51 Relative Pronouns of People and Things
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Introduction
Pronouns are words used to avoid repetitions of a noun.
Relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses.
Form
Relative pronouns refer to people or things by replacing the subject expressed in the main clause to avoid the repetition of it in the relative clause.
The main relative pronouns are: which, who and that.
Example
- Which
- I had a banana yesterday, which is my favorite fruit.
- She is a waitress at the restaurant at which Mary works.
- We are going to a library which has free internet.
- Who
- I am the one who prepared lunch.
- He is the man who cooked our dinner.
- They are the teachers who work at his school.
- That
- I bought the red wine that you told me about.
- The breakfast that I had yesterday was great.
- These are the books that were written by my friend.
Use
The use of the relative pronouns:
| Relative Pronouns | People | Things |
|---|---|---|
| Which | x | √ |
| Who | √ | x |
| That | √ | √ |
Which and that are used to add secondary/additional information; which can also be used to avoid the repetition of that (please note that we can sometimes leave out this pronoun).
Summary
Relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses. They refer to people or things by replacing the subject expressed in the main clause to avoid the repetition of it in the relative clause.
They are: which, who and that.
For example:
— “This is the restaurant which has an Italian menu.” = Which refers to things.
— “The man who owns this restaurant is Italian.” = Who refers to people.
— “The man that owns this restaurant is Italian.” / “This is the restaurant that has an Italian menu.” = That can refer both to people and to things.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.
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