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Intermediate

Relative Clauses

Who which that whose

Use who for people and which for things

That can replace both in defining clauses.

📊 Relative pronouns
Pronoun Refers to Example
who people the woman who sings
which things the car which broke
that people or things the film that I saw
whose possession the man whose car was stolen
💬 Examples
The man who called is my uncle.
who refers to the man — a person
📝 who for people
The book which I bought is good.
which refers to the book — a thing
📝 which for things
Defining clauses identify which one

No commas — the clause is essential to the meaning.

💬 Examples
The student who passed got a prize.
defines exactly which student we mean
📝 defines which student
The film that we watched was long.
defines exactly which film we mean
📝 defines which film
Non-defining clauses add extra information

Use commas — the clause can be removed without changing meaning.

💬 Examples
My sister who lives in Paris is a doctor.
extra info — I have only one sister
📝 extra information — one sister
London which is the capital of England is very large.
extra fact — everyone knows London
📝 extra fact about London