Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly use the relative pronouns “who,” “which,” and “that” to combine two sentences into one.
Lesson Explanation
A relative clause adds extra information about a noun, joined using a relative pronoun:
who — for people: The woman who called is my sister. which — for things: The book which I bought is great. that — for people or things, informally: The book that I bought is great.
Who is used specifically for people; which is used specifically for things; that can informally replace either one, and is genuinely more common in everyday spoken English than “which” for things.
This lets you combine two separate sentences into one: I have a friend. She lives in Paris. → I have a friend who lives in Paris.
Practice Questions
1. Which relative pronoun is used for people?
View Answer
who
2. Which relative pronoun is used for things?
View Answer
which
3. Which relative pronoun can informally replace either “who” or “which”?
View Answer
that
4. Complete: “The man ___ called is my uncle.” (for a person)
View Answer
who
5. Complete: “The car ___ I bought is red.” (for a thing)
View Answer
which (or that)
6. Combine into one sentence: “I have a friend. She lives in Paris.”
View Answer
I have a friend who lives in Paris.
7. Is “which” used for people or things?
View Answer
Things.
8. Is “who” used for people or things?
View Answer
People.
9. Is “that” more common in formal writing or everyday spoken English, for replacing “which”?
View Answer
Everyday spoken English.
10. Combine into one sentence: “This is the book. I bought it yesterday.”
View Answer
This is the book that/which I bought yesterday.
11. What does a relative clause do?
View Answer
Adds extra information about a noun.
12. Complete: “The teacher ___ taught me English was kind.” (for a person)
View Answer
who