English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010
Lesson 26: Relative pronouns
Unit 7: Pronouns
Part I: Kinds of words
Here are some sentences with interrogative pronouns, like the ones you’ve already seen in Lesson 25.The interrogative pronouns are underlined.
1. Who was laughing?
2. Whose is this?
Now look at the following sentences, which contain the same underlined words. How are these sentences different from sentences 1 and 2?
3. I like the woman who lives next door.
4. He’s the engineer whose life was disrupted by a messy divorce.
You’ve probably noticed that, unlike sentences 1 and 2 above, sentences 3 and 4 are not questions. The same pronouns are being used, but not to ask a question. Instead, these pronouns are used in sentences 3 and 4 to replace a noun that’s already mentioned earlier in the sentence. When used this way, these pronouns are called relative pronouns. They are listed in Quick tip 2 6.1
The common relative pronouns are: that, which, who, whom, whose. They refer back to a noun in the sentence.
Test yourself 26.1
Underline the relative pronoun in each of the sentences below.
Sample: The prominent oil man who bought that house is not a generous man.
Getting started (answers on p. 102)
1. John’s is the essay that was the most well-written.
2. His wife was the woman whom he loved the most.
3. There is no one who can make me laugh more than you.
4. Danny bought a gift which appealed to him.
5. Last week I met the man whose cousin married my friend.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. In general, Sharon is nice to people whom she meets.
7. I will stand on the line which is shorter.
8. The person who leaves last should turn the lights off.
9. She saw the journey which she had undertaken stretch out before her.
10. Anna leaves a good impression on employers who interview her.
Let’s look at sentences 3 and 4 more closely.
3. I like the woman who lives next door.
In this sentence, who lives next door? Answer: the woman. So instead of saying something like I like the woman. The woman lives next door, we replace the second occurrence of the woman with the pronoun who, giving us the sentence I like the woman who lives next door. In fact, the word who is doing two things: it’s representing the woman and it’s joining lives next door to the main part of the sentence.
4. He’s the engineer whose life was disrupted by a messy divorce.
In this sentence, whose life was disrupted by a messy divorce? Answer: the engineer’s. So instead of saying something like He’s the engineer. The engineer’s life was disrupted by a messy divorce, we replace the second occurrence of the engineer (actually, in this case, the engineer’s) with the pronoun whose, giving us the sentence He’s the engineer whose life was disrupted by a messy divorce. Again, the word whose is doing two things: it’s representing the engineer and it’s joining life was disrupted by a messy divorce to the main part of the sentence.
In the following sentence, what broke?
5. Sam fixed the computer that broke.
Answer: the computer. So instead of saying something like Sam fixed the computer. The computer broke, we replace the second occurrence of the computer with the pronoun that, giving us the sentence Sam fixed the computer that broke. Again, the word that is doing two things: it’s representing the computer and it’s joining broke to the main part of the sentence.
You may remember that in Lesson 19 we talked about subordinating conjunctions, which are words that connect a sentence (the main sentence) with another sentence which is a subpart of it. The relative pronouns here are doing the same thing and in fact, relative pronouns are one kind of subordinating conjunction (and appear on the list in Lesson 19).
Quick tip 26.2
Relative pronouns are a type of subordinating conjunction. A relative pronoun typically occurs soon after the noun it refers to. Example: He liked the teacher who gave easy tests.
Test yourself 26.2
The relative pronoun is underlined in each of the sentences below. Your job is to find the noun that the relative pronoun is referring to.
Sample: I watched a few movies that were really bad. (movies)
Getting started (answers on p. 102)
1. They are men who are ambitious.
2. The salesman noticed the potatoes that he planted.
3. It is worth buying stocks which increase in value.
4. The guests whom we invited a week ago just arrived.
5. The flight that was supposed to leave at 5 is still delayed.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. The patients whose lives are in danger need those drugs.
7. The bus which has just arrived is scheduled to leave for Phoenix.
8. Rebecca noticed the tourists who were gathered around the statue.
9. The milk that Jane bought seems to be fresh.
10. The contractor whom we hired did not show up today.
Test yourself 26.3
Underline and identify the interrogative or relative pronoun in each of the sentences below. (Remember that the interrogative pronouns will always be in a question.) In this exercise, the sentences will only have either an interrogative or a relative pronoun, but not both.
Sample: Why are you going? (interrogative)
Getting started (answers on p. 102)
1. What can I do about it?
2. Adam is the person whom you need to talk to.
3. I fixed the clock that was broken.
4. The police will find the person who committed this crime.
5. When will the show start?
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Which do you want us to choose?
7. The restaurant in which we ate was awful.
8. I don’t care for the earrings which this actress is wearing.
9. Several of the boys who attended the party became rowdy.
10. He’s happy with the solution that I’m proposing.
To enhance your understanding
Notice that the word that has lots of uses. These are demonstrated here:
6. I think that man is intriguing. (demonstrative determiner)
7. I think that is the way to go. (demonstrative pronoun)
8. I think that the sun will shine tomorrow. (subordinating conjunction: introducing a clause)
9. I think the car that you want was sold yesterday. (relative pronoun: introducing a clause and referring back to a noun)
You can have more than one that within the same sentence:
10. I think that that is the cat that belongs to you.
And that’s that!
To further enhance your understanding
There are also some less commonly used relative pronouns with the suffix -ever. Some examples:
11. I’ll be happy with whatever you decide to do.
12. My mother always told me to marry whoever I wanted to.
13. They can travel with whomever they choose.
There is an important difference between the relative pronouns ending in - ever and those we looked at earlier and listed in Quick tip 26.1. As you can see in sentences 11-13, the - ever relative pronouns do not refer back to a noun that comes before. Rather, they represent a noun all by themselves.