English — relative clauses

Relative clauses add information about a noun using who, which, that and friends.

How it works

✓ Rule

who for people, which for things, that for both (in defining clauses): The man who called… The book which/that I read… whose shows possession, where a place.

The relative pronouns

pronoun → use
Pronoun	Use
who	people
which	things
that	people or things (defining)
whose	possession
where	place

Good to know

⚠ Note

You can drop the pronoun when it's the object: The book (that) I read. Non-defining clauses need commas and can't use that: My brother, who lives in Rome, is a doctor.