The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Relative pronouns: WHO, WHOM, WHOSE, WHICH, THAT

The relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which and that. The choice of which pronoun we use in a relative clause depends on:

the type of clause (defining or non-defining),

the function of the pronoun in the clause (subject, object, possessive determiner or object of a preposition),

the style (formal or informal).

Pronouns used in defining relative clauses

The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.

The pronoun that is used in informal styles and in spoken language.

In the defining relative clause, the pronoun can be omitted if it stands for the object of the clause. We use the phrase zero pronoun (-) to indicate such a case.

Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.

Subject

Object

Possessive

Person

whom

whose ...

who

who

that

that

(-)

Non-person

which

which

... of which

that

that

(-)

The woman

who/that

answered the door was about forty years old.

He's the reporter

whom/who/that/(-)

I saw on TV last night.

The engineer

whose design

is selected will be offered a contract.

Do you know a shop

which/that

sells antique furniture?

What was the last film

which/that/(-)

you saw?

Police have found the car

the owner of which

was reported missing 3 weeks ago.

Quotes:

The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad. - A. K. Best

People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. - Epictetus

Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around. - Frank A. Clark

April is a promise that May is bound to keep. - Hal Borland

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. - Hanoch McCarty

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. - Henry David Thoreau

There is no man living that cannot do more than he thinks he can. - Henry Ford

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. - John Wooden

It is the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. - Marlene Dietrich

What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want. - Mignon McLaughlin

Those who wish to sing always find a song. - Swedish proverb

Action will remove the doubts that theory cannot solve. - Tehyi Hsieh

It is the familiar that usually eludes us in life. What is before our nose is what we see last. - William Barret

Related topics:

Defining relative clause

Pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses

The columns in the following table show the function of the relative pronoun, while the rows indicate whether the pronoun refers to a person or non-person in the non-defining relative clause. The pronouns that refer to persons are sometimes also used for animals, especially pets.

Whom is used instead of who as the object of the relative clause in formal styles, especially in writing.

In non-defining relative clauses, we can't omit the relative pronoun and we can't use that.

Subject

Object

Possessive

Person

whom

whose ...

who

who

Non-person

which

which

... of which

Epictetus,

who

is one of the most well-known Stoic philosophers, was born a slave.

Mr Kowalski,

whom/who

you all know, will take over the Marketing Department from next month.

Van Gogh,

whose paintings

are popular today, was not appreciated during his life.

Warsaw,

which

is the capital of Poland, lies on the Vistula River.

Then they played "My Favourite Things",

which

I recognised immediately from "The Sound of Music".

The cupboard was full of glasses and cups,

many of which

were broken.

Quotes:

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. - Nelson Henderson

Related topics:

Non-defining relative clause