Relative clauses – Who /which / where /when
Who /which / where /when
We use relative clauses and relative pronouns like who, which, where to introduce them in order to identify people and things or to give more information about them.
• That boy who is standing at the bus stop over there is my little brother.
• My new camera which I bought on the internet last week is broken.
The High Street jeweller’s which bought and sold silver and where you could get a good price by bargaining has closed down.
*On which is sometimes used as a more precise sounding alternative to when to introduce relative clauses after nouns referring to time:
• The day when I’m forced to give up riding will be a sad day for me.
* Whose is the only possessive relative pronoun in English. It can be used with both people and things:
The family whose house burnt in the fire was immediately given a suite in a hotel.
The book whose author is now being shown in the news has become a bestseller.
whom:
In American English, whom is not used very often. Whom is more formal than who and is very often omitted in speech:
*The woman (whom) you have just talked to is my teacher. (Note that who is also possible here)
Omar Ait Hnizzi – Lycée IbnBattouta/Aklim
Exercices :
- Non-defining relatiuve pronounce exercises
- Relative Pronoun ExerciseI
- Relative Pronoun Exercise II
- Defining&non-defining relative pronounce
- Online exercise
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