What is Relative Clause? Relative Clauses Definition and Example Sentences
Table of Contents
Relative Clauses
Relative Clauses are grammatical rules used to connect two related sentences in the English language. Although it may seem complicated at first glance, if this subject is well understood, it contributes to the learner substantially, especially in terms of constructing sentences. Relative pronouns are used to implement the aforementioned rule. These are who, whose, which, when, where, and that. The aforementioned words have different usage areas and their usage areas may differ according to the meaning of the sentence.
We must know where and how to use Relative Pronouns. Let’s talk about them now.
Who/That
The word “who” is used to connect two sentences that describe a person. Let’s give examples of this usage.
- Abigail is the first accountant of this company.
- Abigail is my little sister.
In the two sentences given as examples above, it is mentioned that a person is both the first accountant of a company and the younger brother of the subject. It is necessary to use who as in the example below to connect the two sentences given as this example into a single sentence.
- Abigail, the first accountant of this company, is my younger sister.
- Abigail, my younger sister, is the first accountant of this company.
As can be seen in the sentences given above, the two sentences are connected with “who”. In the first sentence, it is emphasized that Abigail is the first accountant of a company, while in the second sentence it is emphasized that Abigail is the younger brother of diligence. The inference we will get from here is the first clause of the stress written before the word “who” in the sentence.
Whose
The word whose is used to connect sentences that associate belonging. My, her, his, our, its, and their replace belonging patterns. Let’s take an example of this situation.
- I want to go on vacation with my friend whose family is rich.
In the sentence given as an example above, the word “whose” is used to connect the two sentences. In other words, “whose” is used to express the family-owned by the friend who wants to go on vacation together.
Which
The usage of the word which is almost the same as the word who, but the usage areas differ. The word who is used for persons, while the word which is used for objects or animals. Let’s take an example of this situation.
- Madison cooks a delicious meal.
- Eric has a very sweet puppy.
Where
The word where is used to combine two sentences that describe the place. In some cases, the word which can be used instead of the word where.
- I want to take Mary to a restaurant where hamburgers are very famous.
- Karen works in a factory that produces thousands of clothes a day.
When
The word when is used to combine two sentences that describe time, and in some cases, the word which can be used instead of the word when, as in the word “where”.
- The place where I work was opened when the cases were low during the pandemic period.
Why
The word why is used to join two sentences in which the justification is being described, and in some cases, the word which can be used instead of the word why, as in the words “where” and “when”.
- Do you know why I can’t go on vacation next week?
- Why is Karen treating me like this?
Relative Clauses Tables
| who / that | Subject or object pronoun for people | That’s the woman who bought my house. |
| which / that | Subject or object pronoun for ANIMALS or THINGS | The horse which Mary was riding is very friendly and beautiful. |
| where | Refers to a PLACE | We found the wood where I used to go. |
| when | Refers to a TIME expression | I will never forget the day when I graduated. |
| whose | POSSESSION for people, animals and things | The mother whose child is missing is very sad. |
