noun for person + who + verb + complementUse who when the clause gives essential information about a person and who is the subject inside the clause.
Defining Relative Clauses
A2Defining relative clauses add essential information after a noun: the man who called, the book that I bought. They identify exactly which person or thing you mean.
What you'll learn
- Join ideas to identify exactly which person or thing you mean.
- Use who after nouns for people.
- Use which after nouns for things.
- Use that in everyday defining clauses for people or things.
- Leave out commas when the clause is essential.
- Drop who, which, or that when it is the object.
Structure
noun for thing + which/that + verb + complementUse which or that when the clause gives essential information about a thing.
noun + (who/which/that) + subject + verbWhen the relative word is the object, you can keep it or drop it: the book that Tom bought / the book Tom bought.
Build a sentence
Noun
Detail
the manwho called yesterday
The man who called yesterday is here.
Use who for a person when that person does the action in the clause.
When to use
Identifying a person
Use the clause to show which person you mean: the woman who works downstairs, the doctor who called Maria.
Identifying a thing
Use the clause to show which thing you mean: the bag which Lisa bought, the road that goes to the beach.
Shorter everyday form
When the noun receives the action inside the clause, you can drop who, which, or that: the movie we watched, the person Anna met.
Markers
whowhichthatno commaafter the noun
Common mistakes
Wrong
The man which called is here.
Correct
The man who called is here.
Use who after a noun for a person.
Wrong
I need the app who shows bus times.
Correct
I need the app which shows bus times.
Use which after a noun for a thing.
Wrong
The people, who live upstairs, are very quiet.
Correct
The people who live upstairs are very quiet.
The clause identifies which people, so do not use commas.
Wrong
The woman works here is my aunt.
Correct
The woman who works here is my aunt.
Do not drop who when it is the subject of the clause.
Wrong
Tom bought a phone. It takes great photos.
Correct
Tom bought a phone that takes great photos.
A defining clause joins the ideas and identifies the phone in one sentence.
Common misconceptions
❝ You must always say who, which, or that in every defining relative clause. ❞
When the relative word is the object, you can often leave it out: the cake Anna made, the movie we saw.
❝ Commas always make long sentences clearer, so use them before who, which, or that. ❞
Do not use commas when the clause is necessary to identify the noun. The clause stays tightly connected to the noun.
Skills in this rule (6)
ADD_PEOPLE_THING_INFOw5Add identifying information after a noun
Use a second part to show exactly which person or thing you mean. The extra information is necessary to identify the noun.
USE_WHO_FOR_PEOPLEw5Use who after nouns for people
After a noun that names a person, use who to add the identifying detail. This detail tells the listener which person you mean.
USE_WHICH_FOR_THINGSw5Use which after nouns for things
After a noun that names a thing, place, or idea, use which to add the identifying detail. The clause narrows the meaning to one specific thing.
USE_THAT_FOR_PEOPLE_OR_THINGSw4Use that in defining clauses for people or things
In identifying clauses, that can replace who or which in many everyday sentences. It keeps the meaning essential and compact.
NO_COMMAS_FOR_ESSENTIAL_INFOw5Leave out commas when the information is necessary
Do not separate the clause with commas when it identifies the noun. If you remove the clause, the listener does not know which person or thing you mean.
DROP_WHO_WHICH_THAT_WHEN_OBJECTw4Drop who, which, or that when it is the object
When the noun is not doing the action inside the clause, you can often leave out who, which, or that. The clause still follows the noun directly.