What Are Relative Pronouns? (with Examples)

A relative pronoun comes after a noun to help to identify which person or thing we are talking about or to tell us some more information about a person or thing.

A relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause. Here is a list of the relative pronouns:

That
Which
Who
Whom
Whose

A relative pronoun is used to start a description for a noun. (This description is called an adjective clause or a relative clause.) The description comes after the noun to:

(1) identify it.

For example:

The lady who made your dress is waiting outside.

the lady

who

the lady

I saw the dog which ate the cake.

the dog

We did not know the tune that had been playing.

the tune

(2) tell us more information about it.

For example:

Mrs Miggins, who owns a pie shop, is waiting outside.

Mrs Miggins

I rode my bike, which now had two flat tyres, back home.

my bike

Relative Pronouns (for People and Things)

Your choice of relative pronoun is determined by whether it refers to a person or a thing. Your choices are:

Who and whom refer to people.
Which refers to things.
That and whose refer to people or things.

Note: Be aware that a fair proportion of your readers will not like you using that for people. It is good advice to avoid using that for people, especially in formal writing.

Relative Pronouns (in Different Cases)

Your choice of relative pronoun is not just determined by whether it refers to people or things. It is also determined by the role the relative pronoun plays in its clause. For example:

People or Things	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
People	who (The boy who rang the bell)	whom (The boy whom you met)	whose (The boy whose bike was stolen)
Things	which (The candle whichmelted)	which (The candle which you made)	whose (The candle whose wick had snapped)
People or Things	that (The dog that bit the postman)	that (The dog that the postman hates)	whose (The dog whose bark sounds like cough)

Prepositions with Which and Whom

When whom or which is the object of a preposition, you can start the adjective clause with the preposition (as opposed to the relative pronoun). For example:

The council will meet Professor Dobbs, from whom they expect an apology.
My greatest concern was the tide, against which we stood little chance.

It is not a mistake to leave the preposition at the end of the clause, but be aware that some of your readers might think it looks a little informal, especially if the preposition also ends the sentence.

Therefore, in formal writing, try to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition. However, if doing so makes your sentence sound stilted, then either try to reword your sentence or just leave your preposition at the end.

Related Page:

What Are Pronouns?

Type of Pronoun

What are subject pronouns?

Subject Pronouns Exercises

What is an Object Pronoun?

Object Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

What are reflexive pronouns?

What Is an Intensive Pronoun?

Intensive Pronoun Exercises

Definite Pronoun