English III

Relative PronounsA relative pronoun introduces a relative

clause with a larger sentence.

A relative pronoun provides more information about the antecedent.

The most common relative pronouns are who/whom, whoever/whomever, whose, that, and which.

Who, whose, whomWe can use who (never after a preposition),

whose, and whom (after a preposition) for people as a relative pronoun.

Ex: John, who is 21 today, is happy.

Ex: Susan, whom you know, will try to buy their car.

Ex: The man to whom you were writing is the Dean of our school.

WhoseCan be used with or without a prepositionCan replace a human being or a thingIs always followed by a noun without an article.

Ex: John, whose father is a physician, will be here soon.

Ex: John, with whose children you play tennis, is a Medical Doctor.

Ex: The book, whose author died yesterday, is a masterpiece.

Ex: The drug, whose discovery was expected, will cure thousands.

WhichSubject

Ex: The drug, which was to prove effective, helped to wipe out the disease.

Object

Ex: The experiment, which he thought was absolutely essential, did not teach us anything.

ThatThat is both a subject and an object.That can replace who, whom, and which.That has to be used after a superlative.That has to be used after the first, the last,

the only, it is …, very (adverb), allWhen that is an object, it can be omitted.The relative that must not be used after a

comma (,) or a preposition

ExamplesIt is the best example that I can find.

The first scientist that carried out the experiment successfully won a Nobel Prize.

The last thing that you should do is stop trying.

The only time that the computer crashed I lost all the data that I had stored.

You gave me the very thing that I wanted.

That vs. WhoThe computer

scientist, who were asked to design a faster program, were interviewed by the boss.

(all the computer scientists were interviewed by the boss)

The computer scientists that were asked to design a faster program were interviewed by the boss.

(i.e., only those that were asked to work, not the others)

Omitting ThatThe computer that he bought is a very old

used computer.

The computer he bought is very old.

What vs. WhichWhat I like in this place is to be served by

nice waitresses!The waitress is pretty here, which is an

added attraction!What I like about this house is it size.This house is huge, which is convenient.

Practice Time!Directions: Choose the correct relative

pronoun to complete the sentence. 1. does that car belong to?

Whom Which Who

2. Excuse me but shouldn't you say to does that car belong?whomwhowhich

Practice: answers 1. does that car belong to?

WhomWhichWho2. Excuse me but shouldn't you say to

does that car belong?whomwhowhich

Practice3. That's another way of saying it. I'm talking about the

car parked over there.Which’sThat’sWhich

4. Well, I should say someone for money is no object.

Whom Who which

Practice: answers3. That's another way of saying it. I'm talking about the

car parked over there.Which’sThat’sWhich

4. Well, I should say someone for money is no object.

Whom Who which

The purpose of relative pronouns-to combine sentences!

When combining to sentences with the same subject, omit the subject and use a relative pronoun.

Ex: I like oranges. Oranges are delicious.

I like oranges which are delicious.

Relative Pronouns: HomeworkDirections: Combine the following sentences

using a relative pronoun.1. Very cold weather closed school for a day.

The cold weather came down from Canada.

2. . Mary's psychology teacher is Dr. Martin. Dr. Martin has been teaching for 30 years.

3. We installed an alarm in our car. The insurance company requires an alarm to receive the discount.

Relative Pronouns: HW AnswersDirections: Combine the following sentences

using a relative pronoun.1.Very cold weather, which came down from

Canada, closed school for a day.

2. Mary's psychology teacher is Dr. Martin, who has been teaching for 30 years.

3. We installed an alarm in our car which the insurance company requires to receive the discount.