person + who + verb + complementUse who when the noun before the clause is a person and who is the subject of the extra clause.
Relative Pronouns
A2Relative pronouns connect a noun to extra information: who for people, which for things, that for many everyday clauses, whose for possession, and whom in formal patterns.
What you'll learn
- Choose who after a noun that refers to a person.
- Choose which after a noun that refers to a thing or animal.
- Use that in many everyday clauses with people or things.
- Use whose to link an owner to the next noun.
- Avoid a second subject pronoun inside the relative clause.
Structure
thing + which + verb + complementUse which when the noun before the clause is a thing, idea, or animal.
person/thing + that + verb + complementThat often replaces who or which in defining clauses in everyday English.
owner + whose + noun + verbWhose comes before the noun that belongs to the owner.
person + preposition + whom + subject + verbWhom is mainly formal and appears often after a preposition.
Build a sentence
Noun type
Target pronoun
the womanwhoworksnext door
The woman who works next door is a doctor.
Use who for people.
When to use
People
Use a relative pronoun to add information about a person. Anna met a chef who works on TV.
Things and animals
Use a relative pronoun to describe an object, place, idea, or animal. This is the phone which takes underwater photos.
Possession
Use whose when you need to show that something belongs to someone or something. I spoke to the artist whose paintings are in the lobby.
Markers
whowhichthatwhosewhom
Common mistakes
Wrong
The teacher which helped Tom was very patient.
Correct
The teacher who helped Tom was very patient.
Use who after a noun that refers to a person.
Wrong
This is the app who saves my notes.
Correct
This is the app which saves my notes.
Use which after a noun that refers to a thing.
Wrong
I know a woman who she teaches math.
Correct
I know a woman who teaches math.
Who already works as the subject inside the clause, so she must drop.
Wrong
We visited a company who is products are sold worldwide.
Correct
We visited a company whose products are sold worldwide.
Use whose before the noun to show possession.
Wrong
The guest to who Lisa spoke arrived early.
Correct
The guest to whom Lisa spoke arrived early.
After a preposition in a formal pattern, use whom.
Common misconceptions
❝ That is always the only correct choice in modern English. ❞
That is common in everyday defining clauses, but who, which, whose, and whom are also used in clear patterns.
❝ You need whom in all object positions to sound correct. ❞
In everyday English, who is very common. Whom is mainly formal, especially after a preposition.
Skills in this rule (6)
WHO_FOR_PEOPLEw5Use who for people
Use who when the extra clause gives information about a person or people. The noun before who is the person you are talking about.
WHICH_FOR_THINGSw5Use which for things and animals
Use which when the extra clause gives information about a thing, object, idea, or animal. The noun before which is not a person.
THAT_FOR_PEOPLE_OR_THINGSw4Use that for people or things in many everyday clauses
That can replace who or which in many defining relative clauses. It is common in everyday English when the clause identifies exactly which person or thing you mean.
WHOSE_FOR_POSSESSIONw5Use whose to show possession
Use whose when the next noun belongs to the person, animal, or thing before it. Whose links the owner to the noun that follows.
WHOM_AFTER_PREPOSITION_OR_AS_OBJECTw2Recognize whom after a preposition or as an object in formal English
Whom appears in formal English, especially after a preposition or when it refers to the object of the verb. In everyday English, who is often used instead.
DROP_EXTRA_SUBJECTw5Do not repeat the subject inside the relative clause
After who, which, or that, do not add another subject pronoun if the relative pronoun already does that job. Use one subject only inside the clause.