What is Relative Pronoun? Relative Pronouns List and Example Sentences
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Relative Pronouns
Relative Clauses is a grammar rule for connecting two related sentences in English. Although it may seem complicated at first, when it is learned well, it will provide a great convenience to the person, especially in terms of constructing sentences. The words used to apply the aforementioned grammatical rule are called “Relative Pronoun”. These words can be listed as “when, which, where, who, whose, that”. The mentioned words have different usage areas and these usage areas differ according to the meaning of the sentence.
Where and How to Use Relative Pronouns?
Who/That
The word “who” is used to connect two sentences that describe a person. For example,
Jack is the assistant manager of this business.
Jack is my little brother.
In the two sentences given above, it is mentioned that Jack is the assistant manager of a business and the brother of the subject. To turn the two sentences given into a sentence, we need to use “who” as follows.
“Jack, the vice president of this business, is my younger brother.”
“Jack, my younger brother, is the assistant manager of this business.”
As seen in the examples above, both sentences are combined with “who”. In the first sentence, “Jack is the assistant manager of this business.” While the sentence “Jack is my little brother” is emphasized in the second sentence. Accordingly, the emphasis is on the first sentence written after the word “who”.
Examples:
Einstein is the father of modern physics.
Einstein died in 1955.
Einstein, the father of modern physics, died in 1955.
Einstein, who died in 1955, is the father of modern physics.
My brother lives in London.
My brother is a teacher.
My brother, who lives in London, is a teacher.
My brother, who is a teacher, lives in London.
Whose
The word “Whose” is used to combine the sentences denoting ownership. The word Whose replaces the patterns of belonging such as “My, his, her, its, our, their”. For example,
I want to be friends with someone whose family is rich.
In this sentence, the word “whose” is used to express the family of the person to be friends with.
This is the painter whose drawings are very popular.
I’m going to Clara’s house, whose bedroom is huge.
Which
Although the usage areas are different, the use of the word “which” is similar to the use of the word “who”. “Which” is used for objects and animals, while “who” is used for persons.
Elsa is making a very delicious cake.
He has a very large grizzly dog.
The off-road car that Mike bought a month ago is very clean.
Where
The word “where” is used to combine two sentences that describe the place.
Will you take me to the bakery, whose cookies are famous, tomorrow night?
Richard works in a factory that produces 2000 shoes a week.
My cousin lives in a luxury house with a pool.
When
The word “when” is used to join two sentences that describe time.
My brother was born on a day when I was abroad.
The school closed during a period of heavy snowfall.
Why
The word “why” is used to combine two sentences that describe a relationship, a reason.
Do you know why the world cup final match was postponed?
Do you know why he treated you badly?
Common Mistakes in Using Relative Clauses
The word “that” is only used in defining relative clauses, instead of which or who. The word “that” cannot be used in non-defining relative clauses. Mandatory, descriptive, and determining information is called “defining relative clause”. Non-defining relative clause, on the other hand, is information that is not obligatory, does not have a distinctive and determining feature. In non-defining relative clauses, a comma is placed after the subject, and if desired, the relative clause can be removed from the sentence.
– The word “what” is not a relative pronoun. It cannot be used in the relative clause form.
– The word “who” cannot be used for objects or animals. Available for individuals only.
