Most english speakers use relative pronouns every day, though they may not understand what are relative pronouns. All grammar rules in english pdf on this page you will find grammar lessons that you can download totally for free in pdf. Relative clauses are also called adjective clauses. If the previous sentence makes no sense to you, learn about clauses before working on this lesson. Feel free to leave a comment if you find any errors or if you have any suggestions to make to improve this lesson. Pronouns that end in self or selves are called reflexive pronouns. Relative clauses relativsatze are clauses added on to a main clause hauptsatz that provide additional information about a noun. Relative clauses and relative pronouns english grammar. Shukla, being a good teacher, she is liked by all the students. A relative pronoun is a word which signals the beginning of an adjective clause.
Who, whom, what, which, and that are all relative pronouns. I had an uncle in germany, from whom i inherited a bit of money. Who versus whom video relative pronouns khan academy. Nondefining relative clauses also known as nonrestrictive, or parenthetical, clauses provide some additional information that is not essential and may be omitted without affecting the contents of the. Because there are only a few of them, there are also just a few rules for using relative pronouns. There is a girl in my class whose family emigrated from india. A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun what is the name of that boy who just walked in here the clause who just walked in is an example of a relative clause. If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb but by a noun or pronoun, the relative pronoun is an object pronoun.
In addition, relative clauses contain a subject and. This is a free intermediate english grammar quiz and esl worksheet. Using pronouns pronouns are words that replace nouns so that you dont need to repeat the same noun several times in a text e. A clause beginning with a relative pronoun is poised to answer questions such as which one.
Pdf this paper is an enquiry into the english pronouns and their usages. Relative pronouns are mostly used when combining sentences in which a word or phrase is repeated. Whom is also used by some people but is considered by many to be too formal a relative pronoun introduces a relative clause this is the table which i bought this is the table the main clause i bought the relative clause which the relative pronoun joining the two clauses. In some situations, the words what, when, and where can also function as relative pronouns. This is george, whom you met at our house last year. We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. They cannot stand on their own but must be part of a sentence. Fis is a school where children from more than 50 countries are educated. Like any pronoun, relative pronouns are substituted for nouns and other pronouns that functions as subjects or objects in a sentence. This handout provides detailed rules and examples for the usage of relative pronouns that, who, whom, whose, which, where, when, and why. The most common are which, that, whose, whoever, whomever, who, and whom. The relative pronouns in english are who, which, that and whose.
Defining and nondefining relative clauses defining relative clauses introduce essential information to identify people, things or places. They are most often used to define or identify the noun that precedes them. This french grammar lesson is ideal for all levels. Subjectverb agreement in relative clauses relative pronouns connect a subordinating or dependent clause to an antecedent noun or pronoun in a sentence. Oct 15, 2018 relative pronouns rules to download and print this free pdf course, click here. Never use commas with a defining adjective clauses. These describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class.
A relative or adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun and is introduced by a relative pronoun who, whom, whose, which. A collection of english esl worksheets for home learning, online practice, distance learning and english classes to teach about relative, pronouns, relative. Whothat for people the book which that i read is very interesting which that for things thats the university where i studied. In this example, the pronoun he is referring back to the noun antecedent boy. When whom or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning of the clause.
They are used to connect relative clauses to independent clauses. Which means that if were talking about someone who is the doer, then we say who. Relative pronouns are a type of pronoun used to link different parts of a sentence. When words like who, which and that are used to introduce relative clauses, they are often called relative pronouns. There are only a few relative pronouns in the english language.
Because there is a great amount of variation in how people use them, they are few concrete rules but there are general patterns shown below for each. Click here for stepbystep rules, stories and exercises to practice all english tenses. The gym, which was very crowded today, is closed tomorrow. We use whose as the possessive form of who this is george, whose brother went to school with me. Detailed explanations of relative pronouns with examples and exercises who vs whom, which vs that, whose, whomever. We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition.
The defining relative clauses follow after the relative pronouns who, which. A relative pronoun is a word that introduces a dependent or relative clause and connects it to an independent clause. The relative pronoun we use depends on what we are referring to and the type of relative clause. Reflexive pronouns are used when both the subject and the object of a verb are the same person or thing. English grammar pronoun rules regarding personal, demonstrative, pronouns, relative, examples and exercise. A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. There are a few different types of pronouns, and some pronouns belong to more than one category.
The man who fixed your computer is waiting outside. They are introduced by relative pronouns relativpronomen. The pronoun, as we all know, is a word used in place of a noun. So the challenge of using these relative pronouns is knowing which to use. Relative pronouns are connectors they link relative clauses to main clauses so that you dont have to repeat subjects and objects. The computer started up but then it crashed because it is old not the computer started up but then the computer crashed because the computer is old. Can i have the pencil that i gave you this morning.
We dont use that in nondefining relative clauses, so we need to use which if the pronoun refers to a thing, and who if it refers to a person. We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood. Distribute the sentence fragments and relative pronouns to pairs of students, small groups, or individuals. Relative clauses tell us more about people and things. Pronoun and its kinds with examples pdf rules of pronoun. For grammar rules and examples on relative pronouns see english plus on page 94 or inside grammar on pages 291 293 295. Do you know the girl who started in grade 7 last week. Nondefining relative clauses defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class.
Who refers to people, which refers to things, and that refers to people or things. However, for our purposes, the rules are fairly simple. Relative pronouns and relative clauses learnenglish. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates to the word that its relative clause modifies. Relative pronouns are often used to connect sentences or phrases.
Grammarians love to argue about which pronouns belong in what kind of relative clause. So theres this basic idea that who is the subject form, and whom is the object form. For students who need extra support, provide the two clauses and have students fill in the missing relative. If you learned about pronouns in school, these are probably the words your teacher focused on.
Type of pronoun type of noun modifi ed type of relative clause pronou n to use example nominative people. With these lessons, youll be able to learn english grammar in use, step by step, even if you are a beginner. The question of whether or not you should use who or whom in a sentence as a relative pronoun. They are used to introduce a dependent clause that refers to a noun or personal pronoun in the main clause. Mar 27, 2019 pronoun and its kinds with examples pdf rules of pronoun. The relative pronoun we use depends on what we are referring to and. Often, they introduce additional information about something mentioned in the sentence. Test yourself with our free english language quiz about relative pronouns 2.
Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and whom. The plan includes whole group, small group, and individual work to practice relative pronouns. When do we use the relative pronouns who, which, whose and that who when we talk about people. Relative pronouns english as a second language esl worksheet. We cant drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the. The function of the connective clauses is different, but the rules are the same as. We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition this is george, whom you met at our house last year. Print and cut out the relative pronoun sentence strips. The relative pronouns where and when are used with place and time nouns. Relative pronouns can be confusing for students to grasp as they are part of a more complex sentence structure. To know which pronoun to use, look carefully at the relative clause itself.
If the object of a preposition refers to a previous noun or pronoun, use a reflexive pronoun. Many aspirants find difficulty in english grammar section while preparing for competitive exams like ssc cgl, ssc chsl, rrb, ibps, sbi and other competitive exams. If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. This lesson plan teaches what relative pronouns are and how to identify and use them in sentences. Relative pronouns can be used to join two sentences. Challenge students to create sentences with the sentence fragments. In order to avoid repetition of a noun in a sentence, pronoun is used. Antecedent pronoun personal pronouns are pronouns that refer to a specific person or thing in a sen. Get to apply grammar rules relative to relative pronouns directly to your text. A clause of this kind is essential to clear understanding of the noun.
Relative pronouns can be the subjects of verbs in relative clauses. We will discuss exactly what is a relative pronoun, learn how to identify a relative pronoun, look at a list of relative pronouns, and some examples of relative pronouns as they are used in sentences. The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, that. Relative pronouns english grammar today cambridge dictionary. It is important therefore that relative pronouns used as subjects in relative clauses take verbs that agree with their antecedents. Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. Before you can use french relative pronouns correctly, you first need to understand the grammar behind them. Relative pronouns in nondefining clauses purdue writing lab. For example, the first set of examples in each of the pairs below show individual sentences, while the second set shows the previous sentences joined by a relative pronoun to form a single sentence. I bought my first car ten years ago, when i was a salesman. Printable and onlien relative pronouns exercises 1 choose who that which when where whose why. Interrogative and relative pronouns who, whom, and.
The chart below gives you a quick guide to the pronouns to use in various situations. Relative clauses are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who, that, which, whose, where, when. The other personal pronouns are i and me, you, he and him, it, we and us, and they and them. They are most often used to define or identify the noun. B combine each pair of sentences with a relative clause. The woman who phoned me last night is my girlfriend. Defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other nouns. Some relative clauses are not used to define or identify the preceding noun but to give extra information. We are dedicated to creating and providing free, highquality english language learning resources. Relative pronouns relative pronouns introduce relative clauses. View relative pronoun worksheet 1 and relative pronoun worksheet 2on. Relative pronouns are pronouns that are used to connect clarifying information to nouns or other pronouns within a sentence who, that, which. Like its english counterpart, a french relative pronoun links a dependent or relative clause to a main clause. You can do the exercises online or download the worksheet as pdf.
Relative pronouns used in defining relative clauses. Note that who is used to refer to people and which is used to refer to things. Jun 11, 2019 get to know the french relative pronouns or pronoms relatifs and learn how to use it. That can be used to refer to both people and things. We use a relative pronoun in english to describe a name or give us more information about it. Relative pronouns rules and examples really learn english. English esl relative pronouns worksheets most downloaded.
We have them in english, too they usually are introduced by. When introducing clauses that define or identify something, it is acceptable to use that or which. Relative pronouns give more information about the subject or object of the sentence. Whom is also used by some people but is considered by many to be too formal. When referring to a person use who, whom, whose, whoever and whomever. Relative pronouns english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary.