Relative Pronouns: Meaning, Rules, and Examples

Relative pronouns introduce clauses that describe a noun or pronoun already mentioned in a sentence. Words such as who, whom, whose, which, and that let you add information about a person, thing, animal, place, idea, or group without starting a separate sentence.

A sentence like “The woman is my neighbor. She lives next door.” becomes smoother when you use a relative pronoun: “The woman who lives next door is my neighbor.” The word who connects the added clause to the woman and shows exactly which woman you mean.

What Is a Relative Pronoun?

A relative pronoun begins a relative clause. A relative clause gives more information about a noun or pronoun in the main clause.

• The student who won the award studies in Boston.
• The laptop that I ordered arrived this morning.
• The museum, which opened in 1897, is near the river.

Each bold part is a relative clause. It begins with a relative pronoun and adds information about a noun.

The noun being described is the antecedent:

Sentence	Relative Pronoun	Antecedent
The woman who called is my aunt.	Who	Woman
The book that you recommended is excellent.	That	Book
The house which stands near the lake is old.	Which	House
The writer whose article won the prize lives in Toronto.	Whose	Writer
The professor whom we invited teaches at Oxford.	Whom	Professor

List of Relative Pronouns

The main relative pronouns in English are who, whom, whose, which, and that.

Relative Pronoun	Main Use	Example
Who	People as the subject of the clause.	The woman who called is my aunt.
Whom	People as the object of a verb or preposition.	The professor whom we invited arrived early.
Whose	Possession or relationship.	The artist whose painting won the award lives in New York.
Which	Things, animals, ideas, or extra information.	The laptop, which I bought last year, still works well.
That	Essential information about people, animals, or things.	The book that you recommended is on my desk.

Some words, such as where, when, and why, also introduce relative clauses, but they are usually taught as relative adverbs rather than core relative pronouns.

How Relative Pronouns Work in a Sentence

Relative pronouns connect a noun to a clause that describes it.

• The teacher who helped me works in Manchester.
• The phone that I bought yesterday has a strong battery.
• The café which opened last month is already popular.

The relative clause can identify the noun or add extra information about it.

Identifying information:
The book that I borrowed from Grace is on the table.

The clause that I borrowed from Grace identifies which book.

Extra information:
The book, which I borrowed from Grace, is on the table.

The commas show that the book is already identified. The clause adds extra information.

How to Use Who

Use who for people when the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause. The person does the action in that clause.

• The student who answered the question studies in Boston.
• The woman who lives next door works at a hospital.
• The actor who played the lead role won an award.

In “The student who answered the question,” the student did the answering. That is why who is the right choice.

Use who for people in most natural English sentences, especially when the clause describes what the person does.

The student which answered the question studies in Boston. ❌
The student who answered the question studies in Boston. ✅

How to Use Whom

Use whom for people when the relative pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition. The person receives the action instead of doing it.

• The professor whom we invited teaches at Oxford.
• The editor whom Sophie contacted replied quickly.
• The consultant to whom we spoke works in Sydney.

In “The professor whom we invited,” the professor did not invite someone. The professor received the invitation. That makes whom the object.

In everyday speech, many people use who instead of whom when the preposition is not placed before the pronoun.

• The professor who we invited teaches at Oxford.
• The person who I spoke to was helpful.

In formal writing, whom is still preferred after a preposition.

• The person to whom I spoke was helpful.
• The company for whom she works is based in London.

How to Use Whose

Use whose to show possession, relationship, or connection. It is followed by a noun.

• The author whose book won the prize lives in Toronto.
• The student whose essay was published studies in Chicago.
• The company whose offices are in New York is expanding.
• The dog whose collar is red belongs to our neighbor.

Whose is not limited to people. It can also refer to animals, organizations, and sometimes things, especially in polished writing.

• The house whose roof was damaged has been repaired.
• The university whose library opened last year is in Melbourne.

Do not confuse whose with who’s. Who’s means who is or who has.

The writer who’s book won the prize lives in Toronto. ❌
The writer whose book won the prize lives in Toronto. ✅

How to Use Which

Use which for things, animals, ideas, and extra information. It is common in non-defining relative clauses, where commas set off additional information.

• The laptop, which I bought in London, works well.
• The train, which was delayed, arrived after midnight.
• The policy, which many residents questioned, was changed later.
• The dog, which had been missing for two days, returned home.

Use which when the clause gives extra information about something already identified.

• My car, which I bought last year, needs new tires.

The listener already knows which car you mean. The relative clause adds extra detail.

Which can also refer to a whole idea in the previous clause.

• The flight was delayed, which annoyed the passengers.

Here, which refers to the fact that the flight was delayed.

How to Use That

Use that in defining relative clauses when the information is needed to identify the noun. It can refer to people, animals, or things, although who is usually preferred for people in careful writing.

• The book that you recommended is on my desk.
• The restaurant that opened near our office is always busy.
• The jacket that Emma bought in New York looks expensive.
• The train that leaves at 8:30 goes to Edinburgh.

A that clause usually answers “Which one?”

• The book that you recommended is on my desk.

Without the relative clause, “The book is on my desk” does not identify the exact book. The clause is essential.

Do not use that after a comma in a non-defining relative clause.

My laptop, that I bought last year, is slow. ❌
My laptop, which I bought last year, is slow. ✅

Who vs Whom

The difference between who and whom depends on the role of the pronoun inside the relative clause.

Use	Pronoun	Example
Subject	Who	The woman who called is my aunt.
Object	Whom	The woman whom I called is my aunt.
After preposition	Whom	The woman to whom I spoke was kind.

Use this test:

• If the pronoun does the action, use who.
• If the pronoun receives the action, use whom.
• If a preposition comes before it, use whom.

Subject:
The journalist who interviewed the mayor works for a London newspaper.

The journalist did the interviewing.

Object:
The journalist whom the mayor interviewed works for a London newspaper.

The journalist received the action.

In everyday English, who often replaces whom when the sentence does not sound formal. In formal writing, whom still has a useful place, especially after prepositions.

That vs Which

That usually introduces essential information. Which usually introduces extra information and is set off by commas.

Use	Pronoun	Example
Essential information	That	The laptop that I bought last week is already slow.
Extra information	Which	My laptop, which I bought last week, is already slow.

Use that when the clause identifies the noun.

• The restaurant that opened near our office is always crowded.
• The course that Grace recommended starts in September.
• The house that stands beside the river is for sale.

Use which when the noun is already identified and the clause only adds information.

• The restaurant, which opened last month, is already crowded.
• The course, which Grace recommended, starts in September.
• The house, which stands beside the river, is for sale.

The commas change the structure. A that clause is usually essential. A which clause with commas is usually extra information.

Defining and Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Relative pronouns introduce two main kinds of relative clauses: defining and non-defining.

A defining relative clause identifies the noun. It is necessary for the meaning of the sentence and does not use commas.

• The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
• The phone that I bought yesterday has a large screen.
• The book which you lent me is on the desk.

A non-defining relative clause adds extra information. The noun is already identified, so the clause is separated with commas.

• Olivia, who lives next door, is a doctor.
• My phone, which I bought yesterday, has a large screen.
• The British Museum, which attracts millions of visitors, is in London.

Do not use that in a non-defining relative clause.

Olivia, that lives next door, is a doctor. ❌
Olivia, who lives next door, is a doctor. ✅

Relative Pronouns With Prepositions

Relative pronouns can appear with prepositions such as to, for, about, with, and from. The position of the preposition affects the tone.

Formal pattern: the preposition comes before the relative pronoun.

• The person to whom I spoke was helpful.
• The company for which she works is hiring.
• The topic about which we argued was minor.

Everyday pattern: the preposition comes at the end.

• The person who I spoke to was helpful.
• The company that she works for is hiring.
• The topic which we argued about was minor.

When the preposition comes before the relative pronoun, use whom for people and which for things. Do not use that after a fronted preposition.

The person to that I spoke was helpful. ❌
The person to whom I spoke was helpful. ✅

The company for that she works is hiring. ❌
The company for which she works is hiring. ✅

When To Omit Relative Pronouns

You can sometimes leave out a relative pronoun when it is the object of the relative clause. This happens mostly in defining clauses.

Object pronoun, omission allowed:

• The book that I bought is expensive.
• The book I bought is expensive.
• The woman whom we met was friendly.
• The woman we met was friendly.
• The laptop which we ordered arrived today.
• The laptop we ordered arrived today.

You cannot leave out the relative pronoun when it is the subject of the relative clause.

The book costs a lot is on the desk. ❌
The book that costs a lot is on the desk. ✅

The woman lives next door is a doctor. ❌
The woman who lives next door is a doctor. ✅

You also keep the relative pronoun in non-defining clauses.

My phone, I bought last year, is already slow. ❌
My phone, which I bought last year, is already slow. ✅

And you keep it when a preposition comes before the relative word.

The person to I spoke was helpful. ❌
The person to whom I spoke was helpful. ✅

Relative Pronouns vs Relative Adverbs

Words such as where, when, and why often introduce relative clauses, but they are usually called relative adverbs. They refer to place, time, or reason.

Word	Use	Example
Where	Place	This is the café where we met.
When	Time	I remember the day when we arrived in Sydney.
Why	Reason	That is the reason why she left early.

These words do not work like the core relative pronouns who, whom, whose, which, and that. They do not replace a person or thing in the same way. Instead, they connect the clause to a place, time, or reason.

You can often rewrite them with a preposition plus which:

• This is the café where we met.
• This is the café at which we met.
• I remember the day when we arrived.
• I remember the day on which we arrived.

The second version is more formal.

Common Mistakes With Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are easier to use when you avoid a few common errors.

Using Which for People

Use who for people in standard learner English.

The woman which called is my aunt. ❌
The woman who called is my aunt. ✅

Confusing Whose and Who’s

Whose shows possession. Who’s means who is or who has.

The student who’s essay won the prize studies in Boston. ❌
The student whose essay won the prize studies in Boston. ✅

Using That in a Non-Defining Clause

Do not use that after a comma in a non-defining relative clause.

My brother, that lives in Toronto, visits every winter. ❌
My brother, who lives in Toronto, visits every winter. ✅

Repeating the Noun or Pronoun

Do not repeat the noun or pronoun after the relative pronoun.

The book that I bought it is expensive. ❌
The book that I bought is expensive. ✅

The woman who she lives next door is a doctor. ❌
The woman who lives next door is a doctor. ✅

Using That After a Fronted Preposition

When the preposition comes before the relative word, use whom for people and which for things.

The person to that I spoke was helpful. ❌
The person to whom I spoke was helpful. ✅

The issue about that we argued was minor. ❌
The issue about which we argued was minor. ✅

Relative Pronouns in Sentences

These examples show relative pronouns in natural English sentences.

• The student who won the award studies in Boston.
• The woman who lives next door works at a hospital.
• The professor whom we invited teaches at Oxford.
• The editor whom Sophie contacted replied quickly.
• The author whose book became a bestseller lives in Toronto.
• The company whose offices are in New York is expanding.
• The laptop that I ordered arrived this morning.
• The jacket that Emma bought in London looks expensive.
• The restaurant that opened near our office is always busy.
• The train that leaves at 8:30 goes to Edinburgh.
• The museum, which opened in 1897, is near the river.
• My phone, which I bought last year, still works well.
• The flight was delayed, which annoyed the passengers.
• The person to whom I spoke was very polite.
• The company for which Grace works is based in Melbourne.
• The topic about which we argued was not serious.
• The book I borrowed from Oliver is on my desk.
• The film that Daniel recommended won several awards.
• The scientist who discovered the error works in Sydney.
• The school whose library burned down has reopened.

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