Unit

92 Relative clauses 1: clauses with who/that/which

A Study this example situation:
Last week we had a party and a lot of people came. Everybody enjoyed it.
Everybody who came to the party enjoyed it.
relative clause

A clause is a part of a sentence. A relative clause tells us which person or thing (or what kind of
person or thing) the speaker means:
the woman who lives next door to me
(‘who lives next door to me’ tells us which woman)
people who complain all the time
(‘who complain all the time’ tells us what kind of people)
We use who in a relative clause for people (not things):
The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor.
I don’t like people who complain all the time.
An architect is someone who designs buildings.
What was the name of the person who called?
Do you know anyone who wants to buy a car?
We also use that for people, but not which:
The woman that lives next door to me is a doctor. (not the woman which)
Sometimes you must use who (not that) for people – see Unit 95.

B When we are talking about things, we use that or which (not who) in a relative clause:
I don’t like stories that have unhappy endings.
or … stories which have unhappy endings.
Grace works for a company that makes furniture.
or … a company which makes furniture.
The machine that broke down is working again now.
or The machine which broke down …
In these examples that is more usual than which, but sometimes you must use which. See Unit 95.

C In relative clauses we use who/that/which, not he/she/they/it.

Compare:
I met a Canadian woman at the party. She is an English teacher. (2 sentences)
I met a Canadian woman who is an English teacher. (1 sentence)
I can’t find the keys. They were on the table.
Where are the keys that were on the table? (not the keys they were)

D What = the thing(s) that

Compare what and that:
What happened was my fault. (= the thing that happened)
but
Everything that happened was my fault.
(not Everything what happened)
The machine that broke down is now working again.
(not The machine what broke down)

184 Relative clauses 2–5 ➜ Units 93–96

 Unit
Exercises 92
92.1 What do these words mean? Choose from the box and write sentences with who.
steals from a shop buys something from a shop
designs buildings pays rent to live somewhere
doesn’t tell the truth breaks into a house to steal things
is not brave expects the worst to happen

1 (an architect) An architect is someone who designs buildings.

2 (a customer)
3 (a burglar)
4 (a coward)
5 (a tenant)
6 (a shoplifter)
7 (a liar)
8 (a pessimist)

92.2 Make one sentence from two. Use who/that/which.

1 A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital.
The girl who was injured in the accident is now in hospital.
2 A waiter served us. He was impolite and impatient.
The
3 A building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt.
The
4 Some people were arrested. They have now been released.
The
5 A bus goes to the airport. It runs every half hour.
The

92.3 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use who/that/which.
happened in the past makes furniture
runs away from home can support life
cannot be explained has stayed there
developed the theory of relativity were hanging on the wall

1 Helen works for a company that makes furniture .

2 The movie is about a girl .
3 What happened to the pictures ?
4 A mystery is something .
5 I’ve heard it’s a good hotel, but I don’t know anyone .
6 History is the study of things .
7 Albert Einstein was the scientist .
8 It seems that Earth is the only planet .

92.4 Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.
1 I don’t like stories who have unhappy endings. stories that have
2 What was the name of the person who phoned? OK
3 Where’s the nearest shop who sells bread?
4 Dan said some things about me they were not true.
5 The driver which caused the accident was fined £500.
6 Do you know the person that took these pictures?
7 We live in a world what is changing all the time.
8 Gary apologised for what he said.
9 What was the name of the horse what won the race?

185
Unit Relative clauses 2:
93 clauses with and without who/that/which
A Look at these example sentences from Unit 92:
The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor. (or The woman that lives …)

The woman lives next door to me who (= the woman) is the subject

Where are the keys that were on the table? (or … the keys which were …)

The keys were on the table that (= the keys) is the subject
You must use who/that/which when it is the subject of the relative clause. You cannot leave out
who/that/which in these examples.

B Sometimes who/that/which is the object of the verb. For example:

The woman who I wanted to see was away on holiday.

I wanted to see the woman who (= the woman) is the object

I is the subject
Did you find the keys that you lost?
that (= the keys) is the object
you lost the keys
you is the subject
When who/that/which is the object, you can leave it out. So you can say:
The woman I wanted to see was away. or The woman who I wanted to see …
Did you find the keys you lost? or … the keys that you lost?
The dress Lisa bought doesn’t fit her very well. or The dress that Lisa bought …
Is there anything I can do? or … anything that I can do?
Note that we say:
the keys you lost (not the keys you lost them)
the dress Lisa bought (not the dress Lisa bought it)

C Note the position of prepositions (to/in/for etc.) in relative clauses:

Tom is talking to a woman. Do you know her? (2 sentences)

Do you know the woman Tom is talking to ? (or … the woman who/that Tom is talking to)

I slept in a bed. It wasn’t comfortable. (2 sentences)

The bed I slept in wasn’t comfortable. (or The bed that/which I slept in …)

Are these the books you were looking for? or

Are these the books that/which you were …
The man I was sitting next to on the plane talked all the time. or
The man who/that I was sitting next to …
Note that we say:
the books you were looking for (not the books you were looking for them)
the man I was sitting next to (not the man I was sitting next to him)

D We say:
Everything (that) they said was true. (not Everything what they said)
I gave her all the money (that) I had. (not all the money what I had)
What = the thing(s) that:
What they said was true. (= The things that they said)

186 Relative clauses 1 ➜ Unit 92 Relative clauses 3–5 ➜ Units 94–96 whom ➜ Unit 94B
 Unit
Exercises 93
93.1 In some of these sentences you need who or that. Correct the sentences where necessary.
1 The woman lives next door is a doctor. The woman who lives next door
2 Did you find the keys you lost? OK
3 The people we met last night were very friendly.
4 The people work in the office are very friendly.
5 I like the people I work with.
6 What have you done with the money I gave you?
7 What happened to the money was on the table?
8 What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
9 What’s the best thing it has ever happened to you?

93.2 What do you say in these situations? Complete each sentence with a relative clause.
1 Your friend lost some keys. You want to know if he found them. You say:
Did you find the keys you lost ?
2 A friend is wearing a dress. You like it. You tell her:
I like the dress .
3 A friend is going to the cinema. You want to know the name of the film. You say:
What’s the name of the film ?
4 You wanted to visit a museum, but it was shut. You tell a friend:
The museum was shut.
5 You invited people to your party. Some of them couldn’t come. You tell someone:
Some of the people couldn’t come.
6 Your friend had to do some work. You want to know if she has finished. You say:
Have you finished the work ?
7 You rented a car. It broke down after a few miles. You tell a friend:
Unfortunately the car broke down after a few miles.

93.3 These sentences all have a relative clause with a preposition. Put the words in the correct order.
1 Did you find (looking / for / you / the books / were)?
Did you find the books you were looking for ?
2 We couldn’t go to (we / invited / to / were / the wedding).
We couldn’t go to .
3 What’s the name of (the hotel / about / me / told / you)?
What’s the name of ?
4 Unfortunately I didn’t get (applied / I / the job / for).
Unfortunately I didn’t get .
5 Did you enjoy (you / the concert / to / went)?
Did you enjoy ?
6 Gary is a good person to know. He’s (on / rely / can / somebody / you).
Gary is a good person to know. He’s .
7 Who were (the people / with / were / you) in the restaurant yesterday?
Who were in the restaurant yesterday?

93.4 Put in that or what where necessary. If the sentence is already complete, leave the space empty.
1 I gave her all the money – I had. (all the money that I had is also correct)
2 Did you hear what they said?
3 She gives her children everything they want.
4 Tell me you want and I’ll try to get it for you.
5 Why do you blame me for everything goes wrong?
6 I won’t be able to do much, but I’ll do I can.
7 I won’t be able to do much, but I’ll do the best I can.
8 I don’t agree with you said.
9 I don’t trust him. I don’t believe anything he says.
187
Unit
94 Relative clauses 3: whose/whom/where
A whose
Study this example situation:

When we were driving home, we saw some people standing by the

road. Their car had broken down, so we stopped to help them.
We helped some people whose car had broken down.
(= their car had broken down)

We use whose mostly for people:

A widow is a woman whose husband is dead.
(her husband is dead)
I met someone whose brother I went to school with.
(I went to school with his/her brother)
Compare who and whose:
I met a man who knows you. (he knows you)
I met a man whose sister knows you. (his sister knows you)
Do not confuse whose and who’s. The pronunciation is the same, but who’s = who is or who has:
I have a friend who’s learning Arabic. (who’s = who is)
I have a friend who’s just started learning Arabic. (who’s = who has)
I have a friend whose sister is learning Arabic.

B whom
Whom is possible instead of who when it is the object of the verb (see Unit 93B):
George is a person whom I admire very much. (I admire him)
You can also use a preposition + whom (to whom / from whom / with whom etc.):
It’s important to have friends with whom you can relax. (you can relax with them)
Whom is a formal word and we do not often use it in spoken English. We usually prefer to say:
a person I admire a lot or a person who/that I admire a lot
friends you can relax with or friends who/that you can relax with

C where
We use where in a relative clause to talk about a place:
I recently went back to the town where I grew up. (I grew up there)
The restaurant where we had lunch was near the airport.
I would like to live in a place where there is plenty of sunshine.

D the day, the time, the reason …

We say ‘the day we got married’, ‘the year I was born’, ‘the last time they met’ etc. :
I can’t meet you on Friday. That’s the day I’m going away.
The last time I saw her, she looked great.
You can also use that:
The last time that I saw her, she looked great.
We say ‘the reason I’m calling you’, ‘the reason she didn’t get the job’ etc.
The reason I’m calling you is to ask your advice.
You can also use that:
The reason that I’m calling you … or The reason why I’m calling you …

188 Relative clauses 1–2 ➜ Units 92–93 Relative clauses 4–5 ➜ Units 95–96 whom ➜ Unit 96
 Unit
Exercises 94
94.1 You met these people at a party:
1 2 3
My mother writes My wife is an I own a
detective stories. English teacher. restaurant.

4 5 6
My ambition is We’ve just My parents used to
to climb Mount got married. work in a circus.
Everest.

The next day you tell a friend about these people. Complete the sentences using who or whose.
1 I met somebody whose mother writes detective stories .
2 I met a man .
3 I met a woman .
4 I met somebody .
5 I met a couple .
6 I met somebody .
94.2 For each situation write a sentence with whom (more formal) and without whom (less formal).
1 You met a friend. You hadn’t seen him for years.
more formal I met a friend whom I hadn’t seen for years .
less formal I met a friend I hadn’t seen for years .
2 You needed a lawyer. A friend of yours recommended one.
more formal I went to see a lawyer .
less formal I went to see a lawyer .
3 You called your bank with a problem. You spoke to somebody, but he wasn’t very helpful.
more formal The person wasn’t very helpful.
less formal The person .
4 Tom was in love with a woman, but she wasn’t in love with Tom.
more formal The woman wasn’t in love with him.
less formal The woman wasn’t in love with him.
94.3 Complete the sentences using who/whom/whose/where.
1 We helped some people whose car had broken down.
2 A cemetery is a place people are buried.
3 A pacifist is a person believes that all wars are wrong.
4 An orphan is a child parents are dead.
5 What’s the name of the hotel your parents are staying?
6 This school is only for children first language is not English.
7 The person from I bought my car is a friend of my father’s.
8 I live in a friendly village everybody knows everybody else.
94.4 Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.
1 I can’t meet you on Friday. That’s the day I’m going away .
2 The reason was that the salary was too low.
3 I’ll never forget the time .
4 was the year .
5 The reason is that neither of them can drive.
6 The last time I was .
7 Do you remember the day ?
189
Unit
95 Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)
A There are two types of relative clause. In these examples, the relative clauses are underlined.
Compare:

Type 1 Type 2
The woman who lives next door to me My brother Ben, who lives in Hong
is a doctor. Kong, is an architect.
Grace works for a company that makes Anna told me about her new job, which
furniture. she’s enjoying a lot.
We stayed at the hotel (that) you We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a
recommended. friend of ours recommended.
In these examples, the relative clauses tell you In these examples, the relative clauses do not
which person or thing (or what kind of person tell you which person or thing the speaker
or thing) the speaker means: means. We already know which thing or
‘The woman who lives next door to me’ person is meant: ‘My brother Ben’, ‘Anna’s new
tells us which woman. job’ and ‘the Park Hotel’.
‘A company that makes furniture’ tells us
The relative clauses in these sentences give us
what kind of company.
extra information about the person or thing.
‘The hotel (that) you recommended’ tells
us which hotel.
We do not use commas (,) with these clauses: We use commas (,) with these clauses:
We know a lot of people who live in My brother Ben, who lives in Hong
London. Kong, is an architect.

B In both types of relative clause we use who for people and which for things. But:

Type 1 Type 2
You can use that: You cannot use that:
Do you know anyone who/that speaks John, who speaks French and Italian,
French and Italian? works as a tour guide. (not that speaks)
Grace works for a company which/that Anna told me about her new job, which
makes furniture. she’s enjoying a lot.
You can leave out who/which/that when it is
the object (see Unit 93): You cannot leave out who or which:
We stayed at the hotel (that/which) We stayed at the Park Hotel, which
you recommended. a friend of ours recommended.
This morning I met somebody (who/that) This morning I met Chris, who I hadn’t
I hadn’t seen for ages. seen for ages.
We do not often use whom in this type of You can use whom for people (when it is the
clause (see Unit 94B). object):
This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn’t
seen for ages.

C In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where:

We helped some people whose car had Lisa, whose car had broken down, was
broken down. in a very bad mood.
What’s the name of the place where Kate has just been to Sweden, where
you went on holiday? her daughter lives.

190 Relative clauses (Type 1) ➜ Units 92–94 Relative clauses (Type 2) ➜ Unit 96
 Unit
Exercises 95
95.1 Make one sentence from two. Use the information in brackets to make a relative clause (Type 2).
You will need to use who/whom/whose/which/where.
1 Catherine is very friendly. (She lives next door to us.)
Catherine, who lives next door to us, is very friendly.
2 We stayed at the Park Hotel. (A friend of ours recommended this hotel.)
We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.
3 We drove to the airport. (The airport was not far from the city.)
We drove to the airport,
4 Kate’s husband is an airline pilot. (I have never met Kate’s husband.)
Kate’s pilot.
5 Lisa is away from home a lot. (Lisa’s job involves a lot of travelling.)
Lisa
6 Paul and Emily have a daughter, Alice. (Alice has just started school.)
Paul and Emily have
7 The new stadium will hold 90,000 spectators. (The stadium will be finished next month.)

8 My brother lives in Alaska. (Alaska is the largest state in the US.)

9 Our teacher was very kind. (I have forgotten her name.)

10 We enjoyed our visit to the museum. (We saw a lot of interesting things in the museum.)

95.2 Read the information and complete the sentences. Use a relative clause of Type 1 or Type 2.
Use commas where necessary.
1 My brother is an architect. (He lives in Hong Kong.)
My brother, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.
2 The strike at the factory has now ended. (The strike began ten days ago.)
The strike at the factory
3 I was looking for a book this morning. (I’ve found it now.)
I’ve found
4 I’ve had my car for 15 years. (This car has never broken down.)
My car
5 A lot of people applied for the job. (Few of them had the necessary qualifications.)
Few of
6 Amy showed me a picture of her son. (Her son is a police officer.)
Amy showed me

95.3 Are these sentences OK? Correct them (and put in commas) where necessary. If the sentence is
correct, write ‘OK’.
1 Anna told me about her new job that she’s enjoying very much.
Anna told me about her new job, which she’s enjoying very much.
2 My office that is on the second floor is very small.

3 The office that I’m using at the moment is very small.

4 Sarah’s father that used to be in the army now works for a TV company.

5 The doctor that examined me couldn’t find anything wrong.

6 The sun that is one of millions of stars in the universe provides us with heat and light.

191
Unit
96 Relative clauses 5: extra information clauses (2)
A preposition + whom/which
You can use a preposition + whom (for people) and which (for things).
So you can say:
to whom with whom about whom etc.
of which without which from which etc.
Mr Lee, to whom I spoke at the meeting, is interested in our proposal.
Fortunately we had a good map, without which we would have got lost.
In spoken English we often keep the preposition after the verb in the relative clause:
Katherine told me she works for a company called ‘Latoma’, which I’d never
heard of before.
We do not use whom when the preposition is in this position:
Mr Lee, who I spoke to at the meeting, is interested in our proposal.
(not Mr Lee, whom I spoke to …)
For prepositions in relative clauses, see also Unit 93C.

B all of / most of etc. + whom/which

You can say:
Helen has three brothers, all of whom are married.
They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer.
In the same way you can say:
many of whom some of whom neither of whom etc. (for people)
none of which both of which one of which etc. (for things)
Martin tried on three jackets, none of which fitted him.
Two men, neither of whom I had seen before, came into the office.
They have three cars, two of which they rarely use.
Sue has a lot of friends, many of whom she was at school with.
You can also say:
the cause of which the name of which etc.
The house was damaged in a fire, the cause of which was never established.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the name of which I don’t remember now.

C which (not what)

Study this example:

Joe got the job . This surprised everybody. (2 sentences)

Joe got the job , which surprised everybody. (1 sentence)

relative clause

In this example, which = ‘the fact that Joe got the job’. We use which (not what) in sentences
like these:
Sarah couldn’t meet us, which was a shame. (not what was a shame)
The weather was good, which we hadn’t expected. (not what we hadn’t expected)
For what and that, see Units 92D and 93D.

192 all of / most of etc. ➜ Unit 88 both of etc. ➜ Unit 89 Relative clauses 1–4 ➜ Units 92–95
 Unit
Exercises 96
96.1 Complete the sentences. Use a preposition + whom or which. Choose a preposition from:
after for in of of to with without

1 Fortunately we had a good map, without which we would have got lost.
2 The accident, two people were injured, happened late last night.
3 I share an office with my boss, I get on really well.
4 The wedding, only family members were invited, was a lovely occasion.
5 Ben showed me his new car, he’s very proud.
6 Sarah showed us a picture of her son, she’s very proud.
7 Laura bought a very nice leather bag, she paid twenty pounds.
8 We had lunch, we went for a long walk.

96.2 Use the information in the first sentence to complete the second one. Use all of / most of etc.
1 All of Helen’s brothers are married.
Helen has three brothers, all of whom are married .
2 Most of the information we were given was useless.
We were given a lot of information, .
3 None of the ten people who applied for the job was suitable.
Ten people applied for the job, .
4 My neighbours have two cars. They never use one of them.
My neighbours have two cars, .
5 James won a lot of money. He gave half of it to his parents.
James won £100,000, .
6 Both of Julia’s sisters are lawyers.
Julia has two sisters, .
7 Jane replied to neither of the emails I sent her.
I sent Jane two emails, .
8 I went to a party – I knew only a few of the people there.
There were a lot of people at the party, .

Now use the … of which … .

9 You stayed in a hotel when you were on holiday but you don’t remember the name.
We stayed at a very nice hotel, the name of which I don’t remember .
10 We drove along the road. The sides of the road were lined with trees.
We drove along the road, the .
11 The aim of the company’s new business plan is to save money.
The company has a new business plan, .

96.3 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use which.
This is good news. This makes it hard to contact her.
This was a shame. This means we can’t go away tomorrow.
She apologised for this This makes it difficult to sleep sometimes.
This was very kind of her. This meant I had to wait two hours at the airport.

1 Laura couldn’t come to the party, which was a shame.

2 The street I live in is noisy at night,
3 Kate let me stay at her house,
4 Jane doesn’t have a phone,
5 Alex passed his exams,
6 My flight was delayed,
7 Our car has broken down,
8 Amy was twenty minutes late,

193