "whom" and "who" when the clause is defining, as in the following:

Ö : The man who / that is wearing a blue T-shirt is John.
Ö : The girl whom / that you saw yesterday is my sister.
Ö : That man whose face is scarred is behaving strangely.
Ö : The building which / that has forty storeys is very grand.

However, "that" cannot be used to replace "whose", or "which" when it is used to modify the entire previous clause (= non-defining).

û: The man that (whose) face is scarred is behaving strangely.
û: He survived in the desert for three weeks without food, that (which) was amazing.

5.  Omission of  Relative Pronoun

A participle (~ing or ~ed) can often be used instead of a relative pronoun and full verb.

• The teacher punishes anyone breaking the rules. (=...anyone who breaks rules.)
• I live in a building having forty storeys. (=....building which has forty...)
• The house painted in red is where John lives. (= The house which is painted in red....)
• People invited are expected to be formally dressed for the occasion. (= People who are invited .....)

6.  A Note to Students

a. Students tend to overlook the fact that relative clauses are clauses only, and that the finite verb within the clause should not be taken as the main verb of the whole sentence.

û: The office which is in Central Plaza.
Ö : The office which is in Central Plaza overlooks the sea.

In the correct sentence, the verb "overlooks" is the main verb of the whole sentence.

b. The omission of relative pronouns "who" and "which"

Many students are confused by the omission of relative pronouns and cannot see the difference between the following 2 sentences:

Ö : Have you seen a boy wearing a red T-shirt? (= a boy who wears a red T-shirt?)
û: The new employee is called Eva, having a degree in marketing. (= who has a degree..)

In the above sentences, (ii) is incorrect. Although a participle can replace a relative pronoun, this applies only to cases when the relative clause is a defining clause.  In the example given above "I met the woman who lives next door",  we saw that "who lives next door" is a defining relative clause. Therefore the relative pronoun "who" can in this case be replaced by a present participle.   

Ö : I met the woman living next door.

However, we cannot replace the relative pronoun of a non-defining clause.   In the example given above "Many colleagues like Jane, who came here last month", "who came here last month" is a non-defining clause.  Here, the relative pronoun "who" cannot be replaced by a participle.

û: Many colleagues like Jane,  coming here last month.

c. Using where, when, why, how, etc., as relative pronouns 

Look at these examples:

Ö : I live in a building which has 40 storeys .
û:  I live in a building where has 40 storeys.

If you want to use "where" instead of "which" in the above sentence, follow the structural rule of a main clause : 
Subject + finite verb:

Ö : I live in a building where there are 40 storeys.

Some students see "which" and "where" as equivalent when they are used as relative pronouns. Although "which" and "where" may be similar in meaning in some cases, they require different structural elements  when they are used as relative pronouns.