Gammie: Relative Clauses

Form of Relative Clause

How to form relative clauses in the sentence

who
subject or object pronoun for people
I told you about the woman who lives next door.

which
subject or object pronoun for animals and things
Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?

which
referring to a whole sentence
He couldn’t read which surprised me.

whose
possession for people animals and things
Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?

whom
object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)
I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.

that
subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)
I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Relative Adverbs

when=in/on which
refers to a time expression>>>the day when we met him

where=in/at which
refers to a place>>>the place where we met him

why=for which
refers to a reason>>>the reason why we met him

Defining Relative Clauses:
Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.

For example: I received a letter this morning which made me really happy.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses:
Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.

For example: My love friend, who lives in Thailand, is having a baby.

Website for practice Relative Clauses.