Relative Pronouns

Here's a table with common relative pronouns, their usage, and example sentences:

Relative Pronoun	Usage	Example Sentences
Who	Refers to people (subject)	1. The boy who won the race is my friend. 2. She is the teacher who helped me.
Whom	Refers to people (object)	1. The girl whom I met yesterday is kind. 2. He is the person whom I trust the most.
Whose	Shows possession (people/things)	1. The man whose car was stolen is upset. 2. She is the girl whose book I borrowed.
Which	Refers to animals or things	1. The book which I borrowed is interesting. 2. The car which he bought is expensive.
That	Refers to people, animals, or things (essential information)	1. The house that Jack built is old. 2. The dog that barked all night is mine.
Where	Refers to a place	1. This is the city where I was born. 2. The school where she studied is famous.
When	Refers to a time	1. I remember the day when we first met. 2. That was the year when he moved abroad.
Why	Refers to a reason	1. The reason why he left is unknown. 2. I don’t know why she is upset.

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Quiz on Relative Pronouns

Fill in the blanks with the correct relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that, where, when, why).

1. The girl ___ won the competition is my cousin.
2. This is the place ___ we first met.
3. Do you know the reason ___ she was absent yesterday?
4. The book ___ is on the table belongs to me.
5. I know a man ___ can speak five languages.
6. She is the one ___ I told you about.
7. The boy ___ bag was lost is crying.
8. That is the house ___ I grew up.
9. The day ___ we got married was the happiest of my life.
10. He is a person ___ everyone respects.
11. The man ___ I saw yesterday looked familiar.
12. She explained the reason ___ she was late.
13. This is the dog ___ bit my neighbor.
14. The artist ___ painting won the prize is very famous.
15. The hotel ___ we stayed was very luxurious.
16. The man ___ you were talking to is my uncle.
17. I still remember the time ___ we used to play in the park.
18. He is a person ___ opinion I trust.
19. The teacher ___ teaches us English is very kind.
20. The movie ___ we watched last night was amazing.

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Answer Key

1. who
2. where
3. why
4. which
5. who
6. whom
7. whose
8. where
9. when
10. whom
11. whom
12. why
13. that
14. whose
15. where
16. whom
17. when
18. whose
19. who
20. which

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Quiz on Relative Pronouns

Combine the following pairs of sentences using an appropriate relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that, where, when, why).

1. I met a girl. She is a great singer.
2. This is the park. We used to play here.
3. The man was very kind. He helped me find my lost dog.
4. She visited the museum. It was built in the 18th century.
5. The boy is standing near the door. His father is a doctor.
6. I remember the day. We won the championship that day.
7. This is the movie. I was talking about it.
8. The teacher punished the student. The student was misbehaving in class.
9. He introduced me to his brother. I had never met his brother before.
10. The woman is my neighbor. You saw her at the supermarket.
11. She always remembers the time. She first met her best friend.
12. The book is on the table. It belongs to Sam.
13. The old man lives in that house. He is a retired teacher.
14. That was the reason. He left the job for that reason.
15. The hotel was expensive. We stayed there during our vacation.
16. I saw a man. His dog was barking loudly.
17. He is the scientist. His invention changed the world.
18. The shop was closed. I wanted to buy some groceries from there.
19. The boy is playing football. He won the best player award.
20. The girl is my cousin. You were talking to her.

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Answer Key

1. I met a girl who is a great singer.
2. This is the park where we used to play.
3. The man who helped me find my lost dog was very kind.
4. She visited the museum which was built in the 18th century.
5. The boy whose father is a doctor is standing near the door.
6. I remember the day when we won the championship.
7. This is the movie which I was talking about.
8. The teacher punished the student who was misbehaving in class.
9. He introduced me to his brother whom I had never met before.
10. The woman whom you saw at the supermarket is my neighbor.
11. She always remembers the time when she first met her best friend.
12. The book which belongs to Sam is on the table.
13. The old man who lives in that house is a retired teacher.
14. That was the reason why he left the job.
15. The hotel where we stayed during our vacation was expensive.
16. I saw a man whose dog was barking loudly.
17. He is the scientist whose invention changed the world.
18. The shop where I wanted to buy some groceries was closed.
19. The boy who won the best player award is playing football.
20. The girl whom you were talking to is my cousin.

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"What" is often confused with relative pronouns, but technically, it is a relative determiner or a nominal relative pronoun rather than a standard relative pronoun like who, whom, whose, which, that.

How "What" Works

Unlike other relative pronouns, "what" does not refer to a noun mentioned before. Instead, it introduces a clause that acts as a noun itself (a nominal relative clause).

Examples of "What" as a Nominal Relative Pronoun:

1. What you said is true. (= The thing that you said is true.)
2. I don’t understand what she wants. (= The thing that she wants.)
3. She gave me what I needed. (= The thing that I needed.)

Key Difference

• Standard relative pronouns (who, which, that, etc.) refer back to a specific noun in the sentence.
• "What" replaces both the noun and the relative pronoun, making it a self-contained noun phrase.

So, while "what" does function in a similar way to relative pronouns, it is grammatically classified as a nominal relative pronoun rather than a standard relative pronoun used for joining two clauses.