Lesson 37 of 46

Relative clauses: who, which, that, whose

Add information about a noun without starting a new sentence.

The rules

1.Use who for people, which for things, that for either in defining clauses, and whose for possession: "the man who called", "the tool that helps", "the company whose CEO resigned".
2.A defining clause is essential and has no commas: "The report that you sent is late."
3.A non-defining clause adds extra information and is set off with commas; use which, not that: "The report, which you sent, is late."
4.Do not repeat the noun with a pronoun: not "the man who he called".

Incorrect: ~~The person which called was rude.~~

Correct: The person who called was rude.

Who for people.

Incorrect: ~~The book that I bought it is good.~~

Correct: The book that I bought is good.

Do not repeat "it".

Incorrect: ~~My manager that lives in Pune is kind.~~

Correct: My manager, who lives in Pune, is kind.

Extra information: commas and who.

Watch out: If the extra information could be removed and the sentence still identifies the noun, use commas and which/who.

1. The colleague ___ helped me is on leave.

2. The laptop ___ I ordered has arrived.

3. She is the writer ___ book won the prize.

Paste any text and see exactly what to fix, with the rule explained.