Relative Pronoun - An Intermediate Guide

What is a relative pronoun? A relative pronoun is a special type of pronoun that is used in a relative clause. The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which and that. All the relative pronouns, except for that, are used in defining and non-defining relative clauses. Some of the relative pronouns refer to people, while the others are used for both people, animals and things.

What is a relative clause?, what are the uses of relative pronouns?, what are a defining and non-defining relative clauses?, are relative pronouns used as subject or objects? how do we use relative pronouns with prepositions?

All the questions related to relative pronouns have been answered in this post. Give it a full reading to learn relative pronoun definition and uses with example sentences. 

This article covers:

• Relative Pronoun - Meaning and Definition 
• Relative Pronoun Examples
• Relative Pronouns and Relative Clauses
• Relative Pronouns with Examples 
• Whose as a relative pronoun
• Who as a relative pronoun
• Which as a relative pronoun 
• That as a relative pronoun
• Whom as a relative pronoun
• The Subjective and Objective Cases of Relative Pronouns
• The Relative Pronouns with Prepositions 

Relative Pronoun - Meaning and Definition

What is a relative pronoun in English? A relative pronoun is a special type of pronoun that is used in a relative clause to give us either essential or non-essential information about a noun, noun phrase or pronoun. 

To comprehend the definition of a relative pronoun, you then need to wrap your head around the following points.

1. Relative Pronouns Introduce Relative Clauses: The main function of a relative pronoun is to introduce a relative clause.

For example:

The boy who met you yesterday is my friend. (who met you you yesterday = relative clause and who =  relative pronoun)

2. Relative Clauses Give Essential or Non-essential Information: The relative clauses introduced by relative pronouns give us either essential or non-essential information about a noun, noun phrase or pronoun. The relative clauses giving essential information are called defining relative clauses, whereas the relative clauses giving non-essential information are known as non-defining relative clauses.

For example:

1. The house that I bought last year was demolished. (that I bought last year = defining relative clause and that = relative pronoun)

2. My son, who is 12, has topped the class. (who is 12 = non-defining relative clause and who = relative pronoun)

3. Relative Pronouns Can Be Subjects and Objects: All the mentioned relative pronouns, except for whom, can act as both a subject and an object pronoun. 

For example:

1. The dog that is sitting there is mine. (that is sitting there = relative clause and that = subject relative pronoun)

2. The dog that I bought last year is missing. (that I bought last year = relative clause and that = object pronoun)

4. Relative Pronouns Can Go with Prepositions: The relative pronouns such as who, whom, whose, which and that are used with prepositions as well.

1. The boy with whom you're going to the market is my friend. (with whom = relative pronoun and the preposition with)

Uses of Relative Pronouns with Examples 

Here are the uses of relative pronouns with examples:

Who as a relative pronoun

The relative pronoun who, in its strict sense, is used to refer to people; it can be used as both a subject and object pronoun; it can be used to introduce both a defining and non-defining relative clause.

Examples:

a. The boy who met you last night is my friend. (who = subject relative pronoun referring to a person in a defining clause)

b. The girl who you met yesterday is classmate. (who = object relative pronoun referring to a person in a defining clause)

c. My daughter, who is 11, has become the topper of the class. (who = subject relative pronoun referring to a person in a non-defining clause)

Whom as a relative pronoun

The relative pronoun whom is an object relative pronoun of who. It is used to refer to people. It can be used in both a defining and non-defining relative clause. It can also be used with a preposition.

Examples:

a. The boy whom you beat is the son of a minister. (whom = object relative pronoun referring to a person in a defining clause)

b. My son, whom the teacher beat, is weeping now. (whom = object relative pronoun referring to a person in a non-defining relative clause)

c. The girl to whom I am married is a lawyer. (to whom = object of a preposition in a defining clause)

 

Whose as a relative pronoun 

The relative pronoun whose is a possessive relative pronoun referring to the possession or ownership of people, animals or things. It can be used in both a defining and non-defining clause. It can also be used with a preposition.

Examples:

a. The boy whose bike was stolen is here. (whose = possessive relative pronoun referring to a person's possession in a defining clause)

b. My dog, whose belt went missing, is standing here. (whose = possessive relative pronoun referring to an animal in a non-defining clause)

c. The boy at whose party you're now is John's friend. (at whose = possessive relative pronoun with a preposition in a defining clause)

Which as a relative pronoun

The relative pronoun which is used to refer to only animals and things. It can act as both a subject and object relative pronoun. It can be used in both a defining and non-defining relative clause. It can also be used with a preposition.

Examples:

a. The cat which is sitting there is mine. (which = subject relative pronoun referring to an animal in a defining clause)

b. My dog, which you beat, is standing there. (which = object relative pronoun referring to an animal in a non-defining clause)

c. The cow at which you're looking is my father's. (at which = object of a preposition referring to an animal in a defining clause)

That as a relative pronoun

The relative pronoun that is used to refer to people, animals and things. It can be used in a defining relative clause only. It can be used as both a subject and object pronoun. 

Examples:

a. This is the bus that goes to Delhi. (that = subject relative pronoun referring to a person in a defining clause)

b. The sparrow that I bought yesterday has gone missing. (that = object relative pronoun referring to an animal in a defining clause)