Grammar Practice in Context - David Bolton, Noel Goodey 1997

97 Relative clauses with who, which, that

Quick reference

• We use the relative pronoun who for people and the relative pronoun which for things.

She’s the girl who always wears sunglasses. This is the bus which goes to London.

But we often use that instead of who or which.

She's the girl that always wears sunglasses. This is the bus that goes to London.

With people we use who more often than that. With things we use that more often than which.

• Who, which, that can be the subject of the relative clause.

/ know the man who got the job. (He got the job.)

We can’t leave out who, which, that here.

• Who, which, that can also be the object of the relative clause.

I read the book which you gave me. (You gave me the book.)

The man who I spoke to is a millionaire. (I spoke to the man.)

But in informal spoken English we usually leave them out.

/ read the book you gave me. The man I spoke to is a millionaire.

• We can use whom when the object is a person, but it's very formal and rarely used in spoken English. We usually leave out the pronoun, or we use who instead.

The people whom we met were very interesting. (Formal)

We normally say: The people (who) we met were very interesting.

• When we use verbs or adjectives followed by a preposition, the preposition usually comes at the end of a relative clause.

I know who this umbrella belongs to. This is the car (which) I’m interested in.

In very formal English we can put the preposition at the beginning, before whom or which.

I met the man for whom you work. That’s the job for which I applied.

1 In which of the following sentences is it not possible to miss out the relative pronouns who, which or that? Mark the sentences with a tick (✓).

1 A supermarket cashier in Ashton, Bristol noticed a customer who was acting strangely.

2 He also noticed the enormous hat that she was wearing.

3 There were only two things in the basket that she was carrying.

4 The customer paid for the things which she’d bought.

5 She then suddenly fainted and fell on top of a child who was standing behind her.

6 The cashier removed the hat which was still on the customer’s head.

7 She found a frozen chicken and a packet of frozen peas which the customer had stolen.

8 It was the frozen chicken and peas that had made her faint.

[...]

[...]

[...] ...

2 Join the two sentences together using who or which.

1 I saw a road accident today. It really upset me.

2 It was a red Ford Escort. It caused the accident.

3 It had an unusual registration number. It began with the letter X.

4 The driver was a young man. He was wearing dark glasses.

5 He hit an old woman. She was crossing the road.

6 I called an ambulance. It arrived five minutes later.

7 I took care of the old woman. She was still breathing.

8 I spoke to one of the ambulancemen. He said she was badly hurt.

9 They took her to the hospital. It’s only a mile away.

10 But she died in the ambulance. It was taking her to hospital.

3 This is part of a wedding speech given by the bridegroom. It is very formal. Make it informal. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.

1 This is a day about which my wife and I will talk for years.

This is a day which ... about for years.

2 I must thank all the people from whom we’ve received presents.

I ... from.

3 In particular, I’d like to thank all the people to whom I haven’t had a chance to speak.

In particular, ... who ...

4 You’ve given us some wonderful presents for which we’re very grateful.

You’ve given us some wonderful presents ...

5 I’d like to thank the mother of the bride, on whom we’ve all depended for so many things.

I’d like to thank ... who ... for so many things.

6 And finally I’d like to thank my wife, to whom I owe my happiness.

And finally ... who ...

7 There’s one thing for which I must apologise.

There’s ... which ...

8 The speech to which you’ve just listened has been far too long.

The speech which ...

4 Complete these film titles with a relative clause. Make the films sound as interesting or exciting as possible. Check your answers with a teacher.

Example: The Man ... The Man who knew too much.

The Man ...

The Woman ...

The Battle ...

The Murder ...

The Street ...

The Wife ...

The Creature ...

The Love ...

The Spy ...