Relative clauses
We use relative clauses to define the thing we are talking about. Take a look at the lesson and test yourself with the quiz to develop your knowledge on relative clauses.
Relative clauses
We use relative clauses to give some extra information about the related object/person.
There are 2 types of relative clauses, non-defining and defining relative clauses. The defining relative clauses gives us very important information about the thing we are talking about.
The kid who lives down the road plays soccer
This is the dog that has the problem.
We usually use who, which, that, when, where or whose to start the relative clause.
who/that
Try these other courses
Other info
Who or that is used to talk about people. We also use that often, but it is more informal.
He’s the guy who went to Japan.
She’s the lady that is in charge of the meeting.
which/that
Which or that is used when we speak about things. That is more informal.
It’s the table which I bought from Jamie
It’s the place that I visited with my parents
Pronouns
We use when to refer to a time.
2016 was the year when I met him
We use where to refer to a place.
It’s the church where we got married
We use whose to talk about objects belonging to people.
He’s the guy whose house fell down.
Leaving out a clause
We often leave out the relative pronoun when using a relative clause.
The class [that] we took last year.
We can’t usually leave it out if it is followed by a verb.
The assistant that helped us was really kind.
Your grade is: __