Grammar, compared
Who, which, that and whose
Relative words join a clause to a noun. Who is for people, which for things, whose for possession and where for places.
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| People | Things and places |
|---|---|
| The woman who lives next door is a nurse. | The car which I bought is red. |
| The man whose car was stolen called the police. | The book that I read was long. |
| My brother, who lives in Chile, is coming. | That is the restaurant where we met. |
Which word to use
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | People | The teacher who helped me. |
| which | Things and animals | The laptop which broke. |
| that | People or things, in defining clauses only | The film that I saw. |
| whose | Possession | The girl whose bag was lost. |
| where | Places | The city where I was born. |
When the extra information is not needed to know which one, add commas and do not use that: My car, which is old, still works. When the word is the object, you can leave it out: The film I saw.
Watch out if you speak Spanish
- Que covers all of them in Spanish. In English choose: la mujer que vive is the woman who lives.
- Do not repeat the pronoun: The film that I saw, not The film that I saw it.
- What is not a relative word here: everything that he said, not everything what he said.
- You cannot leave out the word when it is the subject: The woman who called.
Practice
Grammar practice
Choose or type the answer for each sentence, then check.
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Questions
- Who or that for people?
- Both work in defining clauses. Who sounds more natural in writing, and that is common in speech.
- Can I leave out who, which or that?
- Yes, when it is the object: The film I saw. Not when it is the subject: The woman who called.
Keep going
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