Relative pronouns are words like who, which and that. A relative pronoun serves two purposes. It acts as the subject or the object of the verb in its clause. It also serves as a conjunction connecting the two clauses.
Study the examples given below.
I have a friend. She lives in New England.
I have a friend who lives in New England.
Here the relative pronoun ‘who’ is the subject of the clause ‘who lives in New England’. It also connects the two clauses.
Combine each of the following pairs of sentences using appropriate relative pronouns.
1He is a cheerful boy ............... everybody loves.
Wrong!
Use "whom" for the object of the relative clause when referring to a person in formal English.
2This is the house ............... Jack built.
Wrong!
Use "that" to refer to a thing in a defining relative clause.
3He is the person ............... I want to see.
Wrong!
Use "whom" for the object of the verb "see" when referring to a person in formal English.
4He is the offender ............... the police have arrested.
Wrong!
Use "whom" for the person who receives the action of the verb "arrested" in formal English.
5My father, ............... hardly received any formal education, went on to become a great leader.
Wrong!
Use "who" as the subject of a non-defining relative clause referring to a person.
6He was my teacher ............... I will never forget.
Wrong!
Use "whom" for the object of the relative clause when referring to a person in formal English.
7This is the player ............... the committee selected captain.
Wrong!
Use "whom" for the person who receives the action of the verb "selected" in formal English.
8That is the road ............... leads to the railway station.
Wrong!
Use "which" as the subject of a relative clause referring to a thing.
9My uncle, ............... had been ailing for a while, died last week.
Wrong!
Use "who" as the subject of a non-defining relative clause referring to a person.
10The car ............... was going at over 100 mph dashed against a tree.
Wrong!
Use "which" as the subject of a relative clause referring to a thing.
Answers
- He is a cheerful boy whom everybody loves.
- This is the house that Jack built.
- He is the person whom I want to see.
- He is the offender whom the police have arrested.
- My father, who hardly received any formal education, went on to become a great leader.
- He was my teacher whom I will never forget.
- This is the player whom the committee selected captain.
- That is the road which leads to the railway station.
- My uncle, who had been ailing for a while, died last week.
- The car which was going at over 100 mph dashed against a tree.
