Relative Pronouns

for intermediate learners

Relative pronouns are matchmakers of English grammar. They come in the beginning of relative clauses and join two clauses together. Ready to learn about them?

What Are Relative Pronouns?

Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. Relative pronouns allow speakers and writers to add more information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence, and to clarify its identity or characteristics.

Types of Relative Pronouns

There are two types of relative pronouns:

Defining: it is essential to the meaning of the sentence
Non-defining: it is not essential to the meaning of the sentence

Common Relative Pronouns

Common relative pronouns in English are:

Relative Pronouns	What they are referring to
Who	people and sometimes pet animals
Which	animals and things
That	people, animals and things

Where Do We Place Relative Pronouns?

We place relative pronouns directly after the noun or pronoun they are referring to. Look at the following examples:

This is the car which Jake bought. (non-defining)

The girl who is wearing a black hat is my friend. (defining)

Tim Berners-Lee is the man that invented the World Wide Web. (defining)

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- Types of Relative Pronouns
Common Relative Pronouns
Where Do We Place Relative Pronouns?

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