Relative Pronouns for People and Things (Who, Which)
Relative pronouns help us add more information about a person or a thing by joining clauses in a sentence.
⏰ When do we use Relative Pronouns for People and Things (Who, Which)
We use the Relative Pronouns “Who” and “Which” to:
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Refer to people using “who”:
- The man who helped me was very nice.
- She knows a girl who speaks four languages.
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Refer to things, animals, or ideas using “which”:
- This is the laptop which I bought last year.
- The dog which barked all night is mine.
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Combine two sentences with related information:
- I have a friend. He lives in Canada. → I have a friend who lives in Canada.
- She read a book. It explains grammar. → She read a book which explains grammar.
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Make your writing smoother and more descriptive:
- The teacher who teaches us is very friendly.
- The car which is outside belongs to my neighbor.
📌 Structure
- Affirmative:
Subject + Verb + Noun + who/which + information - Negative:
Subject + Verb + Noun + who/which + doesn’t/didn’t + Verb - Question:
Who is the person who + verb...?
📝 Note
Use “who” for people and “which” for things. These pronouns introduce relative clauses and give extra information about the noun they describe.
- The woman who lives next door is a doctor.
- The phone which I lost was very expensive.
- The car which broke down was repaired quickly.
Examples: The boy who plays guitar is my cousin, The book which I lent you is new.
💬 Examples
✅ Positive Examples
- The student who asked the question is very curious.
- The dog which barked all night is finally quiet.
- I know a person who speaks five languages.
❌ Negative Examples
- The teacher who doesn’t give homework is very popular.
- The machine which doesn’t work is in the garage.
- I don’t like books which don’t have pictures.
❓ Question Examples
- Who is the girl who sits next to you?
- What’s the name of the movie which won the award?
- Do you know the person who called me?
🎯 Practice Exercises
⬇️ Interactive exercise will appear here soon.
Ready to Combine Sentences and Describe People/Things Clearly in English?
Mastering relative pronouns for people and things (who, which, that, whom, whose) is a fantastic step to creating more concise and natural English sentences. They help you avoid repetition and clarify relationships!
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